Coniston — Volume 01 — Page 14
As far as rum was concerned, he was a creature after Aunt Lucy's own heart, for he never touched it: true, gaunt Deacon Ira Perkins, tithing-man, had once chided him for breaking the Sabbath--shooting at a fox.
En ce qui concernait le rhum, il était un être tout à fait selon le cœur de tante Lucy, car il n'y touchait jamais : certes, le maigre diacre Ira Perkins, collecteur de la dîme, lui avait un jour reproché d'avoir violé le sabbat -- en tirant sur un renard.
To return to the book.
Pour en revenir au livre.
As long as he lived, Jethro looked back to the joy of the monumental task of mastering its contents.
Tant qu'il vécut, Jethro se souvint avec joie de la tâche monumentale que représentait la maîtrise de son contenu.
In his mind, Napoleon became a rough Yankee general; of the cities, villages, and fortress he formed as accurate a picture as a resident of Venice from Marco Polo's account of Tartary.
Dans son esprit, Napoléon devenait un rude général yankee ; des villes, villages et forteresses, il se formait une image aussi précise qu'un habitant de Venise lisant le récit de Marco Polo sur la Tartarie.
Jethro had learned to read, after a fashion, to write, add, multiply, and divide.
Jethro avait appris à lire, tant bien que mal, à écrire, additionner, multiplier et diviser.
He knew that George Washington and certain barefooted companions had forced a proud Britain to her knees, and much of the warring in the book took color from Captain Timothy Prescott's stories of General Stark and his campaigns, heard at Jonah Winch's store.
Il savait que George Washington et quelques compagnons aux pieds nus avaient contraint une fière Bretagne à se mettre à genoux, et une grande partie des combats décrits dans le livre prenait couleur des récits du capitaine Timothy Prescott sur le général Stark et ses campagnes, entendus à la boutique de Jonah Winch.
What Paris looked like, or Berlin, or the Hospice of St. Bernard--though imaged by a winter Coniston--troubled Jethro not at all; the thing that stuck in his mind was that Napoleon--for a considerable time, at least--compelled men to do his bidding.
L'aspect de Paris, ou de Berlin, ou de l'hospice du Saint-Bernard -- bien qu'imaginés à travers un Coniston hivernal -- ne troublait nullement Jethro ; ce qui restait gravé dans son esprit, c'est que Napoléon -- pendant un temps considérable, du moins -- avait contraint les hommes à lui obéir.
Constitutions crumble before the Strong.
Les constitutions s'effondrent devant les forts.
Not that Jethro philosophized about constitutions.
Non pas que Jethro philosophât sur les constitutions.
Existing conditions presented themselves, and it occurred to him that there were crevices in the town system, and ways into power through the crevices for men clever enough to find them.
Les conditions existantes s'offraient à lui, et il lui vint à l'esprit qu'il y avait des failles dans le système municipal, et des voies vers le pouvoir à travers ces failles pour les hommes assez habiles pour les trouver.
Vocabulary
- En
- Preposition indicating location, manner, or time
- ce
- Demonstrative pronoun or adjective meaning 'this' or 'it'
- qui
- Relative pronoun meaning 'who' or 'which'
- concernait
- Imperfect tense of 'concerner': was concerning or regarding
- rhum
- Alcoholic spirit distilled from sugarcane or molasses
- était
- Imperfect tense of 'être': was or used to be
- être
- Infinitive verb meaning 'to be'
- tout
- Adjective or adverb meaning 'all', 'every', or 'completely'
- fait
- Past participle of 'faire': done or made
- selon
- Preposition meaning 'according to' or 'in accordance with'
- cœur
- Noun meaning 'heart', used literally or figuratively
- tante
- Noun meaning 'aunt', a parent's sister
- car
- Conjunction meaning 'because' or 'for'
- n'y
- Contracted negation with 'y': 'not there' or 'not to it'
- touchait
- Imperfect of 'toucher': was touching or touching it
- jamais
- Adverb meaning 'never' or 'ever' in negation
- certes
- Adverb meaning 'certainly', 'admittedly', or 'indeed'
- maigre
- Adjective meaning 'thin', 'lean', or 'meager'
- diacre
- Noun meaning 'deacon', a church official below priest
- collecteur
- Noun meaning 'collector', one who gathers funds or items
- dîme
- Noun meaning 'tithe', a tenth-part religious or tax contribution
- lui
- Personal pronoun meaning 'him', 'her', or 'to him/her'
- avait
- Imperfect tense of 'avoir': had or used to have
- jour
- Noun meaning 'day' or 'daylight'
- reproché
- Past participle of 'reprocher': blamed or accused someone
- d'avoir
- Contracted preposition plus infinitive: 'of having' or 'for having'
- violé
- Past participle of 'violer': violated or broke a rule
- sabbat
- Noun meaning 'Sabbath', the weekly day of religious rest
- en
- Preposition or pronoun meaning 'in', 'by', or 'some of it'
- tirant
- Present participle of 'tirer': pulling, shooting, or drawing
- sur
- Preposition meaning 'on', 'upon', or 'about'
- renard
- Noun meaning 'fox', a cunning wild animal
- Pour
- Preposition meaning 'for', 'in order to', or 'to'
- revenir
- Infinitive meaning 'to come back' or 'to return'
- au
- Contracted article meaning 'to the' or 'at the' (masculine)
- livre
- Noun meaning 'book' or a unit of currency or weight
- Tant
- Adverb meaning 'as long as', 'so much', or 'as much'
- qu'il
- Conjunction 'que' with pronoun 'il': 'that he' or 'as long as he'
- vécut
- Simple past of 'vivre': lived (completed action in past)
- se
- Reflexive pronoun meaning 'himself', 'herself', or 'themselves'
- souvint
- Simple past of 'se souvenir': remembered or recalled
- avec
- Preposition meaning 'with' or 'along with'
- joie
- Noun meaning 'joy', 'happiness', or 'delight'
- tâche
- Noun meaning 'task', 'job', or 'assignment'
- monumentale
- Adjective meaning 'monumental', enormous or of great significance
- que
- Conjunction or pronoun meaning 'that', 'which', or 'than'
- représentait
- Imperfect of 'représenter': represented or stood for something
- maîtrise
- Noun meaning 'mastery', 'control', or expert command of something
- son
- Possessive adjective meaning 'his', 'her', or 'its'
- contenu
- Noun or adjective meaning 'content', 'contents', or 'contained'
- Dans
- Preposition meaning 'in', 'inside', or 'within'
- esprit
- Noun meaning 'mind', 'spirit', or 'wit'
- devenait
- Imperfect of 'devenir': was becoming or used to become
- rude
- Adjective meaning 'tough', 'harsh', or 'rough'
- général
- Noun meaning 'general', a high-ranking military officer
- yankee
- Noun or adjective referring to someone from the northern United States
- villes
- Plural noun meaning 'cities' or 'towns'
- villages
- Plural noun meaning 'villages', small rural communities
- forteresses
- Plural noun meaning 'fortresses', large defensive military structures
- formait
- Imperfect of 'former': was forming or taking shape
- image
- Noun meaning 'image', 'picture', or 'mental representation'
- aussi
- Adverb meaning 'also', 'too', or 'as' in comparisons
- précise
- Adjective meaning 'precise', 'exact', or 'accurate'
- qu'un
- Contracted conjunction with article: 'than a' or 'as a'
- habitant
- Noun meaning 'inhabitant' or 'resident' of a place
- lisant
- Present participle of 'lire': reading a text
- récit
- Noun meaning 'account', 'narrative', or 'story'
- appris
- Past participle of 'apprendre': learned or taught something
- lire
- Infinitive meaning 'to read' a text or document
- tant
- Adverb meaning 'so much', 'as much', or 'as long as'
- bien
- Adverb meaning 'well', 'good', or 'quite'
- mal
- Adverb or noun meaning 'badly', 'poorly', or 'evil'
- écrire
- Infinitive meaning 'to write' words or texts
- additionner
- Infinitive meaning 'to add' numbers together in arithmetic
- multiplier
- Infinitive meaning 'to multiply' numbers in arithmetic
- diviser
- Infinitive meaning 'to divide' numbers or separate into parts
- savait
- Imperfect of 'savoir': knew or used to know a fact
- quelques
- Adjective meaning 'a few' or 'some', referring to small number
- compagnons
- Plural noun meaning 'companions', 'comrades', or 'fellows'
- aux
- Contracted article meaning 'to the' or 'at the' (plural)
- pieds
- Plural noun meaning 'feet', the lower extremities of the body
- nus
- Adjective meaning 'bare' or 'naked', without covering
- avaient
- Imperfect of 'avoir' (plural): had or used to have
- contraint
- Past participle of 'contraindre': forced or compelled someone
- fière
- Feminine adjective meaning 'proud' or 'haughty'
- mettre
- Infinitive meaning 'to put', 'to place', or 'to set'
- genoux
- Plural noun meaning 'knees', joints of the leg
- grande
- Feminine adjective meaning 'large', 'great', or 'tall'
- partie
- Noun meaning 'part', 'portion', or 'game'
- combats
- Plural noun meaning 'battles', 'fights', or 'combats'
- décrits
- Past participle of 'décrire' (plural): described or depicted
- dans
- Preposition meaning 'in', 'inside', or 'within'
- prenait
- Imperfect of 'prendre': was taking or used to take
- couleur
- Noun meaning 'color' or 'colour', a visual quality of objects
- récits
- Plural noun meaning 'accounts', 'narratives', or 'stories'
- capitaine
- Noun meaning 'captain', a military or naval officer rank
- ses
- Possessive adjective meaning 'his', 'her', or 'its' (plural)
- campagnes
- Plural noun meaning 'campaigns' or 'countryside'
- entendus
- Past participle of 'entendre' (plural): heard or listened to
- boutique
- Noun meaning 'shop' or 'store', a small retail establishment
- L'aspect
- Noun meaning 'the aspect', 'appearance', or 'look' of something
- ou
- Conjunction meaning 'or', presenting an alternative
- l'hospice
- Noun meaning 'the hospice' or 'almshouse', a care facility
- qu'imaginés
- Past participle with conjunction: 'than imagined' or 'only imagined'
- travers
- Noun used in 'à travers': through or across something
- hivernal
- Adjective meaning 'wintry' or 'of winter', relating to winter
- ne
- Negation particle used with 'pas' or other words to negate
- troublait
- Imperfect of 'troubler': was disturbing or unsettling someone
- nullement
- Adverb meaning 'not at all', 'in no way', or 'by no means'
- restait
- Imperfect of 'rester': was remaining or staying in place
- gravé
- Past participle of 'graver': engraved or deeply imprinted
- c'est
- Contraction of 'ce est': it is or this is
- pendant
- Preposition meaning 'during' or 'for' a period of time
- temps
- Noun meaning 'time', 'weather', or 'tense'
- considérable
- Adjective meaning 'considerable', 'significant', or 'substantial'
- moins
- Adverb or preposition meaning 'less' or 'minus'
- hommes
- Plural noun meaning 'men' or 'people' in general
- obéir
- Infinitive meaning 'to obey' or 'to comply with orders'
- constitutions
- Plural noun meaning 'constitutions', fundamental governing laws
- s'effondrent
- Reflexive verb meaning 'collapse' or 'fall apart' (present tense)
- devant
- Preposition meaning 'in front of', 'before', or 'faced with'
- forts
- Plural noun or adjective meaning 'forts' or 'strong people'
- Non
- Adverb meaning 'no' or 'not', expressing negation
- pas
- Negation particle used with 'ne': not; also means 'step'
- philosophât
- Imperfect subjunctive of 'philosopher': might philosophize or reflect
- conditions
- Plural noun meaning 'conditions' or 'circumstances' of a situation
- existantes
- Feminine plural adjective meaning 'existing' or 'current'
- s'offraient
- Imperfect reflexive of 'offrir': were presenting themselves or arising
- vint
- Simple past of 'venir': came (completed action in past)
- l'esprit
- Noun with article: 'the mind', 'the spirit', or 'the wit'
- y
- Pronoun meaning 'there' or 'to it', replacing a location
- failles
- Plural noun meaning 'flaws', 'faults', or 'gaps' in a system
- système
- Noun meaning 'system', an organized set of principles or methods
- municipal
- Adjective meaning 'municipal', relating to local town government
- voies
- Plural noun meaning 'ways', 'paths', 'roads', or 'means'
- vers
- Preposition meaning 'toward' or 'around'; also means 'verse'
- pouvoir
- Noun or infinitive meaning 'power' or 'to be able to'
- ces
- Demonstrative adjective meaning 'these' or 'those' (plural)
- pour
- Preposition meaning 'for', 'in order to', or 'in favor of'
- assez
- Adverb meaning 'enough', 'quite', or 'rather'
- habiles
- Plural adjective meaning 'skilled', 'clever', or 'capable'
- trouver
- Infinitive meaning 'to find' or 'to discover' something
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