History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire — Volume 1 — Page 9
It is in this sublime Gothic architecture of his work, in which the boundless range, the infinite variety, the, at first sight, incongruous gorgeousness of the separate parts, nevertheless are all subordinate to one main and predominant idea, that Gibbon is unrivalled.
C'est dans cette sublime architecture gothique de son œuvre, dans laquelle l'étendue sans limites, la variété infinie, la splendeur, au premier abord incongrue, des parties séparées, sont néanmoins toutes subordonnées à une idée principale et prédominante, que Gibbon est sans rival.
We cannot but admire the manner in which he masses his materials, and arranges his facts in successive groups, not according to chronological order, but to their moral or political connection; the distinctness with which he marks his periods of gradually increasing decay; and the skill with which, though advancing on separate parallels of history, he shows the common tendency of the slower or more rapid religious or civil innovations.
Nous ne pouvons qu'admirer la manière dont il rassemble ses matériaux et dispose ses faits en groupes successifs, non pas selon l'ordre chronologique, mais selon leur rapport moral ou politique ; la netteté avec laquelle il marque ses périodes de déclin progressivement croissant ; et l'habileté avec laquelle, bien qu'avançant sur des parallèles séparées de l'histoire, il montre la tendance commune des innovations religieuses ou civiles plus lentes ou plus rapides.
However these principles of composition may demand more than ordinary attention on the part of the reader, they can alone impress upon the memory the real course, and the relative importance of the events.
Si ces principes de composition peuvent exiger du lecteur une attention plus que ordinaire, ils sont seuls capables de graver dans la mémoire le cours réel et l'importance relative des événements.
Whoever would justly appreciate the superiority of Gibbon's lucid arrangement, should attempt to make his way through the regular but wearisome annals of Tillemont, or even the less ponderous volumes of Le Beau.
Quiconque voudrait apprécier justement la supériorité de l'ordonnancement lucide de Gibbon devrait tenter de se frayer un chemin à travers les annales régulières mais fastidieuses de Tillemont, ou même les volumes moins pesants de Le Beau.
Vocabulary
- est
- Is; third person singular of 'être'
- dans
- In, inside, within a place or context
- cette
- This; feminine demonstrative adjective
- sublime
- Sublime, lofty, of outstanding beauty or excellence
- architecture
- Architecture; design and structure of buildings or works
- gothique
- Gothic; relating to medieval Gothic style
- de
- Of, from; common preposition indicating possession or origin
- son
- His, her, its; possessive adjective (masculine singular)
- œuvre
- Work, body of work, artistic or literary creation
- laquelle
- Which; feminine relative or interrogative pronoun
- étendue
- Extent, expanse, range or scope of something
- sans
- Without; preposition indicating absence or lack
- limites
- Limits, boundaries, restrictions on extent or scope
- variété
- Variety, diversity, range of different elements
- infinie
- Infinite, endless, without limit or boundary
- splendeur
- Splendor, magnificence, dazzling beauty or grandeur
- premier
- First; ordinal adjective indicating initial position
- abord
- Approach; first impression or initial encounter
- incongrue
- Incongruous, inappropriate, out of place or unsuitable
- parties
- Parts, sections, components of a whole
- séparées
- Separated, distinct, set apart from each other
- sont
- Are; third person plural of 'être'
- néanmoins
- Nevertheless, however, yet; concessive adverb
- toutes
- All; feminine plural of 'tout', every one
- subordonnées
- Subordinated, subjected, made secondary to something else
- idée
- Idea, concept, thought or central notion
- principale
- Principal, main, most important or primary
- prédominante
- Predominant, dominant, having greatest influence or power
- rival
- Rival, competitor, one who competes with another
- Nous
- We, us; first person plural pronoun
- ne
- Not; negative particle used with 'pas' or alone
- pouvons
- Can, are able to; first person plural of 'pouvoir'
- admirer
- To admire, to regard with wonder and appreciation
- manière
- Manner, way, method of doing something
- dont
- Of which, whose; relative pronoun indicating possession
- rassemble
- Gathers, assembles, brings together into one place
- ses
- His, her, its; plural possessive adjective
- matériaux
- Materials, sources, raw elements used in construction
- dispose
- Arranges, organizes, places in a particular order
- faits
- Facts, events, things that have actually occurred
- groupes
- Groups, clusters, sets of related elements together
- successifs
- Successive, following one after another in sequence
- non
- No, not; basic negation word
- selon
- According to, following; preposition of conformity
- ordre
- Order, sequence, arrangement or systematic organization
- chronologique
- Chronological, arranged according to time sequence
- mais
- But; adversative coordinating conjunction
- leur
- Their, to them; possessive adjective or indirect pronoun
- rapport
- Relation, connection, link between two things
- moral
- Moral; relating to ethics, values, or conduct
- ou
- Or; disjunctive coordinating conjunction
- politique
- Political; relating to government or public affairs
- netteté
- Clarity, sharpness, precision in expression or thought
- avec
- With; preposition indicating accompaniment or means
- marque
- Marks, indicates, signals or denotes something clearly
- périodes
- Periods, phases, distinct spans of time or history
- déclin
- Decline, fall, gradual deterioration or weakening
- progressivement
- Progressively, gradually, increasing step by step
- croissant
- Growing, increasing, expanding in size or intensity
- habileté
- Skill, dexterity, cleverness in performing a task
- bien
- Well, good; adverb indicating quality or satisfaction
- avançant
- Advancing, moving forward, progressing in a direction
- sur
- On, upon, over; preposition of position or topic
- parallèles
- Parallels, comparisons, things running alongside each other
- histoire
- History, story; account of past events
- montre
- Shows, demonstrates, reveals or points out clearly
- tendance
- Tendency, trend, inclination toward a particular direction
- commune
- Common, shared, belonging to or affecting everyone
- innovations
- Innovations, new ideas, methods or changes introduced
- religieuses
- Religious; relating to faith, worship, or religion
- civiles
- Civil; relating to citizens or civic society
- plus
- More, most; comparative or superlative adverb
- lentes
- Slow; feminine plural adjective indicating low speed
- rapides
- Fast, rapid, quick; adjective indicating high speed
- Si
- If; conditional conjunction introducing a hypothesis
- ces
- These, those; plural demonstrative adjective
- principes
- Principles, fundamental rules or guiding truths
- composition
- Composition, arrangement, the way parts are organized
- peuvent
- Can, may; third person plural of 'pouvoir'
- exiger
- To require, demand, call for something necessary
- lecteur
- Reader; person who reads a text or work
- attention
- Attention, focus, careful mental concentration
- ordinaire
- Ordinary, usual, beyond what is normal or common
- seuls
- Alone, only, solely; masculine plural adjective
- capables
- Capable, able, having the ability to do something
- graver
- To engrave, to imprint deeply or fix permanently
- mémoire
- Memory; faculty of recalling past events or information
- cours
- Course, flow, progression of events over time
- réel
- Real, actual, truly existing or factually based
- importance
- Importance, significance, the quality of being notable
- relative
- Relative, comparative, considered in relation to something else
- événements
- Events, occurrences, significant things that happen
- Quiconque
- Whoever, anyone who; indefinite relative pronoun
- voudrait
- Would want, would like; conditional of 'vouloir'
- apprécier
- To appreciate, evaluate, judge the value of something
- justement
- Justly, fairly, precisely or exactly as required
- supériorité
- Superiority, higher quality or status over others
- ordonnancement
- Ordering, arrangement, systematic organization of elements
- lucide
- Lucid, clear-minded, mentally sharp and perceptive
- devrait
- Should, ought to; conditional of 'devoir'
- tenter
- To attempt, try, make an effort to do
- frayer
- To forge, clear a path through obstacles or crowds
- chemin
- Path, road, way toward a destination
- travers
- Through, across; used in 'à travers' meaning through
- annales
- Annals, chronicles, historical records of events yearly
- régulières
- Regular, systematic, following an established order
- fastidieuses
- Tedious, tiresome, boring due to excessive detail
- même
- Even, same; adverb or adjective of sameness or emphasis
- volumes
- Volumes, books, individual bound parts of a work
- moins
- Less, fewer; comparative adverb of inferiority
- pesants
- Heavy, ponderous, burdensome or dull in nature
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