The Adventures of Roderick Random — Page 6
It now remains to give my reasons for making the chief personage of this work a North Briton, which are chiefly these: I could, at a small expense, bestow on him such education as I thought the dignity of his birth and character required, which could not possibly be obtained in England, by such slender means as the nature of my plan would afford.
Il me reste maintenant à exposer les raisons pour lesquelles j'ai fait du personnage principal de cet ouvrage un habitant du nord de la Grande-Bretagne, et ces raisons sont principalement les suivantes : je pouvais, à peu de frais, lui donner une éducation telle que je la jugeais requise par la dignité de sa naissance et de son caractère, éducation qu'il n'eût pas été possible d'obtenir en Angleterre avec les modestes moyens que la nature de mon projet permettait.
In the next place, I could represent simplicity of manners in a remote part of the kingdom, with more propriety than in any place near the capital; and lastly, the disposition of the Scots, addicted to travelling, justifies my conduct in deriving an adventurer from that country.
En outre, je pouvais dépeindre la simplicité des mœurs dans une région éloignée du royaume avec plus de vraisemblance que dans tout endroit proche de la capitale ; et enfin, le penchant des Écossais pour les voyages justifie le parti que j'ai pris de faire venir un aventurier de ce pays.
That the delicate reader may not be offended at the unmeaning oaths which proceed from the mouths of some persons in these memoirs, I beg leave to promise, that I imagined nothing could more effectually expose the absurdity of such miserable expletives, than a natural and verbal representation of the discourse in which they occur.
Afin que le lecteur délicat ne soit pas choqué par les jurons dénués de sens qui sortent de la bouche de certains personnages dans ces mémoires, je me permets de déclarer que j'ai estimé que rien ne pouvait mieux mettre en évidence l'absurdité de ces misérables remplissages qu'une représentation naturelle et littérale des discours dans lesquels ils apparaissent.
Vocabulary
- reste
- Remains or is left to do something
- maintenant
- Adverb meaning 'now' or 'at this moment'
- exposer
- To set forth or explain reasons clearly
- raisons
- Reasons or justifications for a decision
- lesquelles
- Relative pronoun 'for which', feminine plural form
- personnage
- A character or figure in a literary work
- principal
- Main or most important character or element
- ouvrage
- A literary or artistic work or book
- habitant
- An inhabitant or resident of a place
- nord
- The direction or region of the north
- Grande-Bretagne
- Great Britain, the island nation in northwestern Europe
- principalement
- Adverb meaning 'mainly' or 'chiefly'
- suivantes
- Following or next, feminine plural adjective form
- peu
- Adverb meaning 'little' or 'few', indicating small amount
- frais
- Costs, expenses, or fees associated with something
- donner
- To give something to someone
- éducation
- Education or upbringing received during one's youth
- telle
- Adjective meaning 'such' or 'of that kind'
- jugeais
- Imperfect of 'juger', meaning 'I judged' or 'I considered'
- requise
- Required or necessary, feminine past participle form
- dignité
- Dignity or worthiness befitting one's rank or character
- naissance
- Birth or the social rank associated with one's origin
- caractère
- Character, personality, or distinguishing nature of someone
- eût
- Subjunctive imperfect of 'avoir', meaning 'had'
- possible
- Possible or achievable under given circumstances
- obtenir
- To obtain or acquire something through effort
- Angleterre
- England, a country in the southern part of Britain
- modestes
- Modest or limited in size, amount, or pretension
- moyens
- Means or financial resources available to someone
- nature
- The nature or inherent character of something
- projet
- A plan or project intended to achieve a goal
- permettait
- Imperfect of 'permettre', meaning 'allowed' or 'permitted'
- En outre
- Furthermore or in addition, used to add information
- dépeindre
- To depict or portray something in writing or art
- simplicité
- Simplicity or plainness of manners or lifestyle
- mœurs
- Customs, morals, or social manners of a community
- région
- A region or geographical area of a country
- éloignée
- Remote or distant from the center or capital
- royaume
- A kingdom or realm ruled by a monarch
- vraisemblance
- Verisimilitude or believable appearance of truth
- endroit
- A place or spot, often specific in location
- proche
- Near or close in distance to something
- capitale
- The capital city of a country or region
- enfin
- Finally or lastly, introducing the last point
- penchant
- A strong inclination or liking for something
- Écossais
- Scottish people or something relating to Scotland
- voyages
- Journeys or travels undertaken to distant places
- justifie
- Justifies or provides valid reason for something
- parti
- A decision or course of action taken
- venir
- To come; movement toward the speaker or place
- aventurier
- An adventurer who seeks excitement and new experiences
- pays
- A country or land where people live
- Afin
- In order that or so that a goal is achieved
- lecteur
- A reader of a book or written text
- délicat
- Delicate, sensitive, or easily offended by coarseness
- soit
- Subjunctive form of 'être', meaning 'be' or 'is'
- choqué
- Shocked or offended by something unpleasant or crude
- jurons
- Swear words or oaths used in speech
- dénués
- Devoid or stripped of meaning or sense
- sens
- Meaning, sense, or direction in language or thought
- sortent
- Come out of or exit, third person plural present
- bouche
- The mouth, the organ used for speaking and eating
- certains
- Certain or some, referring to unspecified individuals
- personnages
- Characters or figures appearing in a narrative work
- mémoires
- Memoirs or written accounts of personal experiences
- permets
- Allow or permit oneself to do something
- déclarer
- To declare or state something formally and openly
- estimé
- Considered or deemed to be of a certain value
- rien
- Nothing or no thing at all
- mieux
- Better or best, used as comparative of 'bien'
- mettre
- To put or place something somewhere
- évidence
- Evidence or obvious clarity of a fact
- absurdité
- Absurdity or the quality of being ridiculous or senseless
- misérables
- Wretched, pitiful, or contemptibly bad fillers
- remplissages
- Fillers or padding added unnecessarily to a text
- représentation
- Representation or portrayal of something in a work
- naturelle
- Natural or true to life in appearance or manner
- littérale
- Literal or word-for-word in transcription or translation
- discours
- Speech or discourse produced by a speaker
- lesquels
- Relative pronoun 'in which', masculine plural form
- apparaissent
- They appear or show up in a text or context
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