Gulliver's Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World — Page 3
I do, in the next place, complain of my own great want of judgment, in being prevailed upon by the entreaties and false reasoning of you and some others, very much against my own opinion, to suffer my travels to be published.
Je me plains ensuite, en second lieu, de mon propre grand manque de jugement, en m'étant laissé convaincre par les supplications et les faux raisonnements de vous-même et de quelques autres, très fortement contre mon propre avis, de permettre que mes voyages soient publiés.
Pray bring to your mind how often I desired you to consider, when you insisted on the motive of public good, that the _Yahoos_ were a species of animals utterly incapable of amendment by precept or example: and so it has proved;
Veuillez rappeler à votre mémoire combien de fois je vous ai demandé de considérer, lorsque vous insistiez sur le motif du bien public, que les _Yahoos_ étaient une espèce d'animaux totalement incapables d'amendement par le précepte ou l'exemple : et c'est bien ce qui s'est avéré ;
for, instead of seeing a full stop put to all abuses and corruptions, at least in this little island, as I had reason to expect; behold, after above six months warning, I cannot learn that my book has produced one single effect according to my intentions.
car, au lieu de voir un terme définitif mis à tous les abus et corruptions, du moins dans cette petite île, comme j'avais lieu de l'espérer ; voilà qu'après plus de six mois d'avertissement, je ne puis apprendre que mon livre ait produit un seul effet conforme à mes intentions.
I desired you would let me know, by a letter, when party and faction were extinguished; judges learned and upright; pleaders honest and modest, with some tincture of common sense, and Smithfield blazing with pyramids of law books;
Je vous avais demandé de me faire savoir, par une lettre, quand les partis et les factions seraient éteints ; les juges savants et intègres ; les plaideurs honnêtes et modestes, avec quelque teinte de bon sens, et Smithfield flamboyant de pyramides de livres de droit ;
the young nobility's education entirely changed; the physicians banished; the female _Yahoos_ abounding in virtue, honour, truth, and good sense; courts and levees of great ministers thoroughly weeded and swept; wit, merit, and learning rewarded;
l'éducation de la jeune noblesse entièrement transformée ; les médecins bannis ; les _Yahoos_ femelles regorgeant de vertu, d'honneur, de vérité et de bon sens ; les cours et les audiences des grands ministres soigneusement désherbées et balayées ; l'esprit, le mérite et le savoir récompensés ;
all disgracers of the press in prose and verse condemned to eat nothing but their own cotton, and quench their thirst with their own ink.
tous les déshonoreurs de la presse en prose et en vers condamnés à ne se nourrir que de leur propre coton, et à étancher leur soif avec leur propre encre.
Vocabulary
- Je
- zhuh — First person singular subject pronoun: I
- me
- muh — First person singular object pronoun: me, myself
- plains
- plaN — To complain (first person singular of plaindre)
- ensuite
- aN-sweet — Then, next, afterwards
- en
- aN — In, on, by; preposition with many uses
- second
- suh-goN — Second in order or rank
- lieu
- lyuh — Place; used in expressions like 'en second lieu'
- de
- duh — Of, from; very common French preposition
- mon
- moN — My; masculine singular possessive adjective
- propre
- propr — Own; also clean, proper
- grand
- graN — Great, large, big; important
- manque
- maNk — Lack, shortage, deficiency of something
- jugement
- zhüzh-maN — Judgment, discernment, legal verdict
- m'
- m — Elided form of 'me' before a vowel
- étant
- ay-taN — Being; present participle of être
- laissé
- leh-say — Left, allowed; past participle of laisser
- convaincre
- koN-vaNkr — To convince, to persuade someone of something
- par
- par — By, through, per; common French preposition
- les
- lay — The; plural definite article in French
- supplications
- sü-plee-ka-syoN — Earnest entreaties, pleadings, urgent requests
- et
- ay — And; basic coordinating conjunction
- faux
- foh — False, wrong, fake, incorrect
- raisonnements
- reh-zon-maN — Arguments, lines of reasoning, logical thinking
- vous-
- voo — You; second person plural or formal pronoun
- même
- mem — Same, even, itself; used for emphasis
- quelques
- kel-kuh — Some, a few; plural indefinite adjective
- autres
- ohtr — Others, other; plural of autre
- très
- treh — Very; adverb of degree
- fortement
- fort-maN — Strongly, firmly, forcefully, powerfully
- contre
- koNtr — Against, contrary to; preposition
- avis
- a-vee — Opinion, advice, notice, view
- permettre
- per-metr — To allow, to permit, to let someone do
- que
- kuh — That, which, who; conjunction or pronoun
- mes
- may — My; plural possessive adjective
- voyages
- vwa-yazh — Travels, journeys, trips
- soient
- swa — Be; third person plural present subjunctive of être
- publiés
- pü-blee-ay — Published; past participle of publier
- Veuillez
- vuh-yay — Please (formal); imperative of vouloir
- rappeler
- ra-play — To recall, to remind, to call back
- à
- a — To, at, in; very common French preposition
- votre
- votr — Your; singular possessive adjective (formal/plural)
- mémoire
- may-mwar — Memory, recollection; also written memoir
- combien
- koN-byaN — How many, how much; question word
- fois
- fwa — Time(s), occasion(s); used in counting
- je
- zhuh — I; first person singular subject pronoun
- vous
- voo — You; second person plural or formal pronoun
- ai
- ay — Have; first person singular of avoir
- demandé
- duh-maN-day — Asked, requested; past participle of demander
- considérer
- koN-see-day-ray — To consider, to think about, to reflect on
- lorsque
- lor-skuh — When, at the time that; subordinating conjunction
- insistiez
- aN-sees-tyay — You insisted; imperfect of insister
- sur
- sür — On, upon, about; common French preposition
- le
- luh — The; masculine singular definite article
- motif
- mo-teef — Motive, reason, ground, motif
- du
- dü — Of the; contracted form of de + le
- bien
- byaN — Good, well; also used as noun meaning good
- public
- pü-bleek — Public; relating to the people or community
- étaient
- ay-teh — Were; third person plural imperfect of être
- une
- ün — A, an; feminine singular indefinite article
- espèce
- es-pes — Species, kind, sort, type
- d'
- d — Of, from; elided form of de
- animaux
- a-nee-moh — Animals; plural of animal
- totalement
- to-tal-maN — Totally, entirely, completely, absolutely
- incapables
- aN-ka-pabl — Incapable, unable; lacking ability
- amendement
- a-maNd-maN — Amendment, improvement, correction of faults
- précepte
- pray-sept — Precept, rule, moral instruction, guiding principle
- ou
- oo — Or; coordinating disjunctive conjunction
- l'
- l — The; elided form of le or la
- exemple
- eg-zaNpl — Example, model, instance; par exemple = for example
- c'
- s — It, this; elided form of ce
- est
- eh — Is; third person singular present of être
- ce
- suh — This, that, it; demonstrative pronoun or adjective
- qui
- kee — Who, which, that; relative or interrogative pronoun
- s'
- s — Himself, herself, itself; elided reflexive pronoun
- avéré
- a-vay-ray — Proven, confirmed, established as true
- car
- kar — Because, for; causal coordinating conjunction
- au
- oh — To the, at the; contraction of à + le
- voir
- vwar — To see; basic and essential French verb
- un
- aN — A, an, one; masculine indefinite article
- terme
- term — Term, end, limit, deadline
- définitif
- day-fee-nee-teef — Definitive, final, conclusive, permanent
- mis
- mee — Put, placed; past participle of mettre
- tous
- too — All, every; masculine plural of tout
- abus
- a-bü — Abuse, misuse, excess, wrongful practice
- corruptions
- ko-rüp-syoN — Corruptions, moral decay, dishonest practices
- moins
- mwaN — Less, fewer; used in comparisons
- dans
- daN — In, inside, within; common preposition
- cette
- set — This, that; feminine singular demonstrative adjective
- petite
- puh-teet — Small, little, tiny; feminine of petit
- île
- eel — Island; piece of land surrounded by water
- comme
- kom — As, like, how; conjunction or preposition
- j'
- zh — I; elided form of je before a vowel
- avais
- a-veh — Had; first person singular imperfect of avoir
- espérer
- es-pay-ray — To hope, to hope for, to expect
- voilà
- vwa-la — There is, there are, here is; behold
- qu'
- k — That, which; elided form of que
- après
- a-preh — After, afterwards, following; preposition or adverb
- plus
- plü — More, most; used in comparisons
- six
- sees — Six; the number 6
- mois
- mwa — Month; unit of time
- avertissement
- a-ver-tees-maN — Warning, notice, forewarning, caution
- ne
- nuh — Not; first part of French negation
- puis
- pwee — Can; first person singular of pouvoir
- apprendre
- a-praNdr — To learn, to hear, to teach
- livre
- leevr — Book; written publication
- ait
- eh — Has; third person singular present subjunctive of avoir
- produit
- pro-dwee — Produced; past participle of produire
- seul
- suhl — Only, alone, single, sole
- effet
- eh-feh — Effect, result, impact, outcome
- conforme
- koN-form — Conforming to, consistent with, in accordance
- intentions
- aN-taN-syoN — Intentions, aims, purposes, goals
- faire
- fer — To do, to make; essential French verb
- savoir
- sa-vwar — To know (facts), to know how to
- lettre
- letr — Letter; written message or alphabetic character
- quand
- kaN — When; interrogative or subordinating conjunction
- partis
- par-tee — Political parties; also departed (past participle)
- factions
- fak-syoN — Factions, rival groups, warring political parties
- seraient
- suh-reh — Would be; third person plural conditional of être
- éteints
- ay-taN — Extinguished, extinct, died out; plural of éteint
- juges
- zhüzh — Judges; legal officials who rule in court
- savants
- sa-vaN — Scholars, learned men, scientists
- intègres
- aN-tegr — Upright, honest, having strong moral integrity
- plaideurs
- pleh-duhr — Litigants, those who plead cases in court
- honnêtes
- o-net — Honest, decent, upright, fair
- modestes
- mo-dest — Modest, humble, unassuming
- avec
- a-vek — With; very common French preposition
- quelque
- kel-kuh — Some, a little, a certain amount of
- teinte
- taNt — Tinge, shade, hint, slight trace of something
- bon
- boN — Good; masculine singular adjective
- sens
- saNs — Sense, meaning, direction; judgment or understanding
- flamboyant
- flaN-bwa-yaN — Flamboyant, blazing, ornate; also a tree name
- pyramides
- pee-ra-meed — Pyramids; large triangular monumental structures
- livres
- leevr — Books; plural of livre
- droit
- drwa — Law, right; also straight, upright
- éducation
- ay-dü-ka-syoN — Education, upbringing, schooling, training
- la
- la — The; feminine singular definite article
- jeune
- zhuhn — Young; adjective describing youth
- noblesse
- no-bles — Nobility; the noble class; nobleness of character
- entièrement
- aN-tyehr-maN — Entirely, completely, wholly, fully
- transformée
- traNs-for-may — Transformed, changed; feminine past participle
- médecins
- mayd-saN — Doctors, physicians; plural of médecin
- bannis
- ba-nee — Banished, exiled; plural past participle of bannir
- femelles
- fuh-mel — Females; female animals or persons
- regorgeant
- ruh-gor-zhaN — Overflowing with, brimming with, teeming with
- vertu
- ver-tü — Virtue, moral excellence, goodness
- honneur
- o-nuhr — Honor, dignity, integrity, reputation
- vérité
- vay-ree-tay — Truth, reality, accuracy, sincerity
- cours
- koor — Courts, courses, lessons; plural of cour or cours
- audiences
- oh-dyaNs — Audiences, hearings, court sessions
- des
- day — Some, of the; plural indefinite or partitive article
- grands
- graN — Great, powerful; plural of grand
- ministres
- mee-neestr — Ministers, government officials; plural of ministre
- soigneusement
- swa-nyuhz-maN — Carefully, meticulously, thoroughly, with care
- désherbées
- day-zehr-bay — Weeded; cleared of weeds; feminine plural participle
- balayées
- ba-leh-yay — Swept clean; feminine plural past participle of balayer
- esprit
- es-pree — Mind, spirit, wit, intelligence
- mérite
- may-reet — Merit, worth, deserving quality, virtue
- récompensés
- ray-koN-paN-say — Rewarded, compensated; plural past participle
- presse
- pres — Press, media, printing press, urgency
- prose
- prohz — Prose; written or spoken language without verse
- vers
- vehr — Verse, poetry; also toward (preposition)
- condamnés
- koN-da-nay — Condemned, sentenced; plural past participle
- se
- suh — Himself, herself, themselves; reflexive pronoun
- nourrir
- noo-reer — To feed, to nourish, to sustain oneself
- leur
- luhr — Their; possessive adjective or indirect object pronoun
- coton
- ko-toN — Cotton; soft fibrous material or fabric
- étancher
- ay-taN-shay — To quench, to stanch, to satisfy thirst
- soif
- swaf — Thirst; desire to drink
- encre
- aNkr — Ink; liquid used for writing or printing
Unlock audio playback, vocabulary games, and reading progress tracking.
Create free account →