The Adventures of Roderick Random — Page 5

English → Fr Preface Level 8/10

I have attempted to represent modest merit struggling with every difficulty to which a friendless orphan is exposed, from his own want of experience, as well as from the selfishness, envy, malice, and base indifference of mankind.

J'ai tenté de représenter un mérite modeste aux prises avec toutes les difficultés auxquelles un orphelin sans amis est exposé, tant par son propre manque d'expérience que par l'égoïsme, l'envie, la malveillance et la basse indifférence des hommes.

To secure a favourable prepossession, I have allowed him the advantages of birth and education, which in the series of his misfortunes will, I hope, engage the ingenuous more warmly in his behalf; and though I foresee, that some people will be offended at the mean scenes in which he is involved, I persuade myself that the judicious will not only perceive the necessity of describing those situations to which he must of course be confined, in his low estate, but also find entertainment in viewing those parts of life, where the humours and passions are undisguised by affectation, ceremony, or education; and the whimsical peculiarities of disposition appear as nature has implanted them.

Pour assurer une prévention favorable, je lui ai accordé les avantages de la naissance et de l'éducation, lesquels, au fil de ses malheurs, engageront, je l'espère, les esprits ingénus à prendre plus chaleureusement son parti ; et bien que je prévoie que certaines personnes seront choquées par les scènes vulgaires dans lesquelles il se trouve impliqué, je me persuade que les lecteurs avisés non seulement percevront la nécessité de décrire ces situations auxquelles il doit naturellement être confiné dans son humble condition, mais trouveront aussi du divertissement à observer ces aspects de la vie où les humeurs et les passions ne sont point déguisées par l'affectation, les convenances ou l'éducation, et où les singularités capricieuses du caractère apparaissent telles que la nature les a implantées.

But I believe I need not trouble myself in vindicating a practice authorized by the best writers in this way, some of whom I have already named.

Mais je crois n'avoir pas besoin de me donner la peine de justifier une pratique autorisée par les meilleurs écrivains en ce genre, dont j'ai déjà nommé quelques-uns.

Every intelligent reader will, at first sight, perceive I have not deviated from nature in the facts, which are all true in the main, although the circumstances are altered and disguised, to avoid personal satire.

Tout lecteur intelligent percevra, au premier regard, que je ne me suis pas écarté de la nature dans les faits, qui sont tous vrais dans l'ensemble, bien que les circonstances en aient été modifiées et déguisées, afin d'éviter la satire personnelle.

Vocabulary

ai: ay — First person singular of 'avoir' (have)
tenté: tahn-tay — Attempted or tried to do something
représenter: ruh-pray-zahn-tay — To depict, portray, or represent something
mérite: may-reet — Worth, merit, or deserving quality of someone
modeste: moh-dest — Modest, humble, or unassuming in character
prises: preez — Grips or struggles; 'aux prises avec' means struggling with
difficultés: dee-fee-kul-tay — Difficulties, challenges, or obstacles one faces
auxquelles: oh-kel — Relative pronoun meaning 'to which' (feminine plural)
orphelin: or-fuh-lan — A child whose parents have died
exposé: eks-poh-zay — Exposed or subjected to danger or difficulty
tant: tahn — So much or as much; used in comparisons
propre: propr — Own (one's own) or clean; here meaning 'own'
manque: mahnk — Lack or absence of something needed
expérience: eks-pay-ree-ahns — Experience or practical knowledge gained over time
égoïsme: ay-goh-eesm — Selfishness or excessive concern for oneself
envie: ahn-vee — Envy, jealousy, or desire for another's possessions
malveillance: mal-vay-yahns — Malice, ill will, or hostility toward others
basse: bas — Low, base, or contemptible in moral quality
indifférence: an-dee-fay-rahns — Lack of interest or concern toward others
assurer: ah-sü-ray — To ensure, guarantee, or secure something
prévention: pray-vahn-syohn — Here: predisposition or favorable prior impression
favorable: fah-voh-rabl — Favorable, positive, or advantageous in nature
accordé: ah-kor-day — Granted or given something to someone
avantages: ah-vahn-tazh — Advantages, benefits, or favorable circumstances
naissance: nay-sahns — Birth or the circumstances of being born
éducation: ay-dü-kah-syohn — Education or upbringing received during childhood
lesquels: lay-kel — Relative pronoun meaning 'which' (masculine plural)
fil: feel — Thread; 'au fil de' means 'throughout' or 'over'
malheurs: mah-lur — Misfortunes, hardships, or unhappy events
engageront: ahn-gazh-rohn — Will engage, encourage, or prompt someone to act
espère: es-pair — Hopes or expects a positive outcome
esprits: es-pree — Minds or spirits; here referring to readers' minds
ingénus: an-zhay-nü — Innocent, naive, or candid minds or persons
prendre: prahn-dr — To take; here 'prendre parti' means to take sides
chaleureusement: sha-lur-uhz-mahn — Warmly or enthusiastically in one's manner
parti: par-tee — Side or party; 'prendre parti' means to take sides
prévoie: pray-vwah — Foresees or anticipates a future event (subjunctive)
choquées: shoh-kay — Shocked or offended by something seen or read
scènes: sen — Scenes, situations, or episodes in a narrative
vulgaires: vül-gair — Vulgar, crude, or of low social character
lesquelles: lay-kel — Relative pronoun meaning 'which' (feminine plural)
impliqué: am-plee-kay — Involved or implicated in a situation or event
persuade: per-swad — Convinces or persuades oneself or others of something
lecteurs: lek-tur — Readers of a book or written text
avisés: ah-vee-zay — Discerning, shrewd, or well-informed readers
seulement: sul-mahn — Only or merely; restricting the scope of something
percevront: per-suh-vrohn — Will perceive or understand something clearly
nécessité: nay-ses-ee-tay — Necessity or urgent need for something
décrire: day-kreer — To describe or depict something in writing
situations: see-tü-ah-syohn — Situations or circumstances a character faces
doit: dwah — Must or has to; third person singular of 'devoir'
naturellement: nah-tü-rel-mahn — Naturally or as a matter of course
confiné: kohn-fee-nay — Confined or restricted to a particular place or condition
humble: uhm-bl — Humble, lowly, or of modest social position
condition: kohn-dee-syohn — Condition or social station in life
trouveront: troov-rohn — Will find or discover something (future tense)
divertissement: dee-ver-tees-mahn — Entertainment or amusement derived from something
observer: ob-ser-vay — To observe or watch something carefully
aspects: as-pek — Aspects or facets of a subject or life
humeurs: ü-mur — Moods, humors, or emotional temperaments of people
passions: pah-syohn — Strong emotions or passionate feelings driving behavior
point: pwahn — Here used as negation meaning 'not at all'
déguisées: day-gee-zay — Disguised, masked, or hidden from plain view
affectation: ah-fek-tah-syohn — Artificial behavior or pretentious mannerism
convenances: kohn-vuh-nahns — Social conventions or proprieties governing behavior
singularités: san-gü-lah-ree-tay — Peculiarities or eccentricities of character or behavior
capricieuses: kah-pree-syuz — Capricious, whimsical, or unpredictably changeable
caractère: kah-rak-tair — Character, personality, or nature of a person
apparaissent: ah-pah-res — Appear or come into view (third person plural)
telles: tel — Such as or as they are (feminine plural)
nature: nah-tür — Nature or the inherent qualities of something
implantées: am-plahn-tay — Implanted, instilled, or established within something
crois: krwah — Believe or think; first person singular of 'croire'
besoin: buh-zwahn — Need or necessity; 'avoir besoin de' means to need
peine: pen — Trouble or effort; 'se donner la peine' means to bother
justifier: zhüs-tee-fyay — To justify or defend a choice or action
pratique: pra-teek — Practice or approach used in a particular field
autorisée: oh-toh-ree-zay — Authorized or sanctioned by recognized authorities
meilleurs: may-yur — Better or best; superlative of 'bon'
écrivains: ay-kree-van — Writers or authors of literary works
genre: zhahn-r — Genre or literary type of a written work
dont: dohn — Relative pronoun meaning 'of which' or 'whose'
déjà: day-zhah — Already; indicating something has occurred previously
nommé: noh-may — Named or mentioned by name previously
quelques-uns: kel-kuh-zuhn — Some or a few of a group of people or things
lecteur: lek-tur — A reader of a book or written text
intelligent: an-tel-ee-zhahn — Intelligent, clever, or discerning in understanding
percevra: per-suh-vrah — Will perceive or notice (future tense, third person singular)
regard: ruh-gar — Glance or look; 'au premier regard' means at first sight
écarté: ay-kar-tay — Departed or deviated from something expected
faits: fay — Facts or events that actually occurred
vrais: vray — True or real; accurate and not fabricated
ensemble: ahn-sahn-bl — Together or as a whole group or set
circonstances: seer-kohn-stahns — Circumstances or surrounding conditions of an event
modifiées: moh-dee-fyay — Modified or altered to change their original form
afin: ah-fan — In order to; 'afin de' expresses purpose
éviter: ay-vee-tay — To avoid or prevent something undesirable
satire: sah-teer — Satire or mockery targeting specific real individuals
personnelle: per-soh-nel — Personal or directed at a specific individual

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