Gulliver's Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World — Page 4
These, and a thousand other reformations, I firmly counted upon by your encouragement; as indeed they were plainly deducible from the precepts delivered in my book.
Celles-ci, et mille autres réformes, je les attendais fermement grâce à vos encouragements ; comme en effet elles découlaient clairement des préceptes exposés dans mon livre.
And it must be owned, that seven months were a sufficient time to correct every vice and folly to which _Yahoos_ are subject, if their natures had been capable of the least disposition to virtue or wisdom.
Et il faut reconnaître que sept mois auraient été un temps suffisant pour corriger tous les vices et toutes les folies auxquels les Yahoos sont sujets, si leur nature avait été capable de la moindre disposition à la vertu ou à la sagesse.
Yet, so far have you been from answering my expectation in any of your letters; that on the contrary you are loading our carrier every week with libels, and keys, and reflections, and memoirs, and second parts; wherein I see myself accused of reflecting upon great state folk; of degrading human nature (for so they have still the confidence to style it), and of abusing the female sex.
Pourtant, vous avez été loin de répondre à mes attentes dans chacune de vos lettres ; au contraire, vous chargez notre messager chaque semaine de libelles, de clefs, de réflexions, de mémoires et de secondes parties ; dans lesquels je me vois accusé de railler les grands personnages de l'État ; d'avilir la nature humaine (car ils ont encore l'audace de la nommer ainsi), et d'outrager le sexe féminin.
I find likewise that the writers of those bundles are not agreed among themselves; for some of them will not allow me to be the author of my own travels; and others make me author of books to which I am wholly a stranger.
Je constate également que les auteurs de ces paquets ne sont pas d'accord entre eux ; car certains d'entre eux refusent de me reconnaître comme l'auteur de mes propres voyages ; et d'autres me font auteur de livres qui me sont entièrement étrangers.
Vocabulary
- Celles-ci
- These ones (feminine plural demonstrative pronoun)
- et
- Conjunction meaning 'and'
- mille
- The number one thousand
- autres
- Other or additional things or people
- réformes
- Changes made to improve a system or institution
- je
- First person singular subject pronoun meaning 'I'
- les
- Definite article or pronoun for plural nouns
- attendais
- Was waiting for or expecting something
- fermement
- In a firm, resolute, or steadfast manner
- grâce
- Grace, elegance, or thanks; used in 'grâce à' meaning thanks to
- à
- Preposition meaning 'to,' 'at,' or 'in'
- vos
- Possessive adjective meaning 'your' (plural formal)
- encouragements
- Words or actions that inspire confidence or support
- comme
- Conjunction or adverb meaning 'as,' 'like,' or 'since'
- en
- Preposition or pronoun meaning 'in,' 'on,' or 'of it'
- effet
- Effect or result; 'en effet' means 'indeed' or 'in fact'
- elles
- Third person feminine plural pronoun meaning 'they'
- découlaient
- Flowed from or resulted naturally from something
- clairement
- In a clear, evident, or easily understood manner
- des
- Indefinite plural article or partitive meaning 'some'
- préceptes
- Rules or principles guiding moral or practical conduct
- exposés
- Presented, explained, or set forth in detail
- dans
- Preposition meaning 'in,' 'inside,' or 'within'
- mon
- First person singular masculine possessive adjective meaning 'my'
- livre
- A written work bound together; a book
- Et
- Conjunction meaning 'and,' used to connect clauses
- il
- Third person singular masculine pronoun meaning 'he' or 'it'
- faut
- Impersonal verb meaning 'it is necessary' or 'one must'
- reconnaître
- To acknowledge, admit, or recognize something as true
- que
- Conjunction or pronoun meaning 'that,' 'which,' or 'than'
- sept
- The number seven
- mois
- A calendar month; one of twelve divisions of the year
- auraient
- Conditional form of 'avoir' meaning 'would have'
- été
- Past participle of 'être' meaning 'been'
- un
- Indefinite article or numeral meaning 'a' or 'one'
- temps
- Time, weather, or duration of an event
- suffisant
- Enough or adequate for a particular purpose
- pour
- Preposition meaning 'for,' 'in order to,' or 'to'
- corriger
- To correct, fix, or remedy errors or faults
- tous
- All or every (masculine plural form of 'tout')
- vices
- Immoral or wicked behaviors; moral failings or faults
- toutes
- All or every (feminine plural form of 'tout')
- folies
- Acts of foolishness, madness, or extreme extravagance
- auxquels
- Relative pronoun meaning 'to which' or 'to whom' (masculine plural)
- sont
- Third person plural present of 'être' meaning 'are'
- sujets
- Subjects or persons liable or prone to something
- si
- Conjunction meaning 'if' or adverb meaning 'so' or 'yes'
- leur
- Possessive adjective or pronoun meaning 'their' or 'to them'
- nature
- The inherent character or essential qualities of something
- avait
- Third person singular imperfect of 'avoir' meaning 'had'
- capable
- Having the ability or qualities necessary for something
- de
- Preposition meaning 'of,' 'from,' or 'about'
- la
- Feminine singular definite article meaning 'the'
- moindre
- The least, slightest, or smallest degree of something
- disposition
- A tendency, inclination, or arrangement toward something
- vertu
- Moral excellence, goodness, or righteous behavior
- ou
- Conjunction meaning 'or' offering an alternative choice
- sagesse
- Wisdom, good judgment, or sound understanding
- Pourtant
- Conjunction meaning 'yet,' 'however,' or 'nevertheless'
- vous
- Second person plural or formal singular pronoun meaning 'you'
- avez
- Second person plural present of 'avoir' meaning 'have'
- loin
- Far away in distance or figuratively; not close
- répondre
- To reply, answer, or respond to someone or something
- mes
- First person plural possessive adjective meaning 'my'
- attentes
- Expectations or things anticipated or hoped for
- chacune
- Each one (feminine form) individually considered
- lettres
- Written communications sent from one person to another
- au
- Contraction of 'à le' meaning 'to the' or 'at the'
- contraire
- The opposite; 'au contraire' means 'on the contrary'
- chargez
- To load, burden, or fill with something (second person plural)
- notre
- First person plural possessive adjective meaning 'our'
- messager
- A person who carries or delivers messages
- chaque
- Each or every individual item in a group
- semaine
- A period of seven consecutive days; a week
- libelles
- Defamatory written publications or pamphlets attacking someone
- clefs
- Keys; also refers to explanatory notes for coded texts
- réflexions
- Thoughts, musings, or careful considerations about a subject
- mémoires
- Written accounts of personal experiences or historical events
- secondes
- Second parts or sequels; also units of time
- parties
- Parts, sections, or portions of a whole work
- lesquels
- Relative pronoun meaning 'which' or 'whom' (masculine plural)
- me
- First person singular object pronoun meaning 'me' or 'myself'
- vois
- First person singular present of 'voir' meaning 'see'
- accusé
- Charged or blamed formally for doing something wrong
- railler
- To mock, ridicule, or make fun of someone
- grands
- Great, important, or prominent (masculine plural adjective)
- personnages
- Important figures, characters, or prominent individuals
- l'État
- The State; the government or political authority of a country
- d'avilir
- To degrade, demean, or lower the dignity of someone
- humaine
- Human or relating to humankind (feminine adjective)
- car
- Conjunction meaning 'because' or 'for' explaining a reason
- ils
- Third person masculine plural pronoun meaning 'they'
- ont
- Third person plural present of 'avoir' meaning 'have'
- encore
- Still, yet, again, or even (adverb of continuation)
- l'audace
- The boldness, audacity, or daring to do something
- nommer
- To name, call, or designate someone or something
- ainsi
- Thus, so, or in this way (adverb of manner)
- d'outrager
- To outrage, deeply offend, or insult someone gravely
- le
- Masculine singular definite article or pronoun meaning 'the' or 'him'
- sexe
- Sex or gender; biological or social category of beings
- féminin
- Feminine; relating to women or female characteristics
- Je
- First person singular subject pronoun meaning 'I'
- constate
- To observe, notice, or state a fact objectively
- également
- Also, equally, or likewise (adverb of addition)
- auteurs
- Authors or creators of written or artistic works
- ces
- Demonstrative adjective meaning 'these' or 'those'
- paquets
- Packages, bundles, or parcels of items sent together
- ne
- Negation particle used with 'pas' to mean 'not'
- pas
- Negation word used with 'ne' to mean 'not'
- d'accord
- In agreement; 'être d'accord' means to agree with
- entre
- Preposition meaning 'between' or 'among' multiple things
- eux
- Third person masculine plural disjunctive pronoun meaning 'them'
- certains
- Some or certain (masculine plural); particular unspecified ones
- d'entre
- Of or among; used in partitive expressions like 'd'entre eux'
- refusent
- They refuse or decline to accept or do something
- l'auteur
- The author; the writer or creator of a text
- propres
- Own (before noun) or clean, proper (after noun)
- voyages
- Journeys or trips taken to distant or foreign places
- d'autres
- Others; other people or other things
- font
- Third person plural present of 'faire' meaning 'make' or 'do'
- auteur
- Author or creator of a literary or artistic work
- livres
- Books; written works bound together for reading
- qui
- Relative or interrogative pronoun meaning 'who' or 'which'
- entièrement
- Entirely, completely, or wholly without exception
- étrangers
- Foreign, alien, or unrelated; persons from another country
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