Gulliver's Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World — Page 1
[_As given in the original edition_.]
[_Tel que donné dans l'édition originale_.]
The author of these Travels, Mr. Lemuel Gulliver, is my ancient and intimate friend; there is likewise some relation between us on the mother's side.
L'auteur de ces Voyages, M. Lemuel Gulliver, est mon ancien et intime ami ; il existe également entre nous quelque parenté du côté maternel.
About three years ago, Mr. Gulliver growing weary of the concourse of curious people coming to him at his house in Redriff, made a small purchase of land, with a convenient house, near Newark, in Nottinghamshire, his native country; where he now lives retired, yet in good esteem among his neighbours.
Il y a environ trois ans, M. Gulliver, las de l'afflux de curieux qui venaient le voir à sa maison de Redriff, fit l'acquisition d'un petit terrain avec une maison commode, près de Newark, dans le Nottinghamshire, son pays natal ; où il vit maintenant retiré, mais en bonne estime parmi ses voisins.
Although Mr. Gulliver was born in Nottinghamshire, where his father dwelt, yet I have heard him say his family came from Oxfordshire; to confirm which, I have observed in the churchyard at Banbury in that county, several tombs and monuments of the Gullivers.
Bien que M. Gulliver soit né dans le Nottinghamshire, où son père résidait, je l'ai cependant entendu dire que sa famille venait de l'Oxfordshire ; ce que confirme le fait que j'ai observé dans le cimetière de Banbury, dans ce comté, plusieurs tombes et monuments des Gulliver.
Before he quitted Redriff, he left the custody of the following papers in my hands, with the liberty to dispose of them as I should think fit.
Avant de quitter Redriff, il me confia la garde des papiers suivants, avec la liberté d'en disposer comme je le jugerais bon.
I have carefully perused them three times.
Je les ai soigneusement parcourus trois fois.
The style is very plain and simple; and the only fault I find is, that the author, after the manner of travellers, is a little too circumstantial.
Le style en est très clair et simple ; et le seul défaut que j'y trouve est que l'auteur, à la manière des voyageurs, est un peu trop circonstancié.
There is an air of truth apparent through the whole; and indeed the author was so distinguished for his veracity, that it became a sort of proverb among his neighbours at Redriff, when any one affirmed a thing, to say, it was as true as if Mr. Gulliver had spoken it.
Il se dégage de l'ensemble un air de vérité manifeste ; et de fait, l'auteur était si réputé pour sa véracité, que c'était devenu une sorte de proverbe parmi ses voisins de Redriff, lorsque quelqu'un affirmait quelque chose, de dire que c'était aussi vrai que si M. Gulliver l'avait dit.
Vocabulary
- Tel
- Such, as, like; used for comparison.
- que
- That, which, as; common conjunction or pronoun.
- donné
- Given, provided; past participle of donner.
- dans
- In, inside, within; common preposition of location.
- l'
- The; definite article before vowel sound.
- édition
- Edition, publication; a printed version of a work.
- originale
- Original, first; not copied or translated.
- L'
- The; definite article elided before vowel.
- auteur
- Author, writer; person who wrote a work.
- de
- Of, from; very common French preposition.
- ces
- These, those; demonstrative adjective plural form.
- Voyages
- Travels, journeys; trips made to distant places.
- M.
- Abbreviation for Monsieur; Mister in French.
- est
- Is; third-person singular of être, to be.
- mon
- My; first-person singular masculine possessive adjective.
- ancien
- Old, former, long-standing; describes past or senior status.
- et
- And; basic coordinating conjunction linking words.
- intime
- Intimate, close, dear; describing a very close friend.
- ami
- Friend; a person one knows and likes well.
- il
- He, it; third-person singular masculine pronoun.
- existe
- Exists, there is; third-person singular of exister.
- également
- Also, equally, likewise; adverb meaning in addition.
- entre
- Between, among; preposition indicating position or relation.
- nous
- We, us; first-person plural personal pronoun.
- quelque
- Some, a certain; indefinite adjective indicating vagueness.
- parenté
- Kinship, family relationship; bond of common ancestry.
- du
- Of the, from the; contracted masculine definite article.
- côté
- Side; direction or part, as in family side.
- maternel
- Maternal; relating to the mother's side of family.
- Il
- He, it; third-person singular masculine subject pronoun.
- y
- There, it; pronoun replacing a location or idea.
- a
- Has; third-person singular of avoir, to have.
- environ
- About, approximately; indicates an approximate quantity.
- trois
- Three; the cardinal number between two and four.
- ans
- Years; unit of time, plural of an.
- las
- Weary, tired, fed up; adjective expressing fatigue.
- afflux
- Influx, flood; large number of people arriving.
- curieux
- Curious people; those who come out of curiosity.
- qui
- Who, which; relative or interrogative pronoun.
- venaient
- Were coming, used to come; imperfect of venir.
- le
- The, him; masculine definite article or direct object.
- voir
- To see, to visit; basic verb of perception.
- à
- At, to, in; very common French preposition.
- sa
- His, her, its; third-person singular possessive adjective.
- maison
- House, home; a building where someone lives.
- fit
- Made, did; third-person singular past simple of faire.
- acquisition
- Acquisition; act of obtaining or purchasing something.
- d'
- Of, from; elided preposition de before a vowel.
- un
- A, an, one; indefinite article or numeral.
- petit
- Small, little; adjective describing small size.
- terrain
- Land, plot, ground; piece of land or property.
- avec
- With; preposition indicating accompaniment or association.
- une
- A, an; feminine indefinite article.
- commode
- Comfortable, convenient; also a chest of drawers.
- près
- Near, close to; preposition indicating proximity.
- son
- His, her, its; third-person singular possessive adjective.
- pays
- Country, homeland, region; place of birth or origin.
- natal
- Native, birth; relating to the place of birth.
- où
- Where; relative or interrogative adverb of place.
- vit
- Lives; third-person singular present of vivre.
- maintenant
- Now, currently; adverb referring to the present moment.
- retiré
- Retired, withdrawn; living away from society or work.
- mais
- But; coordinating conjunction expressing contrast or opposition.
- en
- In, on, as; versatile preposition or pronoun.
- bonne
- Good; feminine form of bon, positive quality.
- estime
- Esteem, regard; high respect held by others.
- parmi
- Among, amongst; preposition indicating membership in a group.
- ses
- His, her, its; plural possessive adjective, third person.
- voisins
- Neighbors; people who live nearby.
- Bien
- Well, good; adverb or adjective of positive quality.
- soit
- Be, let it be; subjunctive of être.
- né
- Born; past participle of naître, to be born.
- père
- Father; male parent.
- résidait
- Resided, lived; imperfect tense of résider.
- je
- I; first-person singular subject pronoun.
- ai
- Have; first-person singular of avoir, to have.
- cependant
- However, nevertheless; adverb expressing contrast.
- entendu
- Heard, understood; past participle of entendre.
- dire
- To say, to tell; basic verb of speech.
- famille
- Family; group of people related by blood or marriage.
- venait
- Was coming, came from; imperfect of venir.
- ce
- This, that, it; demonstrative pronoun or adjective.
- confirme
- Confirms; third-person singular present of confirmer.
- fait
- Fact, deed; something established as true or done.
- j'
- I; elided first-person singular subject pronoun.
- observé
- Observed, noticed; past participle of observer.
- cimetière
- Cemetery, graveyard; place where the dead are buried.
- comté
- County; an administrative territorial division.
- plusieurs
- Several, many; indefinite adjective meaning more than two.
- tombes
- Graves, tombs; structures marking burial places.
- monuments
- Monuments, memorials; structures built to honor the dead.
- des
- Some, of the; plural indefinite or partitive article.
- Avant
- Before; preposition or adverb indicating prior time.
- quitter
- To leave, to quit; to depart from a place.
- me
- Me, myself; first-person singular direct or indirect object.
- confia
- Entrusted, confided; past simple of confier.
- la
- The, her; feminine definite article or direct object.
- garde
- Care, custody, keeping; responsibility to watch over something.
- papiers
- Papers, documents; written sheets or official documents.
- suivants
- Following, next; adjective meaning the ones that follow.
- liberté
- Freedom, liberty; state of being free to act.
- disposer
- To dispose of, to use; to arrange or make use.
- comme
- As, like, how; conjunction or adverb of comparison.
- jugerais
- Would judge, would see fit; conditional of juger.
- bon
- Good, right; adjective indicating positive quality or fitness.
- Je
- I; first-person singular subject pronoun.
- les
- The, them; plural definite article or direct object.
- soigneusement
- Carefully, thoroughly; adverb expressing great care.
- parcourus
- Went through, read through; past participle of parcourir.
- fois
- Time, times; occurrence or instance of an action.
- Le
- The; masculine singular definite article.
- style
- Style; manner of writing or expressing oneself.
- très
- Very; adverb intensifying an adjective or adverb.
- clair
- Clear, plain; easy to understand or transparent.
- simple
- Simple, plain; not complicated or ornate.
- seul
- Only, sole, alone; single or the only one.
- défaut
- Fault, flaw, defect; a shortcoming or imperfection.
- trouve
- Finds, thinks; third-person singular present of trouver.
- manière
- Manner, way, style; how something is done.
- voyageurs
- Travelers; people who journey to different places.
- peu
- Little, few, a bit; adverb of small degree.
- trop
- Too, too much; adverb indicating excess.
- circonstancié
- Detailed, circumstantial; giving excessive minute details.
- se
- Himself, herself, itself; reflexive pronoun third person.
- dégage
- Emanates, comes through; emerges or is given off.
- ensemble
- Whole, together, overall; the work considered as a unit.
- air
- Air, appearance, look; an overall impression or feel.
- vérité
- Truth; conformity of a statement to facts.
- manifeste
- Manifest, evident, obvious; clearly apparent to all.
- était
- Was; third-person singular imperfect of être.
- si
- So, such, if; adverb of degree or conjunction.
- réputé
- Reputed, renowned; known and respected for a quality.
- pour
- For, in order to; preposition of purpose or cause.
- véracité
- Veracity, truthfulness; habitual observance of the truth.
- c'
- It, this; elided demonstrative pronoun ce.
- devenu
- Become; past participle of devenir, to become.
- sorte
- Sort, kind, type; a category or manner of something.
- proverbe
- Proverb; a short well-known saying expressing common wisdom.
- lorsque
- When; conjunction indicating a specific moment in time.
- quelqu'
- Someone, somebody; indefinite pronoun before vowel.
- affirmait
- Was affirming, asserted; imperfect of affirmer.
- chose
- Thing; an object, matter, or subject in general.
- aussi
- Also, too, as; adverb of addition or comparison.
- vrai
- True, real; adjective meaning truthful or authentic.
- avait
- Had; third-person singular imperfect of avoir.
- dit
- Said, told; past participle or past tense of dire.
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