History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire — Volume 1 — Page 8
Every national history, to be complete, must, in a certain sense, be the history of Europe; there is no knowing to how remote a quarter it may be necessary to trace our most domestic events; from a country, how apparently disconnected, may originate the impulse which gives its direction to the whole course of affairs.
Toute histoire nationale, pour être complète, doit, dans un certain sens, être l'histoire de l'Europe ; on ne saurait dire jusqu'en quelle contrée lointaine il peut être nécessaire de remonter pour trouver l'origine de nos événements les plus intérieurs ; c'est d'un pays apparemment sans lien avec nous que peut naître l'impulsion qui donne sa direction à toute la marche des affaires.
In imitation of his classical models, Gibbon places _Rome_ as the cardinal point from which his inquiries diverge, and to which they bear constant reference; yet how immeasurable the space over which those inquiries range!
À l'imitation de ses modèles classiques, Gibbon place _Rome_ comme le point cardinal d'où ses recherches divergent et auquel elles se rapportent constamment ; et pourtant, que l'espace sur lequel s'étendent ces recherches est immense !
how complicated, how confused, how apparently inextricable the causes which tend to the decline of the Roman empire!
Que les causes qui tendent au déclin de l'Empire romain sont compliquées, confuses, apparemment inextricables !
how countless the nations which swarm forth, in mingling and indistinct hordes, constantly changing the geographical limits—incessantly confounding the natural boundaries!
Que les nations qui surgissent en essaims, en hordes mêlées et indistinctes, modifiant sans cesse les limites géographiques et brouillant inlassablement les frontières naturelles, sont innombrables !
At first sight, the whole period, the whole state of the world, seems to offer no more secure footing to an historical adventurer than the chaos of Milton—to be in a state of irreclaimable disorder, best described in the language of the poet:—
À première vue, toute cette période, tout l'état du monde, semble n'offrir à l'aventurier historien pas de terrain plus solide que le chaos de Milton — se trouver dans un état de désordre irrémédiable, que la langue du poète décrit le mieux :
—"A dark Illimitable ocean, without bound, Without dimension, where length, breadth, and height, And time, and place, are lost: where eldest Night And Chaos, ancestors of Nature, hold Eternal anarchy, amidst the noise Of endless wars, and by confusion stand."
— « Un sombre océan illimitable, sans borne, sans dimension, où la longueur, la largeur et la hauteur, et le temps et le lieu sont perdus : là où la Nuit aînée et le Chaos, ancêtres de la Nature, maintiennent une éternelle anarchie, au milieu du fracas de guerres sans fin, et se dressent dans la confusion. »
We feel that the unity and harmony of narrative, which shall comprehend this period of social disorganization, must be ascribed entirely to the skill and luminous disposition of the historian.
Nous sentons que l'unité et l'harmonie du récit qui embrassera cette période de désorganisation sociale doivent être attribuées entièrement au talent et à la disposition lumineuse de l'historien.
Vocabulary
- Toute
- Every, all; used before feminine singular nouns
- histoire
- History or story; narrative of past events
- nationale
- National; relating to a nation or country
- pour
- For, in order to; indicates purpose or intention
- être
- To be; fundamental linking verb in French
- complète
- Complete, whole; lacking nothing, fully finished
- doit
- Must, has to; third person singular of devoir
- dans
- In, inside; indicates location or time frame
- un
- A, an; indefinite article for masculine nouns
- certain
- Certain, particular; referring to an unspecified degree
- sens
- Sense, meaning; direction or significance of something
- l'
- The; definite article elided before vowel sounds
- de
- Of, from; very common French preposition
- Europe
- Europe; the continent west of Asia
- on
- One, we, they; impersonal subject pronoun
- ne
- Not; negation particle used with pas or saurait
- saurait
- Could, would know how; conditional of savoir
- dire
- To say, to tell; express something in words
- jusqu'
- Until, up to; indicates limit of time or place
- en
- In, to; preposition indicating place or manner
- quelle
- Which, what; interrogative adjective for feminine nouns
- contrée
- Region, land; a distant or foreign territory
- lointaine
- Distant, far-off; geographically or temporally remote
- il
- He, it; third person masculine singular pronoun
- peut
- Can, may; third person singular of pouvoir
- nécessaire
- Necessary, essential; required for a purpose
- remonter
- To go back up, trace back; return to origin
- trouver
- To find, discover; locate something or someone
- origine
- Origin, source; the starting point of something
- nos
- Our; first person plural possessive adjective
- événements
- Events, occurrences; notable happenings in history
- les
- The; definite article for plural nouns
- plus
- Most, more; used for comparatives and superlatives
- intérieurs
- Interior, inner; relating to domestic internal affairs
- c'
- It; elided demonstrative pronoun before est
- est
- Is; third person singular present of être
- d'
- Of, from; elided preposition before vowel sounds
- pays
- Country, land; a nation or region
- apparemment
- Apparently, seemingly; as things appear on the surface
- sans
- Without; indicates absence or lack of something
- lien
- Link, tie, bond; connection between things or people
- avec
- With; indicates accompaniment or association
- nous
- We, us; first person plural pronoun
- que
- That, which, what; conjunction or relative pronoun
- naître
- To be born, arise; come into existence
- impulsion
- Impulse, impetus; a driving force or motivation
- qui
- Who, which; relative or interrogative pronoun
- donne
- Gives; third person singular present of donner
- sa
- His, her, its; third person singular possessive adjective
- direction
- Direction, course; the path or leadership of affairs
- à
- To, at; fundamental French preposition of location
- toute
- All, every; feminine singular form of tout
- la
- The; definite article for feminine singular nouns
- marche
- Progress, march; course or advancement of affairs
- des
- Of the, some; partitive or plural definite article
- affaires
- Affairs, matters; business or public concerns
- À
- To, at; preposition, here signaling imitation
- imitation
- Imitation, following; copying a model or example
- ses
- His, her, its; plural possessive adjective
- modèles
- Models, examples; templates or exemplary works
- classiques
- Classic, classical; of established literary or historical value
- place
- Places, positions; third person singular of placer
- comme
- As, like; used for comparison or equivalence
- le
- The; definite article for masculine singular nouns
- point
- Point, spot; central reference or focal location
- cardinal
- Cardinal, pivotal; most important or fundamental
- où
- Where, in which; relative or interrogative adverb
- recherches
- Research, investigations; scholarly inquiries or studies
- divergent
- Diverge, branch out; spread in different directions
- et
- And; basic coordinating conjunction
- auquel
- To which; contraction of à and lequel
- elles
- They; third person feminine plural pronoun
- se
- Themselves, itself; reflexive pronoun
- rapportent
- Relate, refer back; connect to a central point
- constamment
- Constantly, continually; without ceasing or interruption
- pourtant
- Yet, however; expresses contrast or concession
- espace
- Space, area; extent of territory or room
- sur
- On, upon; preposition indicating position or topic
- lequel
- Which; relative pronoun referring to a masculine noun
- s'
- Themselves; elided reflexive pronoun before vowel
- étendent
- Extend, spread; stretch over a wide area
- ces
- These, those; demonstrative adjective for plural nouns
- immense
- Immense, vast; of very great size or extent
- Que
- How, that; here used as an exclamative
- causes
- Causes, reasons; factors producing a result
- tendent
- Tend, lead toward; move in a direction
- au
- To the, at the; contraction of à and le
- déclin
- Decline, fall; gradual weakening or deterioration
- Empire
- Empire; vast political domain ruled by an emperor
- romain
- Roman; relating to ancient Rome or its civilization
- sont
- Are; third person plural present of être
- compliquées
- Complicated, complex; difficult to understand or unravel
- confuses
- Confused, muddled; lacking clarity or order
- inextricables
- Inextricable; impossible to separate or disentangle
- nations
- Nations, peoples; groups sharing culture and territory
- surgissent
- Spring up, emerge suddenly; appear unexpectedly
- essaims
- Swarms; dense groups moving together like bees
- hordes
- Hordes, bands; large disorganized groups of people
- mêlées
- Mixed, intermingled; tangled together in confusion
- indistinctes
- Indistinct, unclear; not clearly defined or separated
- modifiant
- Modifying, altering; changing the form or character
- cesse
- Ceasing, stop; used in sans cesse meaning constantly
- limites
- Limits, boundaries; borders or extents of a territory
- géographiques
- Geographical; relating to geography and physical space
- brouillant
- Blurring, confusing; making unclear or indistinct
- inlassablement
- Tirelessly, unceasingly; without rest or fatigue
- frontières
- Borders, frontiers; boundaries between nations or regions
- naturelles
- Natural; occurring in or formed by nature
- innombrables
- Innumerable, countless; too many to count
- première
- First; ordinal adjective, feminine form of premier
- vue
- View, sight; act of seeing or a perspective
- cette
- This, that; feminine singular demonstrative adjective
- période
- Period, era; a defined span of historical time
- tout
- All, every, entire; masculine singular form of tout
- état
- State, condition; also a political state or country
- du
- Of the; contraction of de and le
- monde
- World, people; the earth or society in general
- semble
- Seems, appears; third person singular of sembler
- n'
- Not; elided negation particle before vowel sounds
- offrir
- To offer, provide; present something for acceptance
- aventurier
- Adventurous, daring; bold or reckless in undertaking
- historien
- Historian; scholar who studies and writes history
- pas
- Not; negation particle used with ne
- terrain
- Ground, terrain; solid footing or field of inquiry
- solide
- Solid, firm; stable and reliable foundation
- chaos
- Chaos; complete disorder and confusion
- désordre
- Disorder, chaos; lack of order or organization
- irrémédiable
- Irremediable, irreparable; impossible to fix or remedy
- langue
- Language, tongue; a system of communication
- poète
- Poet; person who writes poetry
- décrit
- Describes; third person singular of décrire
- mieux
- Better, best; comparative or superlative of bien
- Un
- A, an; indefinite article for masculine nouns
- sombre
- Dark, gloomy, somber; lacking light or cheerfulness
- océan
- Ocean; vast body of saltwater covering the earth
- illimitable
- Boundless, limitless; without borders or end
- borne
- Bounded, limited; here may mean without boundary
- dimension
- Dimension; measurable extent such as length or width
- longueur
- Length; measurement of something from end to end
- largeur
- Width, breadth; horizontal measurement of an object
- hauteur
- Height; vertical measurement from base to top
- temps
- Time, weather; duration or meteorological conditions
- lieu
- Place, location; a specific spot or setting
- perdus
- Lost; past participle of perdre, unable to find
- là
- There; adverb indicating a place at a distance
- Nuit
- Night; the period of darkness between sunset and sunrise
- aînée
- Eldest; the oldest among siblings, feminine form
- Chaos
- Chaos; primordial disorder personified as an ancestor
- ancêtres
- Ancestors, forebears; those from whom one descends
- Nature
- Nature; the natural world or its personification
- maintiennent
- Maintain, uphold; keep something in a state
- une
- A, an; indefinite article for feminine nouns
- éternelle
- Eternal, everlasting; without beginning or end
- anarchie
- Anarchy; absence of government or order
- milieu
- Middle, midst; the center or environment of something
- fracas
- Uproar, crash; loud noise or violent disturbance
- guerres
- Wars; armed conflicts between nations or groups
- fin
- End, finish; the conclusion or termination of something
- dressent
- Rise up, erect; raise or stand up against
- confusion
- Confusion; state of disorder or mental uncertainty
- Nous
- We, us; first person plural subject pronoun
- sentons
- Feel, sense; first person plural present of sentir
- unité
- Unity; the state of being one or undivided
- harmonie
- Harmony; pleasing agreement or combination of elements
- récit
- Account, narrative; a spoken or written story
- embrassera
- Will encompass, embrace; future tense of embrasser
- désorganisation
- Disorganization; breakdown of order or structure
- sociale
- Social; relating to society and its organization
- doivent
- Must, have to; third person plural of devoir
- attribuées
- Attributed, credited; assigned to a cause or person
- entièrement
- Entirely, wholly; completely and without exception
- talent
- Talent, skill; natural ability or aptitude
- disposition
- Disposition, arrangement; tendency or ordered placement
- lumineuse
- Luminous, bright; giving off or full of light
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