Gulliver's Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World — Page 6
If the censure of the _Yahoos_ could any way affect me, I should have great reason to complain, that some of them are so bold as to think my book of travels a mere fiction out of mine own brain, and have gone so far as to drop hints, that the _Houyhnhnms_ and _Yahoos_ have no more existence than the inhabitants of Utopia.
Si la censure des _Yahoos_ pouvait en quelque façon m'affecter, j'aurais grand sujet de me plaindre que certains d'entre eux sont assez audacieux pour considérer mon livre de voyages comme une pure fiction issue de mon propre cerveau, et sont allés jusqu'à laisser entendre que les _Houyhnhnms_ et les _Yahoos_ n'ont pas plus d'existence que les habitants de l'Utopie.
Indeed I must confess, that as to the people of _Lilliput_, _Brobdingrag_ (for so the word should have been spelt, and not erroneously _Brobdingnag_), and _Laputa_, I have never yet heard of any _Yahoo_ so presumptuous as to dispute their being, or the facts I have related concerning them; because the truth immediately strikes every reader with conviction.
En vérité, je dois avouer que, pour ce qui est des habitants de _Lilliput_, de _Brobdingrag_ (car c'est ainsi que le mot aurait dû être orthographié, et non _Brobdingnag_ par erreur), et de _Laputa_, je n'ai encore jamais entendu parler d'un _Yahoo_ assez présomptueux pour contester leur existence, ou les faits que j'ai rapportés à leur sujet ; car la vérité frappe aussitôt tout lecteur avec conviction.
And is there less probability in my account of the _Houyhnhnms_ or _Yahoos_, when it is manifest as to the latter, there are so many thousands even in this country, who only differ from their brother brutes in _Houyhnhnmland_, because they use a sort of jabber, and do not go naked?
Et y a-t-il moins de vraisemblance dans mon récit des _Houyhnhnms_ ou des _Yahoos_, quand il est manifeste, pour ce qui est de ces derniers, qu'il en existe des milliers jusque dans ce pays, qui ne diffèrent de leurs frères brutes du _Houyhnhnmland_ que parce qu'ils usent d'une sorte de baragouin et ne vont pas nus ?
I wrote for their amendment, and not their approbation.
J'ai écrit pour leur amendement, et non pour leur approbation.
The united praise of the whole race would be of less consequence to me, than the neighing of those two degenerate _Houyhnhnms_ I keep in my stable; because from these, degenerate as they are, I still improve in some virtues without any mixture of vice.
Les louanges unies de toute la race me seraient de moindre conséquence que le hennissement de ces deux _Houyhnhnms_ dégénérés que je garde dans mon écurie ; car auprès de ceux-ci, dégénérés qu'ils sont, je progresse encore en quelques vertus sans aucun mélange de vice.
Do these miserable animals presume to think, that I am so degenerated as to defend my veracity?
Ces misérables animaux ont-ils la présomption de croire que je suis à ce point dégénéré que de devoir défendre ma véracité ?
Vocabulary
- Si
- If; conditional conjunction introducing a hypothesis.
- la
- The; feminine singular definite article.
- censure
- Censorship; suppression or criticism of expression.
- des
- Of the; plural indefinite or partitive article.
- pouvait
- Could; past imperfect of pouvoir.
- en
- In; pronoun indicating location or quantity.
- quelque
- Some; any; a certain or unspecified.
- façon
- Way; manner; method of doing something.
- affecter
- Affect; to influence or move emotionally.
- aurais
- Would have; conditional past of avoir.
- grand
- Great; large; of significant size or importance.
- sujet
- Subject; topic or person under discussion.
- de
- Of; from; preposition indicating possession or origin.
- me
- Me; myself; object pronoun first person.
- plaindre
- Complain; to express dissatisfaction or suffering.
- que
- That; which; relative or subordinating conjunction.
- certains
- Certain; some; particular or specific ones.
- entre
- Between; among; preposition indicating position.
- eux
- Them; they; stressed pronoun third person.
- sont
- Are; present tense third person plural être.
- assez
- Enough; rather; sufficiently or quite.
- audacieux
- Audacious; bold; daring in a confident manner.
- pour
- For; in order to; preposition indicating purpose.
- considérer
- Consider; to regard or view thoughtfully.
- mon
- My; possessive adjective masculine singular.
- livre
- Book; written work or literary composition.
- voyages
- Journeys; travels or trips to distant places.
- comme
- As; like; in the capacity of.
- une
- A; an; feminine singular indefinite article.
- pure
- Pure; unmixed; free from admixture.
- fiction
- Fiction; invented narrative or fabricated story.
- issue
- Outcome; result; issued or proceeded from.
- propre
- Own; proper; peculiar or characteristic.
- cerveau
- Brain; intelligence; center of mental activity.
- et
- And; conjunction connecting words or clauses.
- allés
- Gone; past participle of aller.
- jusqu
- Until; up to; before à forming jusquà.
- laisser
- Let; allow; to permit or leave.
- entendre
- Hear; understand; to perceive by ear.
- les
- The; plural definite article for all genders.
- ont
- Have; present tense third person plural avoir.
- pas
- Not; no; negation particle.
- plus
- More; no longer; additional amount.
- existence
- Existence; fact of being or living.
- habitants
- Inhabitants; residents; people living in place.
- Utopie
- Utopia; ideal place that does not exist.
- En
- In; truly; preposition or adverb.
- vérité
- Truth; fact; reality or actual state.
- je
- I; first person singular pronoun.
- dois
- Must; ought; present tense devoir.
- avouer
- Admit; confess; to acknowledge truth.
- ce
- This; that; demonstrative pronoun.
- qui
- Who; which; relative pronoun.
- est
- Is; present tense third person singular être.
- car
- For; because; conjunction of cause.
- ainsi
- Thus; so; in this manner.
- le
- The; masculine singular definite article.
- mot
- Word; unit of language.
- aurait
- Would have; conditional past avoir.
- dû
- Due; owed; past participle devoir.
- être
- Be; to exist or have quality.
- orthographié
- Spelled; past participle of orthographier.
- non
- No; not; negation or refusal.
- par
- By; through; preposition indicating agency.
- erreur
- Error; mistake; inaccuracy in something.
- ai
- Have; first person singular present avoir.
- encore
- Still; yet; even or again.
- jamais
- Never; not ever; at no time.
- entendu
- Heard; understood; past participle entendre.
- parler
- Speak; talk; to communicate verbally.
- un
- A; an; masculine singular indefinite article.
- présomptueux
- Presumptuous; arrogant; showing unwarranted confidence.
- contester
- Contest; challenge; to dispute or deny.
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