The Adventures of Roderick Random — Page 2
The reader gratifies his curiosity in pursuing the adventures of a person in whose favour he is prepossessed; he espouses his cause, he sympathises with him in his distress, his indignation is heated against the authors of his calamity: the humane passions are inflamed; the contrast between dejected virtue and insulting vice appears with greater aggravation, and every impression having a double force on the imagination, the memory retains the circumstance, and the heart improves by the example.
Le lecteur satisfait sa curiosité en poursuivant les aventures d'une personne en faveur de laquelle il est prévenu ; il embrasse sa cause, il compatit à sa détresse, son indignation s'enflamme contre les auteurs de son malheur : les passions humanitaires sont attisées ; le contraste entre la vertu abattue et le vice insultant apparaît avec plus d'acuité, et chaque impression ayant une double force sur l'imagination, la mémoire retient la circonstance, et le cœur s'améliore par l'exemple.
The attention is not tired with a bare catalogue of characters, but agreeably diverted with all the variety of invention; and the vicissitudes of life appear in their peculiar circumstances, opening an ample field for wit and humour.
L'attention n'est pas lassée par un simple catalogue de personnages, mais agréablement divertie par toute la variété de l'invention ; et les vicissitudes de la vie apparaissent dans leurs circonstances particulières, ouvrant un vaste champ à l'esprit et à l'humour.
Romance, no doubt, owes its origin to ignorance, vanity, and superstition.
Le roman doit sans aucun doute son origine à l'ignorance, à la vanité et à la superstition.
In the dark ages of the World, when a man had rendered himself famous for wisdom or valour, his family and adherents availed themselves of his superior qualities, magnified his virtues, and represented his character and person as sacred and supernatural.
Dans les âges sombres du monde, lorsqu'un homme s'était rendu célèbre par sa sagesse ou sa vaillance, sa famille et ses partisans tiraient parti de ses qualités supérieures, magnifiaient ses vertus et représentaient son caractère et sa personne comme sacrés et surnaturels.
The vulgar easily swallowed the bait, implored his protection, and yielded the tribute of homage and praise, even to adoration; his exploits were handed down to posterity with a thousand exaggerations; they were repeated as incitements to virtue; divine honours were paid, and altars erected to his memory, for the encouragement of those who attempted to imitate his example; and hence arose the heathen mythology, which is no other than a collection of extravagant romances.
Le vulgaire avala facilement l'appât, implora sa protection et rendit le tribut d'hommage et de louange, allant jusqu'à l'adoration ; ses exploits furent transmis à la postérité avec mille exagérations ; ils étaient répétés comme des incitations à la vertu ; des honneurs divins lui furent rendus et des autels érigés à sa mémoire, pour encourager ceux qui tentaient d'imiter son exemple ; et c'est ainsi que naquit la mythologie païenne, qui n'est rien d'autre qu'un recueil de romans extravagants.
Vocabulary
- lecteur
- lek-teur — A person who reads; a reader.
- satisfait
- sa-tis-feh — Pleased or content; having one's needs met.
- curiosité
- ku-ryo-zi-tay — Desire to know or learn; curiosity.
- poursuivant
- poor-swee-vahn — Continuing or following; pursuing an activity further.
- aventures
- av-ahn-tур — Exciting or unusual experiences; adventures.
- personne
- pehr-son — An individual human being; a person.
- faveur
- fa-veur — A kind or helpful act; approval or support.
- laquelle
- la-kel — Relative pronoun meaning 'which' or 'whom' (feminine).
- prévenu
- pray-vuh-nü — Predisposed or prejudiced in favor of something.
- embrasse
- ahm-bras — To embrace or adopt a cause wholeheartedly.
- cause
- kohz — A principle or movement one supports; a cause.
- compatit
- kohm-pa-tee — Feels sympathy or compassion toward another's suffering.
- détresse
- day-tres — A state of extreme distress or suffering.
- indignation
- an-dee-nya-syohn — Strong anger at something perceived as unjust.
- enflamme
- ahn-flam — To ignite or inflame with strong emotion or passion.
- contre
- kohntr — Preposition meaning 'against' or 'opposed to'.
- auteurs
- oh-teur — Those who create or are responsible for something; authors.
- malheur
- mal-eur — Misfortune, unhappiness, or a calamitous event.
- passions
- pa-syohn — Strong emotions or enthusiastic feelings driving behavior.
- humanitaires
- ü-ma-ni-tehr — Relating to concern for human welfare and compassion.
- attisées
- a-ti-zay — Stirred up or intensified; fanned like flames.
- contraste
- kohn-trast — A noticeable difference between two things compared.
- entre
- ahntr — Preposition meaning 'between' or 'among'.
- vertu
- vehr-tü — Moral excellence, goodness, or righteous behavior.
- abattue
- a-ba-tü — Knocked down, defeated, or in a dejected state.
- vice
- vees — Immoral or wicked behavior; a moral fault.
- insultant
- an-sül-tahn — Behaving in an offensive or disrespectful manner.
- apparaît
- a-pa-reh — Comes into view or becomes visible; appears.
- acuité
- a-kwi-tay — Sharpness of perception, insight, or mental clarity.
- chaque
- shak — Adjective meaning 'each' or 'every'.
- impression
- an-preh-syohn — An effect or feeling produced on the mind.
- ayant
- ay-yahn — Present participle of 'avoir'; meaning 'having'.
- double
- doobl — Twice as much; consisting of two equal parts.
- force
- fors — Strength, power, or intensity of effect.
- imagination
- i-ma-ji-na-syohn — The faculty of forming mental images or ideas.
- mémoire
- may-mwar — The faculty or act of remembering; memory.
- retient
- ruh-tyahn — Keeps hold of or remembers; retains something.
- circonstance
- seer-kohn-stahns — A condition or fact surrounding an event; circumstance.
- cœur
- keur — The heart; also the center of emotions.
- améliore
- a-may-lyor — Makes better or improves something in quality.
- exemple
- eg-zahm-pl — A thing used to illustrate a rule; example.
- attention
- a-tahn-syohn — The act of directing one's mind to something.
- lassée
- la-say — Tired, wearied, or made bored by something.
- simple
- sam-pl — Not complex; straightforward or uncomplicated.
- catalogue
- ka-ta-log — A systematic list or enumeration of items.
- personnages
- pehr-so-nazh — Characters in a story, play, or narrative.
- agréablement
- a-gray-ab-luh-mahn — In a pleasant or enjoyable manner; agreeably.
- divertie
- di-vehr-tee — Entertained or amused in a pleasant way.
- toute
- toot — Feminine form of 'tout'; meaning 'all' or 'every'.
- variété
- va-rya-tay — A range of different things; variety or diversity.
- invention
- an-vahn-syohn — Something newly created or imagined; an invention.
- vicissitudes
- vi-si-si-tüd — Unpredictable changes or alternations in life circumstances.
- vie
- vee — The state of living; one's life or existence.
- apparaissent
- a-pa-res — Third-person plural of 'apparaître'; they appear.
- circonstances
- seer-kohn-stahns — Conditions or facts surrounding events; circumstances.
- particulières
- par-ti-kü-lyehr — Specific, individual, or distinctive in character.
- ouvrant
- oo-vrahn — Opening up; making accessible or available.
- vaste
- vast — Very large in extent or scope; vast.
- champ
- shahn — A field or domain of activity or thought.
- esprit
- es-pree — The mind, intellect, or spirit of a person.
- humour
- ü-moor — The quality of being amusing or comical; humor.
- roman
- ro-mahn — A long fictional prose narrative; a novel.
- doit
- dwah — Third-person singular of 'devoir'; must or owes.
- sans
- sahn — Preposition meaning 'without'.
- aucun
- oh-kuhn — No, none, or not any; used for negation.
- doute
- doot — Uncertainty or lack of conviction; doubt.
- origine
- o-ri-zheen — The point or place where something begins; origin.
- ignorance
- ig-no-rahns — Lack of knowledge, education, or awareness.
- vanité
- va-ni-tay — Excessive pride in oneself; vanity or conceit.
- superstition
- sü-pehr-sti-syohn — Irrational belief in supernatural causes of events.
- âges
- ahzh — Periods of time in history; ages or eras.
- sombres
- sohnbr — Dark, gloomy, or characterized by little knowledge.
- monde
- mohnd — The world or society; all people collectively.
- lorsqu'
- lors-k — Conjunction meaning 'when' used before a vowel.
- homme
- om — An adult male human being; a man.
- rendu
- rahn-dü — Made or caused to become; rendered into a state.
- célèbre
- say-lebr — Well known or famous; renowned among many people.
- sagesse
- sa-zhes — The quality of being wise; wisdom or prudence.
- vaillance
- va-yahns — Courage and determination in difficult situations; valor.
- famille
- fa-mee — A group of related people; a family.
- partisans
- par-ti-zahn — Strong supporters or followers of a person or cause.
- tiraient
- ti-reh — Imperfect tense of 'tirer'; they drew or pulled.
- parti
- par-tee — Advantage or benefit taken from a situation.
- qualités
- ka-li-tay — Positive attributes or characteristics of a person.
- supérieures
- sü-pay-ryeur — Higher or better in quality, rank, or degree.
- magnifiaient
- ma-nyee-fyeh — Exaggerated or glorified to make seem greater.
- vertus
- vehr-tü — Moral qualities considered admirable; virtues.
- représentaient
- ruh-pray-zahn-teh — Depicted or portrayed someone as having certain qualities.
- caractère
- ka-rak-tehr — The mental and moral qualities of a person.
- sacrés
- sa-kray — Regarded as holy, divine, or worthy of reverence.
- surnaturels
- sür-na-tü-rel — Beyond natural laws; supernatural or otherworldly.
- vulgaire
- vül-gehr — The common people; ordinary or unsophisticated populace.
- avala
- a-va-la — Swallowed something whole; accepted without questioning.
- facilement
- fa-seel-mahn — Without difficulty; in an easy manner; easily.
- appât
- a-pa — Bait used to lure or attract; an enticement.
- implora
- an-plo-ra — Begged or pleaded earnestly for something; implored.
- protection
- pro-tek-syohn — Keeping someone safe from harm or danger.
- rendit
- rahn-dee — Past tense of 'rendre'; gave or paid tribute.
- tribut
- tri-bü — A payment or acknowledgment given as an honor.
- hommage
- o-mazh — A public show of respect or tribute to someone.
- louange
- lwahzh — High praise given to someone; commendation or acclaim.
- allant
- a-lahn — Going; present participle of 'aller' meaning 'going'.
- jusqu'
- zhüsk — Preposition meaning 'until' or 'as far as'.
- adoration
- a-do-ra-syohn — Deep love and reverence; worshipping with great devotion.
- exploits
- eks-plwa — Bold or remarkable feats or achievements; exploits.
- furent
- für — Simple past of 'être'; third-person plural meaning 'were'.
- transmis
- trans-mee — Passed on or conveyed to others; transmitted.
- postérité
- pos-tay-ri-tay — Future generations; those who come after us.
- mille
- meel — The number one thousand; also means 'mile'.
- exagérations
- eg-za-zhay-ra-syohn — Statements that overstate the truth; exaggerations.
- répétés
- ray-pay-tay — Repeated or told again on multiple occasions.
- incitations
- an-si-ta-syohn — Encouragements or prompts urging someone toward action.
- honneurs
- o-neur — Special recognition or distinctions given for merit.
- divins
- di-van — Of or relating to a god; divine or sacred.
- rendus
- rahn-dü — Given or paid; rendered as an offering or tribute.
- autels
- oh-tel — Raised structures used for religious offerings; altars.
- érigés
- ay-ri-zhay — Built or erected; set up in a formal manner.
- encourager
- ahn-koo-ra-zhay — To inspire confidence or motivate someone toward action.
- ceux
- suh — Demonstrative pronoun meaning 'those' or 'those ones'.
- tentaient
- tahn-teh — Imperfect of 'tenter'; they tried or attempted something.
- imiter
- i-mi-tay — To copy or replicate someone's behavior or actions.
- ainsi
- an-si — In this way; thus; used to indicate manner.
- naquit
- na-kee — Simple past of 'naître'; was born or originated.
- mythologie
- mi-to-lo-zhee — A collection of traditional stories about gods and heroes.
- païenne
- pa-yen — Relating to pagan religion; non-Christian or polytheistic.
- rien
- ryan — Nothing; not anything at all.
- autre
- ohtr — Adjective or pronoun meaning 'other' or 'another'.
- recueil
- ruh-kuh-y — A compiled collection of texts or literary works.
- romans
- ro-mahn — Novels or long fictional narratives; plural of roman.
- extravagants
- eks-tra-va-gahn — Wildly exaggerated or absurdly fanciful; extravagant.
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