Second Treatise of Government — Page 3
If these papers have that evidence, I flatter myself is to be found in them, there will be no great miss of those which are lost, and my reader may be satisfied without them: for I imagine, I shall have neither the time, nor inclination to repeat my pains, and fill up the wanting part of my answer, by tracing Sir Robert again, through all the windings and obscurities, which are to be met with in the several branches of his wonderful system.
Si ces écrits contiennent les preuves que je me flatte d'y avoir déposées, on ne regrettera guère ceux qui sont perdus, et mon lecteur pourra s'en contenter : car je pense que je n'aurai ni le temps ni l'envie de recommencer mes peines, et de combler les lacunes de ma réponse en suivant à nouveau Sir Robert à travers tous les détours et les obscurités que l'on rencontre dans les différentes branches de son admirable système.
The king, and body of the nation, have since so thoroughly confuted his Hypothesis, that I suppose no body hereafter will have either the confidence to appear against our common safety, and be again an advocate for slavery; or the weakness to be deceived with contradictions dressed up in a popular stile, and well-turned periods: for if any one will be at the pains, himself, in those parts, which are here untouched, to strip Sir Robert's discourses of the flourish of doubtful expressions, and endeavour to reduce his words to direct, positive, intelligible propositions, and then compare them one with another, he will quickly be satisfied, there was never so much glib nonsense put together in well-sounding English.
Le roi et le corps de la nation ont depuis lors si complètement réfuté son hypothèse que je suppose que personne désormais n'aura ni l'audace de s'opposer à notre sûreté commune et de plaider à nouveau en faveur de l'esclavage, ni la faiblesse de se laisser tromper par des contradictions habillées en style populaire et en périodes bien tournées : car si quelqu'un veut bien se donner lui-même la peine, dans les parties ici non traitées, de dépouiller les discours de Sir Robert de l'ornement de ses expressions équivoques, et de s'efforcer de réduire ses paroles à des propositions directes, positives et intelligibles, puis de les comparer entre elles, il sera bien vite convaincu qu'on n'a jamais assemblé autant d'insanités fluides en un anglais aussi harmonieux.
If he think it not worth while to examine his works all thro', let him make an experiment in that part, where he treats of usurpation; and let him try, whether he can, with all his skill, make Sir Robert intelligible, and consistent with himself, or common sense.
S'il ne juge pas utile d'examiner ses œuvres en entier, qu'il tente l'expérience dans la partie où il traite de l'usurpation ; et qu'il essaie, s'il le peut, avec tout son talent, de rendre Sir Robert intelligible et cohérent avec lui-même, ou avec le simple bon sens.
Vocabulary
- Si
- si — If; introduces a conditional clause
- ces
- se — These or those; plural demonstrative adjective
- écrits
- ay-kree — Writings; written works or texts
- contiennent
- kon-tyen — Contain; third person plural of contenir
- preuves
- pruv — Proofs or evidence; plural of preuve
- flatte
- flat — Flatter; to pride oneself or boast
- y
- ee — There; pronoun replacing a previously mentioned place
- avoir
- a-vwar — To have; infinitive of the auxiliary verb
- déposées
- day-po-zay — Deposited or placed; feminine plural past participle
- on
- on — One or we; indefinite subject pronoun
- regrettera
- re-gre-te-ra — Will regret; future tense of regretter
- guère
- gair — Hardly or scarcely; negative adverb of degree
- ceux
- se — Those; masculine plural demonstrative pronoun
- perdus
- pair-du — Lost; masculine plural past participle of perdre
- lecteur
- lek-tur — Reader; person who reads a text
- pourra
- poo-ra — Will be able to; future tense of pouvoir
- en
- on — Of it or some; pronoun replacing partitive noun phrase
- contenter
- kon-ton-tay — To be satisfied or content with something
- car
- kar — For or because; causal coordinating conjunction
- pense
- pons — Think; first person singular of penser
- aurai
- o-ray — Will have; first person singular future of avoir
- ni
- nee — Nor; negative correlative conjunction
- temps
- ton — Time; duration or period available
- envie
- on-vee — Desire or urge; strong inclination toward something
- recommencer
- re-ko-mon-say — To start again or resume something
- peines
- pen — Efforts or troubles; pains taken over work
- combler
- kom-blay — To fill in or make up for gaps
- lacunes
- la-kun — Gaps or missing parts in a work
- réponse
- ray-pons — Response or answer to a question
- suivant
- swee-von — Following; preposition meaning according to or along
- nouveau
- noo-vo — New; adjective meaning fresh or anew
- travers
- tra-vair — Through; used in à travers meaning across
- tous
- too — All; masculine plural adjective or pronoun
- détours
- day-toor — Detours or roundabout ways of arguing
- obscurités
- ob-sku-ree-tay — Obscurities; things that are unclear or dark
- rencontre
- ron-kontr — Encounter; meeting or coming across something
- différentes
- dee-fay-ront — Different; feminine plural adjective meaning varied
- branches
- bronsh — Branches; subdivisions or sections of a system
- admirable
- ad-mee-rabl — Admirable; worthy of admiration or praise
- système
- sees-tem — System; organized set of principles or ideas
- roi
- rwa — King; male monarch or ruler
- corps
- kor — Body; physical body or organized group
- nation
- na-syon — Nation; a country or people sharing identity
- depuis
- de-pwee — Since or for; indicates time elapsed
- lors
- lor — Then; used in depuis lors meaning since then
- si
- see — So or such; adverb of degree
- complètement
- kom-plet-mon — Completely; entirely or thoroughly
- réfuté
- ray-fu-tay — Refuted; disproved or countered an argument
- hypothèse
- ee-po-tez — Hypothesis; an assumption or theory to test
- suppose
- su-poz — Suppose; to assume or presuppose something
- personne
- pair-son — Nobody or person; depends on context
- désormais
- day-zor-may — Henceforth or from now on; hereafter
- aura
- o-ra — Will have; third person singular future of avoir
- audace
- o-das — Audacity or boldness; daring impudence
- opposer
- o-po-zay — To oppose or set against something
- sûreté
- sur-tay — Safety or security; state of being secure
- commune
- ko-mun — Common or shared; belonging to all
- plaider
- play-day — To plead or argue a case in favor
- faveur
- fa-vur — Favor; support or approval of something
- esclavage
- es-kla-vazh — Slavery; the condition of being enslaved
- faiblesse
- feb-les — Weakness; lack of strength or firmness
- laisser
- lay-say — To let or allow; to leave something
- tromper
- trom-pay — To deceive or fool someone
- contradictions
- kon-tra-dik-syon — Contradictions; statements that conflict with each other
- habillées
- a-bee-yay — Dressed up or disguised; feminine plural past participle
- style
- steel — Style; manner of writing or expression
- populaire
- po-pu-lair — Popular; relating to or liked by the public
- périodes
- pay-ryod — Periods or long rhetorical sentences in writing
- bien
- byan — Well; adverb indicating quality or degree
- tournées
- toor-nay — Turned or crafted; well-formed phrases or sentences
- quelqu'
- kel-ke — Someone; elided indefinite pronoun before vowel
- veut
- ve — Wants; third person singular of vouloir
- donner
- do-nay — To give; infinitive of common verb donner
- lui-même
- lwee-mem — Himself; emphatic reflexive pronoun
- peine
- pen — Trouble or effort; worth the effort
- parties
- par-tee — Parts or sections; plural of partie
- ici
- ee-see — Here; adverb indicating this place
- traitées
- tre-tay — Treated or dealt with; feminine plural past participle
- dépouiller
- day-poo-yay — To strip away or remove ornament from writing
- discours
- dee-skoor — Discourse or speech; formal text or argument
- ornement
- or-ne-mon — Ornament; decorative element added to writing
- expressions
- ex-pre-syon — Expressions; words or phrases conveying meaning
- équivoques
- ay-kee-vok — Equivocal or ambiguous; having double meanings
- efforcer
- e-for-say — To strive or make an effort to do
- réduire
- ray-dweer — To reduce or simplify; to bring down
- paroles
- pa-rol — Words or speech; spoken utterances
- propositions
- pro-po-zee-syon — Propositions; clear statements or claims put forward
- directes
- dee-rekt — Direct; straightforward without ambiguity
- positives
- po-zee-teev — Positive; affirmative and clear in meaning
- intelligibles
- an-te-lee-zheebl — Intelligible; able to be understood clearly
- puis
- pwee — Then or next; adverb of sequence
- comparer
- kom-pa-ray — To compare; to examine similarities and differences
- entre
- ontr — Between or among; preposition of position
- sera
- se-ra — Will be; third person singular future of être
- vite
- veet — Quickly; adverb meaning fast or soon
- convaincu
- kon-van-ku — Convinced; past participle meaning persuaded
- jamais
- zha-may — Never or ever; temporal adverb
- assemblé
- a-som-blay — Assembled or gathered; past participle
- autant
- o-ton — As much or so many; adverb of quantity
- insanités
- an-sa-nee-tay — Insanities; absurdities or nonsensical statements
- fluides
- flweed — Fluent or fluid; flowing smoothly in style
- anglais
- on-glay — English; relating to England or its language
- aussi
- o-see — Also or as; adverb of comparison or addition
- harmonieux
- ar-mo-nyo — Harmonious; pleasingly consistent and well-balanced
- juge
- zhuzh — Judge or consider; to deem something worthwhile
- utile
- u-teel — Useful; serving a practical purpose
- examiner
- eg-za-mee-nay — To examine; to look at something carefully
- œuvres
- uvr — Works; artistic or literary productions
- entier
- on-tyay — Entire or whole; complete without omission
- tente
- tont — Attempts; third person singular of tenter
- expérience
- ex-pay-ryons — Experiment or experience; trial or personal knowledge
- partie
- par-tee — Part or section; a portion of a whole
- où
- oo — Where; relative or interrogative adverb of place
- traite
- tret — Treats or deals with; discusses a topic
- usurpation
- u-zur-pa-syon — Usurpation; seizing power or authority illegally
- essaie
- e-say — Tries; third person singular of essayer
- peut
- pe — Can or may; third person singular of pouvoir
- tout
- too — All or every; masculine singular adjective or pronoun
- talent
- ta-lon — Talent; natural ability or skill
- rendre
- rondr — To make or render; to cause to become
- intelligible
- an-te-lee-zheebl — Intelligible; clear enough to be understood
- cohérent
- ko-ay-ron — Coherent; logically consistent and clear
- simple
- sampl — Simple; easy to understand, not complex
- bon
- bon — Good; positive adjective of quality
- sens
- sons — Sense or meaning; rational understanding
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