Middlemarch — Page 4
He had travelled in his younger years, and was held in this part of the county to have contracted a too rambling habit of mind.
Il avait voyagé dans sa jeunesse, et l'on estimait, dans cette partie du comté, qu'il avait contracté une habitude d'esprit trop vagabonde.
Mr. Brooke's conclusions were as difficult to predict as the weather: it was only safe to say that he would act with benevolent intentions, and that he would spend as little money as possible in carrying them out.
Les conclusions de M. Brooke étaient aussi difficiles à prévoir que le temps qu'il ferait : on ne pouvait affirmer avec certitude que deux choses, à savoir qu'il agirait avec de bonnes intentions, et qu'il dépenserait le moins d'argent possible pour les mettre en œuvre.
For the most glutinously indefinite minds enclose some hard grains of habit; and a man has been seen lax about all his own interests except the retention of his snuff-box, concerning which he was watchful, suspicious, and greedy of clutch.
Car les esprits les plus visqueusement indéfinis renferment quelques grains durs d'habitude ; et l'on a vu des hommes négligents à l'égard de tous leurs intérêts propres, à l'exception de la conservation de leur tabatière, à propos de laquelle ils se montraient vigilants, soupçonneux et avides de la tenir serrée.
In Mr. Brooke the hereditary strain of Puritan energy was clearly in abeyance; but in his niece Dorothea it glowed alike through faults and virtues, turning sometimes into impatience of her uncle's talk or his way of "letting things be" on his estate, and making her long all the more for the time when she would be of age and have some command of money for generous schemes.
Chez M. Brooke, la veine héréditaire d'énergie puritaine était manifestement en suspens ; mais chez sa nièce Dorothea, elle rayonnait à travers ses défauts comme ses vertus, se transformant parfois en impatience à l'égard des propos de son oncle ou de sa façon de « laisser les choses en l'état » sur son domaine, et lui faisant d'autant plus désirer le moment où elle serait majeure et disposerait de quelque argent pour de généreuses entreprises.
She was regarded as an heiress; for not only had the sisters seven hundred a-year each from their parents, but if Dorothea married and had a son, that son would inherit Mr. Brooke's estate, presumably worth about three thousand a-year—a rental which seemed wealth to provincial families, still discussing Mr. Peel's late conduct on the Catholic question, innocent of future gold-fields, and of that gorgeous plutocracy which has so nobly exalted the necessities of genteel life.
Elle était considérée comme une héritière ; car non seulement les deux sœurs recevaient chacune sept cents livres par an de leurs parents, mais si Dorothea se mariait et avait un fils, ce fils hériterait du domaine de M. Brooke, estimé à environ trois mille livres de rente — une rente qui semblait une fortune aux familles provinciales, encore occupées à discuter de la récente conduite de M. Peel sur la question catholique, ignorantes des futurs gisements d'or et de cette somptueuse ploutocratie qui a si noblement exalté les nécessités de la vie comme il faut.
Vocabulary
- avait
- Past tense of avoir: had (third person singular)
- voyagé
- Traveled; past participle of voyager
- dans
- In, within; common preposition of location or time
- sa
- His, her, its; feminine singular possessive adjective
- jeunesse
- Youth; the period of being young
- on
- One, we, they; indefinite subject pronoun
- estimait
- Considered, estimated; imperfect tense of estimer
- cette
- This, that; feminine singular demonstrative adjective
- partie
- Part, portion; a section of something larger
- comté
- County; an administrative territorial division
- contracté
- Contracted, acquired; developed a habit or condition
- habitude
- Habit; a regularly repeated behavior or tendency
- esprit
- Mind, spirit, wit; intellectual character or disposition
- trop
- Too, too much; adverb of excess
- vagabonde
- Wandering, roaming; unsettled or restless in nature
- conclusions
- Conclusions; final judgments or decisions reached
- étaient
- Were; imperfect tense of être, third person plural
- aussi
- Also, as, too; adverb of comparison or addition
- difficiles
- Difficult, hard; not easy to do or predict
- prévoir
- To foresee, predict; to anticipate future events
- temps
- Time, weather; duration or atmospheric conditions
- ferait
- Would do, would make; conditional of faire
- pouvait
- Could, was able to; imperfect of pouvoir
- affirmer
- To affirm, assert; to state something with confidence
- avec
- With; preposition indicating accompaniment or manner
- certitude
- Certainty; the state of being completely sure
- choses
- Things; objects or matters of any kind
- savoir
- To know; also used as namely, that is to say
- agirait
- Would act; conditional tense of agir
- bonnes
- Good; feminine plural adjective of quality
- intentions
- Intentions; aims or plans one means to carry out
- dépenserait
- Would spend; conditional tense of dépenser
- moins
- Less, fewer; comparative adverb of quantity
- argent
- Money, silver; currency or the precious metal
- possible
- Possible; able to happen or be done
- mettre
- To put, place; to implement or carry out
- œuvre
- Work, deed; a completed creation or effort
- Car
- Because, for; causal coordinating conjunction
- esprits
- Minds, spirits; plural of esprit
- plus
- More; comparative adverb of degree or quantity
- visqueusement
- Viscously, stickily; in a thick, sluggish manner
- indéfinis
- Undefined, vague; lacking clear limits or form
- renferment
- Contain, enclose; to hold something within
- quelques
- Some, a few; small number of things
- grains
- Grains, seeds; small hard particles or elements
- durs
- Hard, tough; resistant to pressure or change
- vu
- Seen; past participle of voir
- hommes
- Men; adult male human beings
- négligents
- Negligent, careless; failing to pay proper attention
- égard
- Regard, respect; consideration given to something
- tous
- All, every; masculine plural of tout
- leurs
- Their; plural possessive adjective third person
- intérêts
- Interests; matters of concern or financial stakes
- propres
- Own, clean; belonging specifically to oneself
- exception
- Exception; something excluded from a general rule
- conservation
- Conservation, preservation; keeping something safe intact
- leur
- Their; singular possessive adjective or pronoun
- tabatière
- Snuffbox; small decorative box for holding snuff
- propos
- Regarding, about; concerning a particular subject matter
- laquelle
- Which; feminine relative pronoun used after preposition
- montraient
- Showed themselves, appeared; imperfect of se montrer
- vigilants
- Vigilant, watchful; carefully attentive to danger
- soupçonneux
- Suspicious, distrustful; inclined to suspect others
- avides
- Eager, greedy; intensely desirous of something
- tenir
- To hold, keep; to maintain possession or position
- serrée
- Tight, gripped firmly; held close or tightly
- Chez
- Among, with, in the case of; preposition of context
- veine
- Vein, streak; a thread of quality running through
- héréditaire
- Hereditary; passed down through family generations
- énergie
- Energy; force or vigor driving action
- puritaine
- Puritan; relating to strict moral or religious discipline
- était
- Was; third person singular imperfect of être
- manifestement
- Manifestly, obviously; in a clearly visible manner
- suspens
- Suspended, in suspense; held in abeyance temporarily
- mais
- But; coordinating conjunction expressing contrast
- chez
- In, among, with; preposition indicating context or person
- nièce
- Niece; the daughter of one's sibling
- rayonnait
- Radiated, shone; emitted light or positive qualities
- travers
- Through, across; used in expression à travers
- ses
- His, her, its; plural possessive adjective
- défauts
- Faults, flaws; shortcomings or imperfections in character
- comme
- As, like; comparison or manner conjunction
- vertus
- Virtues; moral qualities considered good and admirable
- transformant
- Transforming; changing the nature or appearance of something
- parfois
- Sometimes; on some occasions but not always
- impatience
- Impatience; inability to wait calmly or tolerate delay
- son
- His, her, its; masculine singular possessive adjective
- oncle
- Uncle; the brother of one's parent
- ou
- Or; coordinating conjunction presenting alternatives
- façon
- Way, manner; a particular method or style of doing
- laisser
- To leave, let; to allow something to remain unchanged
- état
- State, condition; the current situation of something
- sur
- On, upon, over; preposition of position or topic
- domaine
- Estate, domain; a large property or field of activity
- lui
- Him, her, to him/her; indirect object pronoun
- faisant
- Making, doing; present participle of faire
- autant
- As much, as many; equal degree or quantity
- désirer
- To desire, wish for; to want something strongly
- moment
- Moment; a specific point or short period of time
- où
- Where, when; relative adverb of place or time
- serait
- Would be; conditional tense of être
- majeure
- Of age, major; having reached legal adulthood
- disposerait
- Would dispose of, have available; conditional of disposer
- quelque
- Some, a few; indefinite adjective of vague quantity
- généreuses
- Generous; liberal and giving in spirit or resources
- entreprises
- Enterprises, undertakings; ambitious projects or ventures
- considérée
- Considered, regarded; viewed in a particular way
- héritière
- Heiress; a woman who inherits wealth or property
- car
- Because, for; conjunction giving a reason or cause
- non
- No, not; negation or denial
- seulement
- Only, merely; limiting to nothing more than
- sœurs
- Sisters; female siblings
- recevaient
- Received; imperfect tense of recevoir, third plural
- chacune
- Each one; feminine indefinite pronoun of distribution
- livres
- Pounds; currency unit or unit of weight
- par
- Per, by, through; preposition of rate or means
- an
- Year; a period of twelve months
- parents
- Parents, relatives; those related by family ties
- si
- If, so; conditional conjunction or intensifier
- mariait
- Married; imperfect of marier, to marry someone
- fils
- Son; a male child in relation to his parents
- hériterait
- Would inherit; conditional tense of hériter
- estimé
- Estimated, valued; appraised at a certain amount
- environ
- About, approximately; close to a given amount
- mille
- Thousand; the cardinal number 1000
- rente
- Income, annuity; regular income from investments or property
- semblait
- Seemed, appeared; imperfect of sembler
- fortune
- Fortune, wealth; a large sum of money
- familles
- Families; groups of related people living together
- provinciales
- Provincial; relating to regions outside the capital
- encore
- Still, yet, again; adverb of continuation or repetition
- occupées
- Occupied, busy; engaged with a task or concern
- discuter
- To discuss, debate; to talk about something at length
- récente
- Recent; having happened not long ago
- conduite
- Conduct, behavior; the way one acts in a situation
- question
- Question, issue; a matter under discussion or debate
- catholique
- Catholic; relating to the Roman Catholic religion
- ignorantes
- Ignorant; lacking knowledge of something
- futurs
- Future; relating to time yet to come
- gisements
- Deposits, seams; natural underground resource accumulations
- or
- Gold; the precious yellow metal or wealth
- somptueuse
- Sumptuous, lavish; richly luxurious and impressive
- ploutocratie
- Plutocracy; rule or dominance by the wealthy class
- noblement
- Nobly; in a dignified and honorable manner
- exalté
- Exalted, elevated; raised to a higher status ideally
- nécessités
- Necessities; things indispensable for life or purpose
- vie
- Life; the state of being alive
- faut
- Must, is necessary; impersonal verb il faut
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