On the Method of Zadig: Essay #1 from "Science and Hebrew Tradition" — Page 7
Those who are interested in learning more of the fateful history of Zadig must turn to the original; we are dealing with him only as a philosopher, and this brief excerpt suffices for the exemplification of the nature of his conclusions and of the methods by which he arrived at them.
Ceux qui souhaitent en apprendre davantage sur la funeste histoire de Zadig doivent se tourner vers l'original ; nous ne le considérons ici qu'en tant que philosophe, et ce bref extrait suffit à illustrer la nature de ses conclusions et les méthodes par lesquelles il y est parvenu.
These conclusions may be said to be of the nature of retrospective prophecies; though it is perhaps a little hazardous to employ phraseology which perilously suggests a contradiction in terms--the word "prophecy" being so constantly, in ordinary use, restricted to "foretelling."
On pourrait dire que ces conclusions sont de la nature des prophéties rétrospectives ; bien qu'il soit peut-être un peu hasardeux d'employer une terminologie qui suggère dangereusement une contradiction dans les termes — le mot « prophétie » étant si constamment, dans l'usage ordinaire, limité à « prédire ».
Strictly, however, the term prophecy applies as much to outspeaking as to foretelling; and, even in the restricted sense of "divination," it is obvious that the essence of the prophetic operation does not lie in its backward or forward relation to the course of time, but in the fact that it is the apprehension of that which lies out of the sphere of immediate knowledge; the seeing of that which, to the natural sense of the seer, is invisible.
À strictement parler, cependant, le terme prophétie s'applique autant à l'expression ouverte qu'à la prédiction ; et, même dans le sens restreint de « divination », il est évident que l'essence de l'opération prophétique ne réside pas dans sa relation en arrière ou en avant avec le cours du temps, mais dans le fait qu'elle est la saisie de ce qui échappe à la sphère de la connaissance immédiate ; la vision de ce qui, pour le sens naturel du voyant, est invisible.
The foreteller asserts that, at some future time, a properly situated observer will witness certain events; the clairvoyant declares that, at this present time, certain things are to be witnessed a thousand miles away; the retrospective prophet (would that there were such a word as "backteller!") affirms that, so many hours or years ago, such and such things were to be seen.
Le prophète affirme que, dans un avenir proche ou lointain, un observateur bien placé sera témoin de certains événements ; le clairvoyant déclare que, en ce moment précis, certaines choses peuvent être observées à des milliers de kilomètres ; le prophète rétrospectif (si seulement il existait un mot tel que « rétrodisant ! ») affirme que, il y a tant d'heures ou d'années, telles et telles choses étaient visibles.
Vocabulary
- Ceux
- Those (people), referring to a group of persons
- qui
- Who, which, or that (relative/interrogative pronoun)
- souhaitent
- Wish or desire (third person plural present tense)
- en
- In, of it, or some (preposition or pronoun)
- apprendre
- To learn or to teach something
- davantage
- More, further, or to a greater extent
- sur
- On, about, or concerning (preposition)
- funeste
- Disastrous, fatal, or bringing doom and misfortune
- histoire
- Story, history, or account of events
- doivent
- Must or have to (third person plural of devoir)
- se
- Himself, herself, themselves (reflexive pronoun)
- tourner
- To turn or direct oneself toward something
- vers
- Toward or in the direction of
- original
- Original source text or authentic version
- nous
- We or us (first person plural pronoun)
- ne
- Not (first element of French negation)
- le
- Him, it, or the (masculine pronoun or article)
- considérons
- Consider or regard (first person plural present)
- ici
- Here, in this place or context
- qu'
- That or than (elided conjunction or pronoun)
- tant
- So much, as much, or insofar as
- que
- That, than, or as (conjunction or pronoun)
- philosophe
- Philosopher, one who studies fundamental questions
- ce
- This or that (demonstrative pronoun or adjective)
- bref
- Brief, short, or concise in length
- extrait
- Extract, excerpt, or passage from a text
- suffit
- Is sufficient or is enough (third person singular)
- illustrer
- To illustrate, demonstrate, or show by example
- nature
- Nature or character of something
- ses
- His, her, or its (plural possessive adjective)
- conclusions
- Conclusions or final findings reached through reasoning
- méthodes
- Methods, ways, or systematic approaches used
- par
- By, through, or via (preposition)
- lesquelles
- Which (feminine plural relative pronoun)
- y
- There, to it, or at it (adverbial pronoun)
- parvenu
- Arrived at, reached, or managed to achieve
- On
- One, we, or people in general (pronoun)
- pourrait
- Could or might (conditional of pouvoir)
- dire
- To say or to tell something
- ces
- These or those (plural demonstrative adjective)
- prophéties
- Prophecies or predictions of future events
- rétrospectives
- Retrospective, looking backward at past events
- bien
- Well, good, or indeed (adverb or adjective)
- soit
- Be (subjunctive) or let it be, granted
- peut-être
- Perhaps, maybe, or possibly
- peu
- A little, a bit, or slightly
- hasardeux
- Risky, hazardous, or reckless in nature
- employer
- To use, employ, or apply a term
- terminologie
- Terminology or set of specialized terms used
- suggère
- Suggests or implies (third person singular present)
- dangereusement
- Dangerously or in a hazardous manner
- contradiction
- Contradiction or logical inconsistency between ideas
- dans
- In, inside, or within (preposition)
- termes
- Terms, words, or expressions used in context
- mot
- Word or term in a language
- prophétie
- Prophecy or divinely inspired prediction
- étant
- Being (present participle of être)
- si
- So, such, or if (adverb or conjunction)
- constamment
- Constantly, continuously, or all the time
- usage
- Usage, use, or customary practice of something
- ordinaire
- Ordinary, usual, or common in everyday use
- limité
- Limited, restricted, or confined in scope
- prédire
- To predict or foretell future events
- strictement
- Strictly, precisely, or in a rigorous sense
- parler
- To speak or to talk
- cependant
- However, nevertheless, or yet (concessive adverb)
- terme
- Term, word, or designated expression
- applique
- Applies to or is relevant to something
- autant
- As much, as many, or equally
- expression
- Expression or outward manifestation of something
- ouverte
- Open, frank, or unrestricted (feminine adjective)
- prédiction
- Prediction or forecast of a future event
- même
- Same, even, or itself (adjective or adverb)
- sens
- Sense, meaning, or direction
- restreint
- Restricted, limited, or narrow in scope
- divination
- Divination or art of foretelling future events
- évident
- Evident, obvious, or clearly apparent
- essence
- Essence or fundamental nature of something
- opération
- Operation or process of performing an action
- prophétique
- Prophetic or relating to prophecy and prediction
- réside
- Resides or lies in (third person singular)
- pas
- Not (second element of French negation)
- sa
- His, her, or its (feminine singular possessive)
- relation
- Relation or connection between things
- arrière
- Back, backward, or rear direction
- avant
- Before, forward, or ahead in time or space
- avec
- With or together with (preposition)
- cours
- Course or progression of events over time
- temps
- Time or weather
- mais
- But (adversative coordinating conjunction)
- fait
- Fact or deed; makes (verb form of faire)
- saisie
- Grasped, seized, or comprehended
- échappe
- Escapes or eludes (third person singular)
- sphère
- Sphere or domain of knowledge or activity
- connaissance
- Knowledge, awareness, or acquaintance with something
- immédiate
- Immediate, direct, or without intermediary
- vision
- Vision or faculty of seeing beyond normal perception
- pour
- For, in order to (preposition or conjunction)
- naturel
- Natural or innate (masculine adjective)
- voyant
- Seer or clairvoyant person with prophetic vision
- invisible
- Invisible or not perceptible to normal senses
- prophète
- Prophet, one who delivers divine prophecies
- affirme
- Affirms or asserts confidently (third person singular)
- avenir
- Future or time yet to come
- proche
- Near, close, or imminent in time or space
- lointain
- Distant, far, or remote in time or space
- observateur
- Observer or one who watches and notes things
- placé
- Placed or positioned at a specific location
- sera
- Will be (third person singular future of être)
- témoin
- Witness or one who observes an event
- certains
- Certain, some, or particular (plural masculine)
- événements
- Events or occurrences that take place
- clairvoyant
- Clairvoyant person with ability to see remotely
- déclare
- Declares or states (third person singular present)
- moment
- Moment or specific point in time
- précis
- Precise, exact, or specific (adjective)
- certaines
- Certain or some (feminine plural adjective)
- choses
- Things or objects in general
- peuvent
- Can or are able to (third person plural)
- être
- To be (infinitive of fundamental auxiliary verb)
- observées
- Observed or noticed (feminine plural past participle)
- milliers
- Thousands or very large numbers of something
- kilomètres
- Kilometers, units of distance measurement
- rétrospectif
- Retrospective or looking back at past events
- seulement
- Only, merely, or just (adverb of restriction)
- existait
- Existed (third person singular imperfect of exister)
- tel
- Such, such a, or such as (adjective)
- rétrodisant
- Retrodicting person who infers past unknown events
- heures
- Hours or units of time measurement
- années
- Years or periods of twelve months
- telles
- Such or of that kind (feminine plural adjective)
- étaient
- Were (third person plural imperfect of être)
- visibles
- Visible or able to be seen or perceived
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