Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave — Page 6
As a public speaker, he excels in pathos, wit, comparison, imitation, strength of reasoning, and fluency of language.
En tant qu'orateur public, il excelle dans le pathétique, l'esprit, la comparaison, l'imitation, la force du raisonnement et la fluidité du langage.
There is in him that union of head and heart, which is indispensable to an enlightenment of the heads and a winning of the hearts of others.
Il possède en lui cette union de la tête et du cœur, qui est indispensable pour éclairer les esprits et conquérir les cœurs des autres.
May his strength continue to be equal to his day!
Puisse sa force continuer à être à la hauteur de son époque !
May he continue to "grow in grace, and in the knowledge of God," that he may be increasingly serviceable in the cause of bleeding humanity, whether at home or abroad!
Puisse-t-il continuer à « croître en grâce et dans la connaissance de Dieu », afin d'être de plus en plus utile à la cause de l'humanité souffrante, que ce soit dans son pays ou à l'étranger !
It is certainly a very remarkable fact, that one of the most efficient advocates of the slave population, now before the public, is a fugitive slave, in the person of _Frederick Douglass_; and that the free colored population of the United States are as ably represented by one of their own number, in the person of _Charles Lenox Remond_, whose eloquent appeals have extorted the highest applause of multitudes on both sides of the Atlantic.
Il est certes très remarquable que l'un des défenseurs les plus efficaces de la population esclave, aujourd'hui devant le public, soit un esclave fugitif, en la personne de _Frederick Douglass_ ; et que la population de couleur libre des États-Unis soit tout aussi habilement représentée par l'un des leurs, en la personne de _Charles Lenox Remond_, dont les éloquents appels ont arraché les plus vifs applaudissements de multitudes des deux côtés de l'Atlantique.
Let the calumniators of the colored race despise themselves for their baseness and illiberality of spirit, and henceforth cease to talk of the natural inferiority of those who require nothing but time and opportunity to attain to the highest point of human excellence.
Que les calomniateurs de la race de couleur se méprisent eux-mêmes pour leur bassesse et leur étroitesse d'esprit, et qu'ils cessent désormais de parler de l'infériorité naturelle de ceux qui n'ont besoin que de temps et d'opportunité pour atteindre le plus haut degré de l'excellence humaine.
It may, perhaps, be fairly questioned, whether any other portion of the population of the earth could have endured the privations, sufferings and horrors of slavery, without having become more degraded in the scale of humanity than the slaves of African descent.
On peut peut-être légitimement se demander si quelque autre partie de la population de la terre aurait pu endurer les privations, les souffrances et les horreurs de l'esclavage, sans être devenue plus dégradée dans l'échelle de l'humanité que les esclaves d'origine africaine.
Vocabulary
- tant
- As, in the capacity of.
- orateur
- A public speaker or orator.
- public
- Relating to people or open audiences.
- excelle
- Excels, performs outstandingly well.
- pathétique
- Appealing to emotion; moving, pathetic.
- esprit
- Mind, wit, or spirit of a person.
- comparaison
- A comparison between two things or ideas.
- imitation
- The act of copying or mimicking something.
- force
- Strength, power, or forcefulness.
- raisonnement
- Reasoning, logical argumentation or thought process.
- fluidité
- Fluidity, smoothness of expression or movement.
- langage
- Language, manner of speaking or expression.
- possède
- Possesses, owns, or holds something.
- union
- A joining or combination of two things.
- tête
- Head; also refers to intellect or mind.
- cœur
- Heart; refers to emotions or feelings.
- indispensable
- Absolutely necessary or essential.
- éclairer
- To enlighten, illuminate, or inform minds.
- esprits
- Minds, intellects, or spirits of people.
- conquérir
- To conquer, win over, or captivate.
- cœurs
- Hearts; emotions or affections of people.
- Puisse
- May (subjunctive of pouvoir); expresses a wish.
- continuer
- To continue, keep on doing something.
- hauteur
- Height; also level or standard of quality.
- époque
- An era, age, or period in history.
- croître
- To grow, increase, or develop over time.
- grâce
- Grace, thanks to, or by means of.
- connaissance
- Knowledge, awareness, or acquaintance with something.
- Dieu
- God; the divine being in religious context.
- afin
- So that, in order to achieve a goal.
- utile
- Useful, beneficial, or serving a purpose.
- cause
- A cause, reason, or advocacy effort.
- humanité
- Humanity, mankind, or human compassion.
- souffrante
- Suffering, enduring pain or hardship.
- soit
- Subjunctive of être; be, whether it may be.
- pays
- Country, nation, or homeland.
- étranger
- Foreign, abroad, or a stranger or foreigner.
- certes
- Certainly, admittedly, or indeed.
- remarquable
- Remarkable, noteworthy, or outstanding.
- défenseurs
- Defenders, advocates, or supporters of a cause.
- efficaces
- Effective, efficient, producing the desired result.
- population
- A group of people living in a place.
- esclave
- A slave, person held in bondage.
- aujourd'hui
- Today, at the present time.
- devant
- In front of, before, in presence of.
- fugitif
- Fugitive, a person fleeing capture or slavery.
- personne
- A person, individual human being.
- couleur
- Color; here refers to race or skin color.
- libre
- Free, liberated, or unrestricted.
- États
- States; as in United States or political states.
- Unis
- United; as in États-Unis, the United States.
- habilement
- Skillfully, cleverly, with great ability.
- représentée
- Represented, depicted, or advocated for.
- dont
- Relative pronoun meaning whose, of which.
- éloquents
- Eloquent, persuasive, and expressive in speech.
- appels
- Appeals, calls, or pleas addressed to audiences.
- arraché
- Torn away, wrested, or provoked forcefully.
- vifs
- Lively, enthusiastic, vivid, or keen.
- applaudissements
- Applause, clapping expressing approval or admiration.
- multitudes
- Multitudes, large crowds of people.
- côtés
- Sides; both sides of the Atlantic.
- Atlantique
- The Atlantic Ocean separating continents.
- calomniateurs
- Slanderers, those who spread false accusations.
- race
- Race; group defined by shared ancestry or origin.
- méprisent
- Despise, scorn, or look down upon.
- mêmes
- Same; themselves (eux-mêmes = themselves).
- bassesse
- Baseness, lowness of character or moral depravity.
- étroitesse
- Narrowness; here refers to narrow-mindedness.
- cessent
- Stop, cease doing something.
- désormais
- From now on, henceforth, hereafter.
- parler
- To speak, talk, or discuss something.
- infériorité
- Inferiority; being lesser in quality or status.
- naturelle
- Natural, innate, occurring in nature.
- ceux
- Those; demonstrative pronoun referring to people.
- besoin
- Need, necessity, or requirement.
- temps
- Time, weather, or tense in grammar.
- opportunité
- Opportunity, a favorable chance or occasion.
- atteindre
- To reach, attain, or achieve a goal.
- haut
- High, tall, or elevated in degree.
- degré
- Degree, level, or extent of something.
- excellence
- Excellence; outstanding quality or superior achievement.
- humaine
- Human; relating to people and their nature.
- légitimement
- Legitimately, justifiably, rightfully.
- demander
- To ask, request, or wonder about something.
- quelque
- Some, any; an indefinite adjective.
- partie
- Part, portion, or region of something.
- terre
- Earth, land, ground, or soil.
- aurait
- Would have; conditional of avoir.
- pu
- Past participle of pouvoir, been able to.
- endurer
- To endure, bear, or withstand hardship.
- privations
- Deprivations, lack of basic necessities.
- souffrances
- Sufferings, pains, or hardships endured.
- horreurs
- Horrors, terrible or shocking experiences.
- esclavage
- Slavery, the institution of enslaving people.
- devenue
- Become; past participle of devenir (feminine).
- dégradée
- Degraded, debased, or reduced in dignity.
- échelle
- Scale, ladder, or level of measurement.
- esclaves
- Slaves, people held in bondage.
- origine
- Origin, background, or place of descent.
- africaine
- African; relating to Africa or its peoples.
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