On the Method of Zadig: Essay #1 from "Science and Hebrew Tradition" — Page 3
One day, walking near a little wood, he saw, hastening that way, one of the Queen's chief eunuchs, followed by a troop of officials, who appeared to be in the greatest anxiety, running hither and thither like men distraught, in search of some lost treasure.
Un jour, se promenant près d'un petit bois, il vit accourir vers lui un des premiers eunuques de la reine, suivi d'une troupe d'officiers qui paraissaient dans la plus grande inquiétude, courant çà et là comme des hommes égarés, cherchant quelque chose de perdu.
'Young man,' cried the eunuch, 'have you seen the Queen's dog?'
« Jeune homme, s'écria l'eunuque, avez-vous vu le chien de la reine ? »
Zadig answered modestly, 'A bitch, I think, not a dog.'
Zadig répondit modestement : « C'est une chienne, je crois, et non pas un chien. »
'Quite right,' replied the eunuch; and Zadig continued, 'A very small spaniel who has lately had puppies; she limps with the left foreleg, and has very long ears.'
« Vous avez raison », répliqua l'eunuque ; et Zadig continua : « C'est une épagneule très petite qui a eu récemment des petits ; elle boite de la jambe gauche de devant, et a les oreilles très longues. »
'Ah! you have seen her then,' said the breathless eunuch.
« Ah ! vous l'avez donc vue », dit l'eunuque hors d'haleine.
'No,' answered Zadig, 'I have not seen her; and I really was not aware that the Queen possessed a spaniel.'
« Non, répondit Zadig, je ne l'ai point vue ; et je ne savais pas même que la reine eût une épagneule. »
"By an odd coincidence, at the very same time, the handsomest horse in the King's stables broke away from his groom in the Babylonian plain.
« Par une étrange coïncidence, au même moment, le plus beau cheval des écuries du roi s'échappa de son palefrenier dans la plaine de Babylone.
The grand huntsman and all his staff were seeking the horse with as much anxiety as the eunuch and his people the spaniel; and the grand huntsman asked Zadig if he had not seen the King's horse go that way.
Le grand veneur et tout son équipage cherchaient le cheval avec autant d'inquiétude que l'eunuque et ses gens l'épagneule ; et le grand veneur demanda à Zadig s'il n'avait pas vu passer le cheval du roi.
'A first-rate galloper, small-hoofed, five feet high; tail three feet and a half long; cheek pieces of the bit of twenty-three carat gold; shoes silver?' said Zadig.
« Un excellent galopeur, aux sabots petits, haut de cinq pieds ; queue de trois pieds et demi ; les bossettes du mors en or de vingt-trois carats ; fers d'argent ? » dit Zadig.
'Which way did he go? Where is he?' cried the grand huntsman.
« Par où est-il passé ? Où est-il ? » s'écria le grand veneur.
Vocabulary
- jour
- A day; a unit of time lasting 24 hours
- se
- Reflexive pronoun: himself, herself, itself, themselves
- promenant
- Walking, strolling; present participle of se promener
- près
- Near, close to a place or object
- petit
- Small, little in size or importance
- bois
- A wood, small forest; also means wood (material)
- vit
- Saw; past historic of voir (to see)
- accourir
- To come running, to rush toward someone
- vers
- Toward, in the direction of something
- lui
- Him, to him; third-person singular pronoun
- premiers
- First, foremost; plural masculine adjective
- reine
- Queen; female monarch or ruler of a kingdom
- suivi
- Followed; past participle of suivre (to follow)
- troupe
- A group, troop, or band of people
- officiers
- Officers; people holding authority in military or court
- paraissaient
- Appeared, seemed; imperfect of paraître
- dans
- In, inside, within a place or context
- plus
- More; used to form comparatives and superlatives
- grande
- Great, large, big; feminine form of grand
- inquiétude
- Worry, anxiety, unease about a situation
- courant
- Running; present participle of courir (to run)
- çà
- Here, this way; used in expression çà et là
- là
- There, over there; indicates a place or position
- comme
- Like, as; used for comparison or manner
- hommes
- Men; plural of homme (man, human being)
- égarés
- Lost, astray, confused; past participle of égarer
- cherchant
- Searching, looking for; present participle of chercher
- quelque
- Some, a few; indefinite adjective before a noun
- chose
- Thing; an object or matter of any kind
- perdu
- Lost; past participle of perdre (to lose)
- Jeune
- Young; adjective describing a person of youth
- homme
- Man; an adult male person
- écria
- Exclaimed, cried out; past historic of s'écrier
- vu
- Seen; past participle of voir (to see)
- chien
- Dog; common domestic animal kept as pet
- répondit
- Replied, answered; past historic of répondre
- modestement
- Modestly, humbly; in a restrained and modest manner
- chienne
- Female dog, bitch; feminine form of chien
- crois
- Believe, think; first-person singular of croire
- non
- No; negative response or negation word
- raison
- Reason, right; avoir raison means to be right
- répliqua
- Replied, retorted; past historic of répliquer
- continua
- Continued; past historic of continuer (to continue)
- très
- Very; intensifying adverb modifying adjectives or adverbs
- petite
- Small, little; feminine singular adjective
- eu
- Had; past participle of avoir (to have)
- récemment
- Recently, lately; not long ago in time
- petits
- Young ones, pups; small offspring of animals
- boite
- Limps; third-person singular of boiter (to limp)
- jambe
- Leg; a limb used for walking and standing
- gauche
- Left; direction opposite to right; also awkward
- devant
- In front of, before; indicating position or order
- oreilles
- Ears; organs of hearing, plural of oreille
- longues
- Long; feminine plural adjective describing length
- donc
- Therefore, so, then; logical consequence connector
- vue
- Seen; feminine past participle of voir (to see)
- dit
- Said; past historic of dire (to say)
- hors
- Out of, outside; preposition indicating exclusion
- haleine
- Breath; air exhaled from the lungs
- Non
- No; negative response word
- point
- Not at all; literary negation equivalent to pas
- savais
- Knew; imperfect tense of savoir (to know)
- même
- Even, same; emphasizes identity or adds emphasis
- eût
- Had; imperfect subjunctive of avoir (to have)
- Par
- By, through, per; preposition of means or agent
- étrange
- Strange, odd, unusual; describing something unexpected
- coïncidence
- Coincidence; simultaneous occurrence of unrelated events
- moment
- Moment; a brief or particular point in time
- beau
- Beautiful, handsome; masculine adjective of beauty
- cheval
- Horse; a large four-legged domesticated animal
- écuries
- Stables; buildings housing horses, plural of écurie
- roi
- King; male monarch ruling a kingdom
- échappa
- Escaped; past historic of échapper (to escape)
- plaine
- Plain; a large flat area of open land
- grand
- Great, grand, large; masculine adjective of size
- tout
- All, every, whole; indicating totality or entirety
- équipage
- Retinue, crew, equipment; group accompanying a lord
- cherchaient
- Were looking for; imperfect of chercher (to search)
- avec
- With; preposition indicating accompaniment or means
- autant
- As much, as many; indicating equal quantity or degree
- gens
- People, folks; a group of persons generally
- demanda
- Asked; past historic of demander (to ask)
- passer
- To pass, to go by; movement past a point
- excellent
- Excellent, outstanding; of very high quality
- haut
- High, tall; indicating height or elevation
- cinq
- Five; the number 5
- pieds
- Feet; units of measurement or body parts
- queue
- Tail; rear appendage of an animal
- trois
- Three; the number 3
- demi
- Half; indicating one of two equal parts
- en
- In, of, made of; preposition of material or state
- or
- Gold; a precious yellow metal
- vingt-
- Twenty; the number 20 (used in compound numbers)
- argent
- Silver; a precious white metal; also means money
- où
- Where; interrogative or relative adverb of place
- passé
- Passed, gone by; past participle of passer
- Où
- Where; interrogative adverb asking about location
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