Crime and Punishment — Page 1
CRIME AND PUNISHMENT
CRIME ET CHÂTIMENT
By Fyodor Dostoevsky
Par Fiodor Dostoïevski
Translated By Constance Garnett
Traduit par Constance Garnett
TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE
PRÉFACE DU TRADUCTEUR
A few words about Dostoevsky himself may help the English reader to understand his work.
Quelques mots sur Dostoïevski lui-même pourront aider le lecteur anglais à comprendre son œuvre.
Dostoevsky was the son of a doctor.
Dostoïevski était le fils d'un médecin.
His parents were very hard-working and deeply religious people, but so poor that they lived with their five children in only two rooms.
Ses parents étaient des gens très laborieux et profondément religieux, mais si pauvres qu'ils vivaient avec leurs cinq enfants dans seulement deux pièces.
The father and mother spent their evenings in reading aloud to their children, generally from books of a serious character.
Le père et la mère passaient leurs soirées à faire la lecture à voix haute à leurs enfants, généralement dans des ouvrages de caractère sérieux.
Though always sickly and delicate Dostoevsky came out third in the final examination of the Petersburg school of Engineering.
Bien que toujours chétif et fragile, Dostoïevski se classa troisième à l'examen final de l'école d'ingénieurs de Pétersbourg.
There he had already begun his first work, "Poor Folk."
C'est là qu'il avait déjà commencé sa première œuvre, « Les Pauvres Gens ».
This story was published by the poet Nekrassov in his review and was received with acclamations.
Cette histoire fut publiée par le poète Nekrassov dans sa revue et fut accueillie avec acclamations.
The shy, unknown youth found himself instantly something of a celebrity.
Le jeune homme timide et inconnu se retrouva instantanément une sorte de célébrité.
A brilliant and successful career seemed to open before him, but those hopes were soon dashed.
Une carrière brillante et prometteuse semblait s'ouvrir devant lui, mais ces espoirs furent bientôt anéantis.
In 1849 he was arrested.
En 1849, il fut arrêté.
Though neither by temperament nor conviction a revolutionist, Dostoevsky was one of a little group of young men who met together to read Fourier and Proudhon.
Sans être révolutionnaire ni par tempérament ni par conviction, Dostoïevski faisait partie d'un petit groupe de jeunes gens qui se réunissaient pour lire Fourier et Proudhon.
He was accused of "taking part in conversations against the censorship, of reading a letter from Byelinsky to Gogol, and of knowing of the intention to set up a printing press."
Il fut accusé « d'avoir pris part à des conversations contre la censure, d'avoir lu une lettre de Bielinski à Gogol, et d'avoir eu connaissance de l'intention de créer une imprimerie ».
Under Nicholas I. (that "stern and just man," as Maurice Baring calls him) this was enough, and he was condemned to death.
Sous Nicolas Ier (ce « homme sévère et juste », comme l'appelle Maurice Baring), cela suffisait, et il fut condamné à mort.
Vocabulary
- CRIME
- An illegal act punishable by law
- ET
- Conjunction meaning 'and'
- CHÂTIMENT
- Severe punishment given for a wrongdoing
- Par
- Preposition meaning 'by' or 'through'
- Traduit
- Past participle of 'traduire,' meaning 'translated'
- par
- Preposition meaning 'by' or 'through'
- PRÉFACE
- Introductory section written before a book's main text
- DU
- Contraction of 'de le,' meaning 'of the'
- TRADUCTEUR
- A person who translates texts between languages
- Quelques
- Determiner meaning 'a few' or 'some'
- mots
- Plural of 'mot,' meaning 'words'
- sur
- Preposition meaning 'on' or 'about'
- lui
- Third-person singular pronoun meaning 'him' or 'her'
- même
- Adjective or adverb meaning 'same' or 'even'
- pourront
- Future tense of 'pouvoir,' meaning 'will be able to'
- aider
- Verb meaning 'to help' or 'to assist'
- le
- Definite article meaning 'the' (masculine singular)
- lecteur
- A person who reads; a reader
- anglais
- Adjective or noun meaning 'English'
- à
- Preposition meaning 'to,' 'at,' or 'in'
- comprendre
- Verb meaning 'to understand' or 'to comprehend'
- son
- Possessive adjective meaning 'his,' 'her,' or 'its'
- œuvre
- A body of work produced by an artist or writer
- était
- Imperfect tense of 'être,' meaning 'was' or 'were'
- fils
- Noun meaning 'son'
- d'
- Contracted form of 'de,' meaning 'of' or 'from'
- un
- Indefinite article meaning 'a' or 'an' (masculine)
- médecin
- A doctor or physician
- Ses
- Possessive adjective meaning 'his,' 'her,' or 'its' (plural)
- parents
- Noun meaning 'parents' or relatives
- étaient
- Imperfect plural of 'être,' meaning 'were'
- des
- Plural indefinite article meaning 'some' or 'of the'
- gens
- Noun meaning 'people' or 'folk'
- très
- Adverb meaning 'very'
- laborieux
- Adjective meaning 'hardworking' or 'industrious'
- et
- Conjunction meaning 'and'
- profondément
- Adverb meaning 'deeply' or 'profoundly'
- religieux
- Adjective meaning 'religious' or 'devout'
- mais
- Conjunction meaning 'but'
- si
- Conjunction meaning 'so' or 'if'
- pauvres
- Adjective meaning 'poor' or 'impoverished'
- qu'
- Conjunction meaning 'that' or 'than,' elided form
- ils
- Third-person plural pronoun meaning 'they' (masculine)
- vivaient
- Imperfect of 'vivre,' meaning 'were living' or 'lived'
- avec
- Preposition meaning 'with'
- leurs
- Possessive adjective meaning 'their' (plural)
- cinq
- Number meaning 'five'
- enfants
- Noun meaning 'children'
- dans
- Preposition meaning 'in' or 'inside'
- seulement
- Adverb meaning 'only' or 'just'
- deux
- Number meaning 'two'
- pièces
- Noun meaning 'rooms' or 'pieces'
- Le
- Definite article meaning 'the' (masculine singular)
- père
- Noun meaning 'father'
- la
- Definite article meaning 'the' (feminine singular)
- mère
- Noun meaning 'mother'
- passaient
- Imperfect of 'passer,' meaning 'spent' or 'passed'
- soirées
- Noun meaning 'evenings' or 'evening gatherings'
- faire
- Verb meaning 'to do' or 'to make'
- lecture
- The act of reading; a reading session
- voix
- Noun meaning 'voice' or 'voices'
- haute
- Adjective meaning 'high' or 'loud' (feminine)
- généralement
- Adverb meaning 'generally' or 'usually'
- ouvrages
- Noun meaning 'works' or 'books'
- de
- Preposition meaning 'of,' 'from,' or 'about'
- caractère
- Noun meaning 'character,' 'nature,' or 'type'
- sérieux
- Adjective meaning 'serious' or 'grave'
- Bien
- Adverb meaning 'well'; in 'bien que' means 'although'
- que
- Conjunction meaning 'that,' 'which,' or 'than'
- toujours
- Adverb meaning 'always' or 'still'
- chétif
- Adjective meaning 'frail,' 'weak,' or 'sickly'
- fragile
- Adjective meaning 'fragile,' 'delicate,' or 'weak'
- se
- Reflexive pronoun meaning 'himself,' 'herself,' or 'itself'
- classa
- Past tense of 'classer,' meaning 'ranked' or 'placed'
- troisième
- Ordinal number meaning 'third'
- l'
- Contracted definite article 'le' or 'la' before vowel
- examen
- A test or examination to assess knowledge
- final
- Adjective meaning 'final' or 'last'
- école
- Noun meaning 'school'
- ingénieurs
- Plural noun meaning 'engineers'
- C'
- Contracted form of 'ce,' used in 'c'est' meaning 'it is'
- est
- Third-person singular of 'être,' meaning 'is'
- là
- Adverb meaning 'there' or 'then'
- il
- Third-person singular masculine pronoun meaning 'he' or 'it'
- avait
- Imperfect of 'avoir,' meaning 'had'
- déjà
- Adverb meaning 'already'
- commencé
- Past participle of 'commencer,' meaning 'begun' or 'started'
- sa
- Possessive adjective meaning 'his,' 'her,' or 'its' (feminine)
- première
- Feminine ordinal meaning 'first'
- Les
- Definite article meaning 'the' (plural)
- Pauvres
- Adjective/noun meaning 'poor' or 'the poor'
- Gens
- Noun meaning 'people' or 'folk'
- Cette
- Demonstrative adjective meaning 'this' (feminine)
- histoire
- Noun meaning 'story' or 'history'
- fut
- Simple past of 'être,' meaning 'was'
- publiée
- Past participle of 'publier,' meaning 'published'
- poète
- Noun meaning 'poet'
- revue
- A literary or scholarly journal or magazine
- accueillie
- Past participle of 'accueillir,' meaning 'welcomed' or 'received'
- acclamations
- Noun meaning 'acclaim,' 'cheers,' or 'applause'
- jeune
- Adjective meaning 'young'
- homme
- Noun meaning 'man'
- timide
- Adjective meaning 'shy' or 'timid'
- inconnu
- Adjective meaning 'unknown' or 'unfamiliar'
- retrouva
- Simple past of 'retrouver,' meaning 'found again' or 'discovered'
- instantanément
- Adverb meaning 'instantly' or 'immediately'
- une
- Indefinite article meaning 'a' or 'an' (feminine)
- sorte
- Noun meaning 'sort,' 'kind,' or 'type'
- célébrité
- Noun meaning 'fame,' 'celebrity,' or 'renown'
- Une
- Indefinite article meaning 'a' or 'an' (feminine)
- carrière
- Noun meaning 'career' or 'profession'
- brillante
- Adjective meaning 'brilliant' or 'outstanding' (feminine)
- prometteuse
- Adjective meaning 'promising' or 'full of promise' (feminine)
- semblait
- Imperfect of 'sembler,' meaning 'seemed' or 'appeared'
- s'
- Reflexive pronoun 'se' elided before a vowel
- ouvrir
- Verb meaning 'to open'
- devant
- Preposition meaning 'before' or 'in front of'
- ces
- Demonstrative adjective meaning 'these' or 'those'
- espoirs
- Noun meaning 'hopes'
- furent
- Simple past plural of 'être,' meaning 'were'
- bientôt
- Adverb meaning 'soon'
- anéantis
- Past participle meaning 'destroyed,' 'annihilated,' or 'shattered'
- En
- Preposition meaning 'in' or 'during'
- arrêté
- Past participle of 'arrêter,' meaning 'arrested' or 'stopped'
- Sans
- Preposition meaning 'without'
- être
- Verb meaning 'to be'
- révolutionnaire
- Adjective or noun meaning 'revolutionary'
- ni
- Conjunction meaning 'nor' or 'neither'
- tempérament
- Noun meaning 'temperament' or 'disposition'
- conviction
- Noun meaning 'conviction' or 'strong belief'
- faisait
- Imperfect of 'faire,' meaning 'was doing' or 'made'
- partie
- Noun meaning 'part,' 'portion,' or 'member'
- petit
- Adjective meaning 'small' or 'little'
- groupe
- Noun meaning 'group'
- jeunes
- Adjective/noun meaning 'young' or 'young people'
- qui
- Relative pronoun meaning 'who,' 'which,' or 'that'
- réunissaient
- Imperfect of 'réunir,' meaning 'gathered' or 'met together'
- pour
- Preposition meaning 'for' or 'in order to'
- lire
- Verb meaning 'to read'
- Il
- Third-person singular pronoun meaning 'he' or 'it'
- accusé
- Past participle of 'accuser,' meaning 'accused' or 'charged'
- avoir
- Verb meaning 'to have'
- pris
- Past participle of 'prendre,' meaning 'taken'
- part
- Noun meaning 'part,' 'share,' or 'role'
- conversations
- Plural noun meaning 'conversations' or 'discussions'
- contre
- Preposition meaning 'against'
- censure
- Noun meaning 'censorship' or 'censure'
- lu
- Past participle of 'lire,' meaning 'read'
- lettre
- Noun meaning 'letter' (written correspondence)
- eu
- Past participle of 'avoir,' meaning 'had'
- connaissance
- Noun meaning 'knowledge,' 'acquaintance,' or 'awareness'
- intention
- Noun meaning 'intention' or 'purpose'
- créer
- Verb meaning 'to create' or 'to establish'
- imprimerie
- Noun meaning 'printing press' or 'printing house'
- Sous
- Preposition meaning 'under' or 'during the reign of'
- ce
- Demonstrative pronoun meaning 'this,' 'that,' or 'it'
- sévère
- Adjective meaning 'severe,' 'strict,' or 'harsh'
- juste
- Adjective meaning 'just,' 'fair,' or 'right'
- comme
- Conjunction or adverb meaning 'as,' 'like,' or 'how'
- appelle
- Third-person singular of 'appeler,' meaning 'calls'
- cela
- Demonstrative pronoun meaning 'that' or 'this'
- suffisait
- Imperfect of 'suffire,' meaning 'was sufficient' or 'sufficed'
- condamné
- Past participle of 'condamner,' meaning 'condemned' or 'sentenced'
- mort
- Noun meaning 'death'
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