Pride and Prejudice — Page 10
Miss Austen, too, drew back when the white frost touched her shoes; but I think she would have made a pretty good journey even in a black one.
Miss Austen, elle aussi, recula quand le givre blanc toucha ses chaussures ; mais je pense qu'elle aurait fait un assez bon voyage même dans un noir.
For if her knowledge was not very extended, she knew two things which only genius knows.
Car si ses connaissances n'étaient pas très étendues, elle savait deux choses que seul le génie connaît.
The one was humanity, and the other was art.
L'une était l'humanité, et l'autre était l'art.
On the first head she could not make a mistake; her men, though limited, are true, and her women are, in the old sense, "absolute."
Sur le premier point, elle ne pouvait pas se tromper ; ses hommes, bien que limités, sont vrais, et ses femmes sont, dans le sens ancien, « absolues ».
As to art, if she has never tried idealism, her realism is real to a degree which makes the false realism of our own day look merely dead-alive.
Quant à l'art, si elle n'a jamais essayé l'idéalisme, son réalisme est réel à un degré qui fait paraître le faux réalisme de notre époque simplement mort-vivant.
Take almost any Frenchman, except the late M. de Maupassant, and watch him laboriously piling up strokes in the hope of giving a complete impression.
Prenez presque n'importe quel Français, à l'exception de feu M. de Maupassant, et regardez-le empiler laborieusement des touches dans l'espoir de donner une impression complète.
You get none; you are lucky if, discarding two-thirds of what he gives, you can shape a real impression out of the rest.
Vous n'en obtenez aucune ; vous avez de la chance si, en écartant les deux tiers de ce qu'il donne, vous pouvez façonner une impression réelle à partir du reste.
But with Miss Austen the myriad, trivial, unforced strokes build up the picture like magic.
Mais avec Miss Austen, les innombrables touches triviales et naturelles construisent le tableau comme par magie.
Nothing is false; nothing is superfluous.
Rien n'est faux ; rien n'est superflu.
When (to take the present book only) Mr. Collins changed his mind from Jane to Elizabeth "while Mrs. Bennet was stirring the fire" (and we know how Mrs. Bennet would have stirred the fire), when Mr. Darcy "brought his coffee-cup back himself," the touch in each case is like that of Swift--"taller by the breadth of my nail"--which impressed the half-reluctant Thackeray with just and outspoken admiration.
Quand (pour ne prendre que le présent livre) M. Collins changea d'avis de Jane à Elizabeth « tandis que Mme Bennet attisait le feu » (et nous savons comment Mme Bennet aurait attisé le feu), quand M. Darcy « rapporta lui-même sa tasse de café », la touche dans chaque cas est semblable à celle de Swift — « plus grand d'un ongle » — qui impressionna le Thackeray à moitié réticent par une admiration juste et franche.
Vocabulary
- Miss
- English title for unmarried woman or girl
- elle
- She; feminine third-person singular pronoun
- aussi
- Also; as well; too; likewise
- recula
- Moved backward; retreated; past tense of reculer
- quand
- When; at what time; during which
- le
- The; masculine singular definite article
- givre
- Frost; hoarfrost; frozen dew on surface
- blanc
- White; the color white; pale
- toucha
- Touched; affected; past tense of toucher
- ses
- His; her; its; plural possessive adjective
- chaussures
- Shoes; footwear worn on feet
- mais
- But; yet; however; on the other hand
- je
- I; first-person singular subject pronoun
- pense
- Think; believe; am thinking; first-person singular
- qu
- Shortened form of que; that; which
- aurait
- Would have; conditional past of avoir
- fait
- Done; made; fact; past participle of faire
- un
- A; an; one; masculine singular indefinite article
- assez
- Enough; quite; rather; fairly; sufficiently
- bon
- Good; well; fine; correct; suitable
- voyage
- Trip; journey; voyage; travel experience
- même
- Same; even; self; identical; likewise
- dans
- In; into; within; during; inside
- noir
- Black; dark; the color black
- Car
- Because; for; since; reason connector
- si
- If; so; yes; whether; such
- connaissances
- Knowledge; acquaintances; things known; plural noun
- étaient
- Were; past tense of être; third-person plural
- pas
- Not; step; pace; negation marker
- très
- Very; quite; extremely; highly
- étendues
- Extended; vast; widespread; feminine plural adjective
- savait
- Knew; understood; past tense of savoir
- deux
- Two; the number two; dual
- choses
- Things; matters; objects; items; plural
- que
- That; which; whom; relative pronoun
- seul
- Alone; only; sole; single; lonely
- génie
- Genius; talent; spirit; exceptional ability
- connaît
- Knows; is acquainted with; third-person singular
- une
- A; an; one; feminine singular indefinite article
- était
- Was; past tense of être; third-person singular
- humanité
- Humanity; mankind; human nature; compassion
- et
- And; plus; conjunction connecting words
- autre
- Other; another; different; else; alternative
- art
- Art; craft; skill; creative expression; technique
- Sur
- On; upon; over; above; regarding
- premier
- First; primary; chief; foremost; initial
- point
- Point; dot; issue; subject; period
- ne
- Not; negation marker; no; neither
- pouvait
- Could; was able; past tense of pouvoir
- se
- Reflexive pronoun; himself; herself; itself; oneself
- tromper
- Deceive; mistake; be wrong; err
- hommes
- Men; people; mankind; human beings; plural
- bien
- Well; good; much; quite; very
- limités
- Limited; restricted; bounded; narrow; confined
- sont
- Are; third-person plural of être; exist
- vrais
- True; real; genuine; authentic; correct
- femmes
- Women; females; ladies; wives; plural
- sens
- Sense; meaning; direction; feeling; perception
- ancien
- Ancient; old; former; previous; archaic
- absolues
- Absolute; complete; unconditional; feminine plural
- Quant
- As for; regarding; concerning; with respect
- jamais
- Never; ever; at any time; not ever
- essayé
- Tried; attempted; tested; past participle
- idéalisme
- Idealism; philosophy of ideals; visionary thinking
- son
- His; her; its; one's; possessive adjective
- réalisme
- Realism; practical approach; representation of reality
- est
- Is; third-person singular of être; exists
- réel
- Real; actual; genuine; true; concrete
- degré
- Degree; level; extent; temperature unit; grade
- qui
- Who; which; that; relative pronoun
- paraître
- Appear; seem; look; become visible; publication
- faux
- False; wrong; fake; counterfeit; incorrect
- de
- Of; from; by; some; preposition
- notre
- Our; ours; possessive adjective; singular
- époque
- Epoch; era; period; time; age
- simplement
- Simply; plainly; merely; just; in a simple way
- mort
- Dead; death; deceased; lifeless; mortality
- vivant
- Living; alive; lively; vital; animated
- Prenez
- Take; grab; seize; imperative form; second-person
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