History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire — Volume 1 — Page 14
A second attentive and regular perusal of the entire work, of the notes of the author, and of those which I had thought it right to subjoin, showed me how much I had exaggerated the importance of the reproaches which Gibbon really deserved;
Une seconde lecture attentive et régulière de l'ensemble de l'ouvrage, des notes de l'auteur, et de celles qu'il m'avait semblé juste d'y joindre, me montra combien j'avais exagéré l'importance des reproches que Gibbon méritait réellement ;
I was struck with the same errors, the same partiality on certain subjects;
je fus frappé des mêmes erreurs, de la même partialité sur certains sujets ;
but I had been far from doing adequate justice to the immensity of his researches, the variety of his knowledge, and above all, to that truly philosophical discrimination (_justesse d'esprit_) which judges the past as it would judge the present;
mais j'étais loin d'avoir rendu suffisamment justice à l'immensité de ses recherches, à la variété de ses connaissances, et surtout à cette discrimination véritablement philosophique (_justesse d'esprit_) qui juge le passé comme elle jugerait le présent ;
which does not permit itself to be blinded by the clouds which time gathers around the dead, and which prevent us from seeing that, under the toga, as under the modern dress, in the senate as in our councils, men were what they still are, and that events took place eighteen centuries ago, as they take place in our days.
qui ne se laisse pas aveugler par les nuages que le temps accumule autour des morts, et qui nous empêchent de voir que, sous la toge comme sous l'habit moderne, au sénat comme dans nos conseils, les hommes étaient ce qu'ils sont encore, et que les événements se produisaient il y a dix-huit siècles comme ils se produisent de nos jours.
I then felt that his book, in spite of its faults, will always be a noble work—and that we may correct his errors and combat his prejudices, without ceasing to admit that few men have combined, if we are not to say in so high a degree, at least in a manner so complete, and so well regulated, the necessary qualifications for a writer of history.
Je sentis alors que son livre, en dépit de ses défauts, sera toujours une œuvre noble — et que l'on peut corriger ses erreurs et combattre ses préjugés, sans cesser de reconnaître que peu d'hommes ont réuni, si ce n'est à un degré aussi élevé, du moins d'une manière aussi complète et aussi bien ordonnée, les qualités nécessaires à un historien.
Vocabulary
- seconde
- səɡɔ̃d — Second; a unit of time or second instance.
- lecture
- lɛktyʁ — The act of reading a text carefully.
- attentive
- atɑ̃tiv — Careful and thorough in paying attention.
- régulière
- ʁeɡyljɛʁ — Regular, consistent, done at steady intervals.
- ensemble
- ɑ̃sɑ̃bl — The whole; entirety of something considered together.
- ouvrage
- uvʁaʒ — A literary or scholarly work; a book.
- notes
- nɔt — Written annotations or remarks added to a text.
- auteur
- otœʁ — Author; person who writes a book or work.
- celles
- sɛl — Feminine plural pronoun meaning 'those' or 'the ones'.
- avait
- avɛ — Third-person singular past tense of 'avoir' (to have).
- semblé
- sɑ̃ble — Past participle of 'sembler'; seemed or appeared.
- juste
- ʒyst — Fair, correct, or appropriate in judgment or action.
- y
- i — Pronoun meaning 'there' or referring to a previously mentioned place.
- joindre
- ʒwɛ̃dʁ — To join, attach, or add something to something else.
- montra
- mɔ̃tʁa — Past tense of 'montrer'; showed or demonstrated clearly.
- combien
- kɔ̃bjɛ̃ — How much or how many; expresses degree or quantity.
- avais
- avɛ — First-person singular imperfect of 'avoir'; I had.
- exagéré
- ɛɡzaʒeʁe — Exaggerated; overstated beyond what is accurate.
- importance
- ɛ̃pɔʁtɑ̃s — The quality of being significant or of great consequence.
- reproches
- ʁəpʁɔʃ — Criticisms or rebukes directed at someone's faults.
- méritait
- meʁitɛ — Imperfect tense of 'mériter'; deserved or was worthy of.
- réellement
- ʁeɛlmɑ̃ — Really, truly, in actuality or in fact.
- fus
- fy — First-person singular simple past of 'être'; I was.
- frappé
- fʁape — Struck, surprised, or strongly impressed by something.
- mêmes
- mɛm — Same; identical ones, used for emphasis or comparison.
- erreurs
- eʁœʁ — Errors or mistakes in judgment, fact, or action.
- même
- mɛm — Same; also used as an intensifier meaning 'even'.
- partialité
- paʁsjalite — Bias or unfair favoritism toward one side or view.
- certains
- sɛʁtɛ̃ — Certain, particular, or some specific subjects or things.
- sujets
- syʒɛ — Subjects or topics under discussion or examination.
- étais
- etɛ — First-person singular imperfect of 'être'; I was.
- loin
- lwɛ̃ — Far; distant in space, degree, or extent.
- avoir
- avwaʁ — To have; infinitive of the verb 'avoir'.
- rendu
- ʁɑ̃dy — Past participle of 'rendre'; rendered, given, or done.
- suffisamment
- syfizamɑ̃ — Sufficiently; adequately or enough in degree or amount.
- justice
- ʒystis — Justice; fair recognition or treatment of merit.
- immensité
- imɑ̃site — Immensity; vast size or enormous extent of something.
- recherches
- ʁəʃɛʁʃ — Research or investigations conducted to find information.
- variété
- vaʁjete — Variety; diversity or range of different things.
- connaissances
- kɔnɛsɑ̃s — Knowledge or areas of learning one possesses.
- surtout
- syʁtu — Above all; especially or most importantly.
- cette
- sɛt — Feminine demonstrative adjective meaning 'this' or 'that'.
- discrimination
- diskʁiminasjɔ̃ — The ability to distinguish carefully between different things.
- véritablement
- veʁitabləmɑ̃ — Truly, genuinely, or in a real and authentic manner.
- philosophique
- filɔzɔfik — Philosophical; relating to deep reasoned intellectual analysis.
- _justesse
- ʒystɛs — Accuracy, precision, or soundness of mind and judgment.
- esprit_
- ɛspʁi — Mind or intellect; quality of wit and mental sharpness.
- juge
- ʒyʒ — Judges or evaluates; third-person singular of 'juger'.
- passé
- pase — The past; times gone by or former events.
- comme
- kɔm — As or like; used to draw comparisons between things.
- jugerait
- ʒyʒəʁɛ — Conditional of 'juger'; would judge or evaluate something.
- présent
- pʁezɑ̃ — The present; current time or existing circumstances now.
- laisse
- lɛs — Allows or lets; third-person singular of 'laisser'.
- aveugler
- avøɡle — To blind; to prevent someone from seeing clearly.
- nuages
- nɥaʒ — Clouds; also metaphorically obscuring things from view.
- temps
- tɑ̃ — Time; also weather; a fundamental concept in French.
- accumule
- akymyl — Accumulates; gathers or builds up over a period.
- autour
- otuʁ — Around; surrounding or in the vicinity of something.
- morts
- mɔʁ — The dead; those who have passed away or died.
- empêchent
- ɑ̃pɛʃ — Prevent or hinder; third-person plural of 'empêcher'.
- voir
- vwaʁ — To see; infinitive of the fundamental French verb.
- sous
- su — Preposition meaning 'under' or 'beneath' something.
- toge
- tɔʒ — Toga; the garment worn by ancient Roman citizens.
- habit
- abi — Clothing or attire; a garment or outfit worn.
- moderne
- mɔdɛʁn — Modern; relating to contemporary or current times.
- sénat
- sena — Senate; a legislative assembly or governing council body.
- conseils
- kɔ̃sɛj — Councils or advisory bodies; also advice or counsel.
- hommes
- ɔm — Men; plural of 'homme', referring to male humans.
- étaient
- etɛ — Third-person plural imperfect of 'être'; they were.
- encore
- ɑ̃kɔʁ — Still, yet, or again; indicating continuation or repetition.
- événements
- evɛnmɑ̃ — Events; notable occurrences or happenings in history.
- produisaient
- pʁɔdɥizɛ — Imperfect of 'produire'; were producing or causing effects.
- dix-huit
- dizɥit — Eighteen; the number eighteen in French.
- siècles
- sjɛkl — Centuries; periods of one hundred years in history.
- produisent
- pʁɔdɥiz — Produce; third-person plural present of 'produire'.
- jours
- ʒuʁ — Days; units of time; also 'de nos jours' means nowadays.
- sentis
- sɑ̃ti — Simple past of 'sentir'; felt or perceived something.
- alors
- alɔʁ — Then; at that time or as a consequence of something.
- livre
- livʁ — Book; a written or printed literary publication.
- dépit
- depi — Despite; in spite of; used in 'en dépit de'.
- défauts
- defo — Defects or flaws; shortcomings of a work or person.
- sera
- səʁa — Future tense of 'être'; will be.
- toujours
- tuʒuʁ — Always or still; indicating permanence or continuation.
- œuvre
- œvʁ — A work; a significant artistic or literary creation.
- noble
- nɔbl — Noble; of high quality, admirable, or distinguished character.
- on
- ɔ̃ — Impersonal pronoun meaning 'one', 'we', or 'people'.
- peut
- pø — Third-person singular of 'pouvoir'; can or is able.
- corriger
- kɔʁiʒe — To correct or fix errors in a text or argument.
- combattre
- kɔ̃batʁ — To fight against or oppose something vigorously.
- préjugés
- pʁeʒyʒe — Prejudices; biased opinions formed without proper knowledge.
- sans
- sɑ̃ — Preposition meaning 'without'; indicating absence of something.
- cesser
- sese — To cease or stop doing something; to discontinue.
- reconnaître
- ʁəkɔnɛtʁ — To recognize or acknowledge something or someone.
- peu
- pø — Few; a small number or a little amount of something.
- réuni
- ʁeyni — Past participle of 'réunir'; united, combined, or gathered.
- si
- si — If; conjunction introducing a conditional clause or so much.
- degré
- dəɡʁe — Degree; a level or extent of something measurable.
- aussi
- osi — Also, as well, or as much; used for comparison.
- élevé
- elve — High or elevated; of a great level or standard.
- moins
- mwɛ̃ — Less; a smaller amount or degree of something.
- manière
- manjɛʁ — Manner or way; the style or method of doing something.
- complète
- kɔ̃plɛt — Complete; whole, thorough, and lacking nothing essential.
- bien
- bjɛ̃ — Well; in a good, correct, or satisfactory manner.
- ordonnée
- ɔʁdɔne — Ordered or organized; arranged in a structured manner.
- qualités
- kalite — Qualities; positive characteristics or attributes of someone.
- nécessaires
- nesesɛʁ — Necessary; required or indispensable for a purpose.
- historien
- istɔʁjɛ̃ — Historian; a scholar who studies and writes about history.
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