Moby Dick; Or, The Whale — Page 7
They frequently climb up the masts to see whether they can see a whale, for the first discoverer has a ducat for his pains....
Ils montent fréquemment aux mâts pour voir s'ils peuvent apercevoir une baleine, car le premier à en découvrir une reçoit un ducat pour sa peine....
I was told of a whale taken near Shetland, that had above a barrel of herrings in his belly....
On m'a parlé d'une baleine capturée près des Shetland, qui avait plus d'un tonneau de harengs dans le ventre....
One of our harpooneers told me that he caught once a whale in Spitzbergen that was white all over."
L'un de nos harponneurs m'a dit qu'il avait capturé une fois une baleine au Spitzberg qui était entièrement blanche."
—_A Voyage to Greenland, A.D._ 1671. _Harris Coll_.
—_Un Voyage au Groenland, ap. J.-C._ 1671. _Harris Coll_.
"Several whales have come in upon this coast (Fife) Anno 1652, one eighty feet in length of the whale-bone kind came in, which (as I was informed), besides a vast quantity of oil, did afford 500 weight of baleen.
"Plusieurs baleines ont abordé cette côte (Fife) en l'an 1652 ; l'une d'elles, de quatre-vingts pieds de long, de l'espèce à fanons, échoua, et fournit (comme on me l'a appris), outre une vaste quantité d'huile, 500 livres de fanons.
The jaws of it stand for a gate in the garden of Pitferren."
Ses mâchoires servent de portail dans le jardin de Pitferren."
—_Sibbald's Fife and Kinross_.
—_Le Fife et Kinross de Sibbald_.
"Myself have agreed to try whether I can master and kill this Sperma-ceti whale, for I could never hear of any of that sort that was killed by any man, such is his fierceness and swiftness."
"J'ai décidé d'essayer si je puis maîtriser et tuer cette baleine spermaceti, car je n'ai jamais entendu parler d'aucune de cette espèce qui ait été tuée par quelque homme que ce soit, tant est grande sa férocité et sa rapidité."
—_Richard Strafford's Letter from the Bermudas. Phil. Trans. A.D._ 1668.
—_Lettre de Richard Strafford depuis les Bermudes. Phil. Trans. ap. J.-C._ 1668.
"Whales in the sea God's voice obey." —_N. E. Primer_.
"Les baleines dans la mer obéissent à la voix de Dieu." —_N. E. Primer_.
"We saw also abundance of large whales, there being more in those southern seas, as I may say, by a hundred to one; than we have to the northward of us."
"Nous avons également vu une abondance de grandes baleines, il y en ayant davantage dans ces mers du sud, pour ainsi dire, dans un rapport de cent contre un, par rapport à ce que nous en avons au nord de nous."
—_Captain Cowley's Voyage round the Globe, A.D._ 1729.
—_Le Voyage autour du Globe du Capitaine Cowley, ap. J.-C._ 1729.
Vocabulary
- montent
- mɔ̃t — They climb or go up something.
- fréquemment
- fʁekamɑ̃ — Often, with great frequency or regularity.
- mâts
- mɑ — Masts; tall vertical poles on a sailing ship.
- apercevoir
- apɛʁsəvwaʁ — To catch sight of; to notice or perceive something.
- baleine
- balɛn — A whale; large marine mammal of the ocean.
- car
- kaʁ — Conjunction meaning 'because' or 'for'.
- découvrir
- dekuvʁiʁ — To discover or to uncover something previously unknown.
- reçoit
- ʁəswa — Receives; third person singular of 'recevoir'.
- ducat
- dyka — A ducat; historical gold coin used as currency.
- peine
- pɛn — Effort, trouble, or pain; reward for one's labor.
- capturée
- kaptyʁe — Captured; feminine past participle of 'capturer'.
- tonneau
- tɔno — A barrel or cask; unit of volume or measurement.
- harengs
- aʁɑ̃ — Herrings; small saltwater fish commonly eaten in Europe.
- ventre
- vɑ̃tʁ — Belly or stomach; the abdomen of an animal.
- harponneurs
- aʁpɔnœʁ — Harpooners; sailors who throw harpoons at whales.
- capturé
- kaptyʁe — Captured; past participle of 'capturer' (to catch).
- entièrement
- ɑ̃tjɛʁmɑ̃ — Entirely, completely, wholly without exception.
- Plusieurs
- plyzjœʁ — Several; more than two but not a huge number.
- baleines
- balɛn — Whales; plural of 'baleine', large ocean mammals.
- abordé
- abɔʁde — Approached or reached; past participle of 'aborder'.
- côte
- kot — Coast or shore; land bordering the sea.
- quatre-vingts
- katʁəvɛ̃ — Eighty; the number 80 in French.
- espèce
- ɛspɛs — Species or kind; a category of living organisms.
- fanons
- fanɔ̃ — Baleen plates; filtering structures in certain whales' mouths.
- échoua
- eʃwa — Ran aground; third person singular past tense of 'échouer'.
- fournit
- fuʁni — Provided or supplied; past tense of 'fournir'.
- appris
- apʁi — Learned or taught; past participle of 'apprendre'.
- outre
- utʁ — Besides or in addition to; beyond what is mentioned.
- vaste
- vast — Vast; very large, spacious, or extensive in size.
- quantité
- kɑ̃tite — Quantity; an amount or number of something.
- huile
- ɥil — Oil; liquid fat extracted from animals or plants.
- livres
- livʁ — Pounds; old unit of weight or currency in France.
- mâchoires
- mɑʃwaʁ — Jaws; the bony structures of the mouth.
- portail
- pɔʁtaj — Gate or portal; large entrance to a property or building.
- maîtriser
- metʁize — To master, control, or overpower something or someone.
- tuer
- tɥe — To kill; to cause the death of something.
- spermaceti
- spɛʁmaseti — Spermaceti; waxy substance found in sperm whale heads.
- aucune
- okyn — None or not any; negative indefinite feminine adjective.
- ait
- ɛ — Has; third person singular present subjunctive of 'avoir'.
- tuée
- tɥe — Killed; feminine past participle of 'tuer'.
- quelque
- kɛlkə — Some or any; indefinite adjective meaning a certain.
- soit
- swa — Be; third person singular present subjunctive of 'être'.
- tant
- tɑ̃ — So much or so many; indicates a great degree.
- férocité
- feʁɔsite — Ferocity; extreme fierceness or savageness of an animal.
- rapidité
- ʁapidite — Speed or rapidity; swiftness of movement or action.
- depuis
- dəpɥi — Since or from; preposition indicating a starting point in time.
- obéissent
- ɔbeisɑ̃ — Obey; third person plural present tense of 'obéir'.
- voix
- vwa — Voice; the sound produced when a person speaks.
- également
- egalmɑ̃ — Also or equally; adverb indicating addition or equality.
- abondance
- abɔ̃dɑ̃s — Abundance; a very large quantity of something.
- ayant
- ejɑ̃ — Having; present participle of 'avoir' (to have).
- davantage
- davɑ̃taʒ — More; adverb indicating a greater amount or degree.
- ainsi
- ɛ̃si — Thus or so; adverb meaning in this way.
- rapport
- ʁapɔʁ — Ratio or report; relationship between two quantities.
- autour
- otuʁ — Around or surrounding; preposition indicating encirclement.
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