Jane Eyre: An Autobiography — Page 1
A preface to the first edition of "Jane Eyre" being unnecessary, I gave none: this second edition demands a few words both of acknowledgment and miscellaneous remark.
Une préface à la première édition de « Jane Eyre » étant inutile, je n'en ai donné aucune : cette deuxième édition réclame quelques mots à la fois de remerciement et de remarques diverses.
My thanks are due in three quarters.
Mes remerciements sont dus en trois endroits.
To the Public, for the indulgent ear it has inclined to a plain tale with few pretensions.
Au Public, pour l'oreille indulgente qu'il a prêtée à un récit simple et sans grandes prétentions.
To the Press, for the fair field its honest suffrage has opened to an obscure aspirant.
À la Presse, pour le terrain favorable que son honnête suffrage a ouvert à un obscur aspirant.
To my Publishers, for the aid their tact, their energy, their practical sense and frank liberality have afforded an unknown and unrecommended Author.
À mes Éditeurs, pour l'aide que leur tact, leur énergie, leur sens pratique et leur franche libéralité ont apportée à un Auteur inconnu et sans recommandation.
The Press and the Public are but vague personifications for me, and I must thank them in vague terms; but my Publishers are definite: so are certain generous critics who have encouraged me as only large-hearted and high-minded men know how to encourage a struggling stranger; to them, _i.e._, to my Publishers and the select Reviewers, I say cordially, Gentlemen, I thank you from my heart.
La Presse et le Public ne sont pour moi que de vagues personnifications, et je dois les remercier en termes vagues ; mais mes Éditeurs sont bien réels : tout comme le sont certains critiques généreux qui m'ont encouragée comme seuls des hommes au grand cœur et à l'esprit élevé savent encourager un étranger qui lutte ; à eux, c'est-à-dire à mes Éditeurs et aux Critiques choisis, je dis cordialement : Messieurs, je vous remercie du fond du cœur.
Having thus acknowledged what I owe those who have aided and approved me, I turn to another class; a small one, so far as I know, but not, therefore, to be overlooked.
Ayant ainsi reconnu ce que je dois à ceux qui m'ont aidée et approuvée, je me tourne vers une autre catégorie ; une petite, pour autant que je sache, mais qui ne doit pas, pour autant, être négligée.
I mean the timorous or carping few who doubt the tendency of such books as "Jane Eyre:" in whose eyes whatever is unusual is wrong; whose ears detect in each protest against bigotry—that parent of crime—an insult to piety, that regent of God on earth.
Je veux parler du petit nombre de personnes timorées ou chicanières qui doutent de la tendance de livres tels que « Jane Eyre » : aux yeux de qui tout ce qui est inhabituel est mal ; dont les oreilles détectent dans chaque protestation contre le fanatisme — ce père du crime — une insulte à la piété, cette régente de Dieu sur terre.
Vocabulary
- préface
- Introductory section at the beginning of a book
- première
- First in a sequence or order
- édition
- A particular published version of a book
- étant
- Present participle of être: being
- inutile
- Useless, serving no practical purpose
- donné
- Past participle of donner: given
- aucune
- No, not any; feminine singular negative adjective
- deuxième
- Second in a series or order
- réclame
- Calls for, requires, demands something
- quelques
- A few, some; indefinite plural adjective
- mots
- Words; plural of mot
- fois
- Time, instance; used in expressions of frequency
- remerciement
- An expression of thanks or gratitude
- remarques
- Observations or comments made about something
- diverses
- Various, several, of different kinds
- remerciements
- Thanks, expressions of gratitude; plural noun
- dus
- Owed, due; past participle of devoir
- endroits
- Places, locations; plural of endroit
- Public
- The general reading or viewing public
- oreille
- The ear; organ used for hearing
- indulgente
- Tolerant, lenient, willing to overlook faults
- prêtée
- Lent, given temporarily; past participle of prêter
- récit
- A narrative or account of events
- simple
- Plain, uncomplicated, straightforward in nature
- prétentions
- Claims or aspirations to distinction or importance
- Presse
- The press; collective term for journalism and media
- terrain
- Ground, field; figuratively, favorable conditions
- favorable
- Advantageous, positive, supporting success
- honnête
- Honest, fair, upright in conduct or judgment
- suffrage
- Approval, endorsement, or favorable vote given
- ouvert
- Opened, made accessible; past participle of ouvrir
- obscur
- Unknown, obscure, not yet recognized publicly
- aspirant
- Someone aspiring to achieve recognition or success
- Éditeurs
- Publishers who produce and distribute books
- aide
- Help, assistance provided to someone
- tact
- Sensitivity and skill in handling situations
- énergie
- Energy, vigor, active force or determination
- sens
- Sense, meaning, judgment, or direction
- pratique
- Practical, relating to real application or use
- franche
- Frank, open, sincere, without reservation
- libéralité
- Generosity, willingness to give freely and openly
- apportée
- Brought, contributed; past participle of apporter
- Auteur
- Author, the writer of a literary work
- inconnu
- Unknown, not yet recognized or identified
- recommandation
- A suggestion or endorsement supporting someone's merit
- vagues
- Vague, imprecise, not clearly defined
- personnifications
- Personifications; abstract ideas treated as persons
- dois
- Must, owe; first person singular of devoir
- remercier
- To thank someone for something they did
- termes
- Terms, words used to express something precisely
- réels
- Real, actual, truly existing; masculine plural adjective
- certains
- Certain, some particular; masculine plural adjective
- critiques
- Critics who evaluate literary or artistic works
- généreux
- Generous, giving freely of praise or support
- encouragée
- Encouraged, given support and confidence; past participle
- seuls
- Only, alone; masculine plural adjective
- hommes
- Men, human beings; plural of homme
- cœur
- Heart; center of emotion, courage, or affection
- esprit
- Mind, spirit, wit, or intellectual capacity
- élevé
- Elevated, noble, high in quality or character
- savent
- Third person plural of savoir: know how to
- encourager
- To encourage, support, or motivate someone
- étranger
- Stranger, foreigner, someone unknown or unfamiliar
- lutte
- Struggle, fight, contest against difficulty
- est-à-dire
- That is to say; used to clarify or explain
- Critiques
- Critics; those who professionally evaluate creative works
- choisis
- Chosen, selected; past participle of choisir
- dis
- Say; first person singular of dire
- cordialement
- Cordially, warmly and sincerely
- Messieurs
- Gentlemen; formal plural address for men
- remercie
- Thank; first person singular of remercier
- fond
- Bottom, depth; du fond means from the bottom
- Ayant
- Having; present participle of avoir
- ainsi
- Thus, so, in this way
- reconnu
- Recognized, acknowledged; past participle of reconnaître
- ceux
- Those; masculine plural demonstrative pronoun
- aidée
- Helped, assisted; past participle of aider (feminine)
- approuvée
- Approved, endorsed; past participle of approuver
- tourne
- Turns; first person singular of tourner
- vers
- Toward, in the direction of
- catégorie
- Category, class, or group of similar things
- autant
- As much, as many; expressing equivalence in quantity
- sache
- Know; present subjunctive of savoir
- doit
- Must, should; third person singular of devoir
- négligée
- Neglected, overlooked, not given proper attention
- veux
- Want; first person singular of vouloir
- parler
- To speak or talk about something
- nombre
- Number, quantity of people or things
- personnes
- People, persons; plural of personne
- timorées
- Timid, fearful, lacking in boldness or courage
- chicanières
- Quibbling, petty, inclined to raise trivial objections
- doutent
- Doubt, are uncertain about; third person plural
- tendance
- Tendency, inclination, or general direction of thought
- livres
- Books; plural of livre
- tels
- Such, like this; masculine plural demonstrative adjective
- yeux
- Eyes; irregular plural of œil
- inhabituel
- Unusual, not common or customary
- mal
- Bad, evil, wrongly; adverb or noun
- dont
- Relative pronoun meaning of which, whose, from which
- oreilles
- Ears; plural of oreille
- détectent
- Detect, perceive, identify something present
- chaque
- Each, every; singular indefinite adjective
- protestation
- A protest or strong declaration against something
- contre
- Against; preposition expressing opposition
- fanatisme
- Fanaticism, extreme and irrational devotion to beliefs
- père
- Father; male parent or authority figure
- crime
- Crime, serious wrongdoing or offense
- insulte
- Insult, offensive or disrespectful remark or act
- piété
- Piety, devout religious reverence and practice
- régente
- One who rules or governs in another's place
- Dieu
- God; the supreme deity in monotheistic religions
- terre
- Earth, land, ground; the world we live on
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