On Liberty — Page 2
I never was a boy," he says; "never played cricket."
Je n'ai jamais été un garçon », dit-il ; « je n'ai jamais joué au cricket.»
His exercise was taken in the form of walks with his father, during which the elder Mill lectured his son and examined him on his work.
Son exercice physique prenait la forme de promenades avec son père, au cours desquelles le vieux Mill faisait la leçon à son fils et l'interrogeait sur son travail.
It is idle to speculate on the possible results of a different treatment.
Il est inutile de spéculer sur les résultats possibles d'un traitement différent.
Mill remained delicate throughout his life, but was endowed with that intense mental energy which is so often combined with physical weakness.
Mill demeura fragile toute sa vie, mais fut doté de cette intense énergie intellectuelle qui s'allie si souvent à la faiblesse physique.
His youth was sacrificed to an idea; he was designed by his father to carry on his work; the individuality of the boy was unimportant.
Sa jeunesse fut sacrifiée à une idée ; son père l'avait destiné à poursuivre son œuvre ; l'individualité de l'enfant était sans importance.
A visit to the south of France at the age of fourteen, in company with the family of General Sir Samuel Bentham, was not without its influence.
Un séjour dans le sud de la France à l'âge de quatorze ans, en compagnie de la famille du général Sir Samuel Bentham, n'était pas sans influence.
It was a glimpse of another atmosphere, though the studious habits of his home life were maintained.
Ce fut un aperçu d'une autre atmosphère, bien que les habitudes studieuses de sa vie domestique fussent maintenues.
Moreover, he derived from it his interest in foreign politics, which remained one of his characteristics to the end of his life.
De plus, il en tira son intérêt pour la politique étrangère, qui demeura l'une de ses caractéristiques jusqu'à la fin de sa vie.
In 1823 he was appointed junior clerk in the Examiners' Office at the India House.
En 1823, il fut nommé commis stagiaire au bureau des examinateurs de l'India House.
Mill's first essays were written in the _Traveller_ about a year before he entered the India House.
Les premiers essais de Mill furent publiés dans le _Traveller_ environ un an avant qu'il n'entrât à l'India House.
From that time forward his literary work was uninterrupted save by attacks of illness.
À partir de ce moment, son travail littéraire ne fut interrompu que par des accès de maladie.
His industry was stupendous.
Son assiduité au travail était prodigieuse.
He wrote articles on an infinite variety of subjects, political, metaphysical, philosophic, religious, poetical.
Il écrivit des articles sur une variété infinie de sujets : politiques, métaphysiques, philosophiques, religieux, poétiques.
He discovered Tennyson for his generation, he influenced the writing of Carlyle's _French Revolution_ as well as its success.
Il fit découvrir Tennyson à sa génération, et il influa tant sur la rédaction de la _Révolution française_ de Carlyle que sur son succès.
Vocabulary
- jamais
- Never; used in negation or meaning 'ever'
- été
- Past participle of 'être'; also means 'summer'
- garçon
- A boy or young male person
- dit
- Third person singular past tense of 'dire', meaning 'said'
- joué
- Past participle of 'jouer', meaning 'played'
- exercice
- Physical or mental exercise; practice or drill
- physique
- Relating to the body or physical activity
- prenait
- Imperfect tense of 'prendre', meaning 'was taking'
- forme
- Shape, form, or manner of something
- promenades
- Walks or strolls taken for leisure or exercise
- père
- Father; male parent
- cours
- Course, class, or flow; also used in 'au cours de'
- desquelles
- Relative pronoun meaning 'during which' or 'of which' (feminine plural)
- vieux
- Old; referring to an elderly or aged person
- faisait
- Imperfect tense of 'faire', meaning 'was doing' or 'made'
- leçon
- A lesson or instruction given to a student
- fils
- Son; male offspring
- interrogeait
- Imperfect of 'interroger', meaning 'was questioning'
- travail
- Work, labor, or a task to be completed
- inutile
- Useless; serving no purpose or function
- spéculer
- To speculate; to theorize without definite knowledge
- résultats
- Results or outcomes of an action or process
- possibles
- Possible; capable of happening or being true
- traitement
- Treatment; the way someone or something is handled
- différent
- Different; not the same as another thing
- demeura
- Simple past of 'demeurer', meaning 'remained' or 'stayed'
- fragile
- Fragile; easily broken, weak, or delicate
- toute
- Adjective meaning 'all', 'whole', or 'entire' (feminine)
- vie
- Life; the existence of a living person or being
- fut
- Simple past of 'être', meaning 'was'
- doté
- Endowed or gifted with a particular quality or ability
- intense
- Intense; of extreme strength or degree
- énergie
- Energy; capacity for vigorous activity or effort
- intellectuelle
- Intellectual; relating to the mind and reasoning ability
- allie
- Third person singular of 'allier', meaning 'combines' or 'allies'
- souvent
- Often; frequently occurring or repeated
- faiblesse
- Weakness; lack of strength or physical frailty
- jeunesse
- Youth; the period of being young
- sacrifiée
- Sacrificed; given up for a greater purpose or cause
- idée
- Idea; a thought or concept in the mind
- destiné
- Destined; intended or fated for a particular purpose
- poursuivre
- To pursue, continue, or carry on with something
- œuvre
- Work; a creative or intellectual body of work
- individualité
- Individuality; the quality of being unique or distinct
- enfant
- Child; a young person or boy or girl
- sans
- Preposition meaning 'without'
- importance
- Importance; the quality of being significant or meaningful
- séjour
- A stay or visit in a place for a period
- sud
- South; the direction or region facing south
- âge
- Age; the number of years someone has lived
- quatorze
- The number fourteen
- ans
- Years; used when referring to a person's age
- compagnie
- Company; the presence of others or a group
- famille
- Family; a group of related individuals
- général
- General; a high-ranking military officer
- influence
- Influence; the power to affect others or events
- aperçu
- A glimpse or brief overview of something
- autre
- Other; different or additional person or thing
- atmosphère
- Atmosphere; the mood or environment of a place
- bien
- Well or good; also used as 'although' in 'bien que'
- habitudes
- Habits; regular tendencies or practices of behavior
- studieuses
- Studious; diligent and devoted to study (feminine plural)
- domestique
- Domestic; relating to the home or household
- fussent
- Imperfect subjunctive of 'être', meaning 'were'
- maintenues
- Maintained; kept up or continued (feminine plural past participle)
- plus
- More; greater in quantity, degree, or number
- tira
- Simple past of 'tirer', meaning 'drew' or 'derived'
- intérêt
- Interest; a feeling of curiosity or concern for something
- politique
- Politics or policy; relating to government and affairs
- étrangère
- Foreign; relating to another country or abroad (feminine)
- caractéristiques
- Characteristics; distinguishing features or qualities
- jusqu'
- Preposition meaning 'until' or 'up to' (elided form)
- fin
- End; the final point or conclusion of something
- nommé
- Appointed or named to a position or role
- commis
- A clerk or junior employee in an office
- stagiaire
- A trainee or intern in a professional setting
- bureau
- Office or desk; a workplace or administrative department
- examinateurs
- Examiners; those who assess or evaluate candidates
- premiers
- First; earliest in time or order (masculine plural)
- essais
- Essays; short written pieces on a topic
- furent
- Simple past of 'être', meaning 'were'
- publiés
- Published; made available to the public (plural past participle)
- environ
- Approximately; roughly or about a certain amount
- an
- A year; a period of twelve months
- avant
- Before; earlier in time or position
- entrât
- Imperfect subjunctive of 'entrer', meaning 'entered'
- partir
- To leave or depart; used in 'à partir de' meaning 'from'
- moment
- Moment; a brief or specific point in time
- littéraire
- Literary; relating to literature or writing
- interrompu
- Interrupted; stopped or broken off temporarily
- accès
- Access or attack; a sudden onset of illness
- maladie
- Illness or disease; a state of poor health
- assiduité
- Diligence; steady and persistent effort or application
- prodigieuse
- Prodigious; remarkably great in extent or ability (feminine)
- écrivit
- Simple past of 'écrire', meaning 'wrote'
- articles
- Articles; written pieces published in journals or papers
- variété
- Variety; a range or diversity of different things
- infinie
- Infinite; endless or without limits (feminine)
- sujets
- Subjects or topics; themes addressed in writing
- politiques
- Political; relating to politics or government affairs
- métaphysiques
- Metaphysical; relating to abstract philosophical concepts
- philosophiques
- Philosophical; relating to philosophy and reasoning
- religieux
- Religious; relating to religion or faith
- poétiques
- Poetic; relating to poetry or literary expression
- fit
- Simple past of 'faire', meaning 'made' or 'did'
- découvrir
- To discover or reveal; to find something new
- génération
- Generation; a group of people born in similar period
- influa
- Simple past of 'influer', meaning 'influenced' or 'affected'
- tant
- So much or so many; to such a great extent
- rédaction
- Writing, drafting, or editorial composition of a text
- succès
- Success; the achievement of a desired goal or outcome
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