The Adventures of Roderick Random — Page 1

English → Fr APOLOGUE Level 8/10

A young painter, indulging a vein of pleasantry, sketched a kind of conversation piece, representing a bear, an owl, a monkey, and an ass;

Un jeune peintre, cédant à une veine de plaisanterie, esquissa une sorte de tableau de conversation, représentant un ours, un hibou, un singe et un âne ;

and to render it more striking, humorous, and moral, distinguished every figure by some emblem of human life.

et pour le rendre plus frappant, humoristique et moral, il distingua chaque figure par quelque emblème de la vie humaine.

Bruin was exhibited in the garb and attitude of an old, toothless, drunken soldier;

Bruin était représenté dans l'habit et l'attitude d'un vieux soldat édenté et ivre ;

the owl perched upon the handle of a coffee-pot, with spectacle on nose, seemed to contemplate a newspaper;

le hibou, perché sur l'anse d'une cafetière, les lunettes sur le nez, semblait contempler un journal ;

and the ass, ornamented with a huge tie-wig (which, however, could not conceal his long ears), sat for his picture to the monkey, who appeared with the implements of painting.

et l'âne, orné d'une énorme perruque nouée (qui, cependant, ne pouvait dissimuler ses longues oreilles), posait pour son portrait devant le singe, qui apparaissait avec les outils de peinture.

This whimsical group afforded some mirth, and met with general approbation, until some mischievous wag hinted that the whole—was a lampoon upon the friends of the performer;

Ce groupe fantasque suscita quelque gaieté et rencontra une approbation générale, jusqu'à ce qu'un espiègle malicieux laissât entendre que l'ensemble — était un libelle contre les amis de l'artiste ;

an insinuation which was no sooner circulated than those very people who applauded it before began to be alarmed, and even to fancy themselves signified by the several figures of the piece.

une insinuation qui n'eut pas plus tôt circulé que ces mêmes personnes qui l'avaient applaudie auparavant commencèrent à s'alarmer, et même à s'imaginer être désignées par les différentes figures du tableau.

Among others, a worthy personage in years, who had served in the army with reputation, being incensed at the supposed outrage, repaired to the lodging of the painter, and finding him at home, "Hark ye, Mr. Monkey," said he, "I have a good mind to convince you, that though the bear has lost his teeth, he retains his paws, and that he is not so drunk but he can perceive your impertinence."

Entre autres, un digne personnage d'un certain âge, qui avait servi dans l'armée avec honneur, outragé par l'affront supposé, se rendit au logement du peintre, et le trouvant chez lui : « Écoutez-moi, monsieur le Singe, » dit-il, « j'ai bien envie de vous convaincre que, bien que l'ours ait perdu ses dents, il conserve ses pattes, et qu'il n'est pas si ivre qu'il ne puisse percevoir votre impertinence. »

"Sblood!

« Sangbleu !

Vocabulary

jeune: Young; describing someone of early age.
peintre: Painter; artist who creates paintings.
cédant: Yielding or giving in to an impulse.
veine: Vein; also means a streak or inspiration.
plaisanterie: A joke or jest; humorous remark.
esquissa: Sketched; quickly drew an outline of something.
sorte: Sort or kind; a type of something.
tableau: Painting or picture; visual scene or image.
conversation: Conversation; exchange of spoken or visual ideas.
représentant: Representing; depicting or showing something visually.
ours: Bear; large wild mammal.
hibou: Owl; nocturnal bird of prey.
singe: Monkey or ape; primate animal.
âne: Donkey; beast of burden; also means fool.
rendre: To render or make; to give back something.
frappant: Striking; remarkably noticeable or impressive.
humoristique: Humorous; relating to humor or comedy.
moral: Moral; relating to ethics or a lesson.
distingua: Distinguished; set apart or differentiated each element.
chaque: Each; every individual item in a group.
figure: Figure; depicted character or face in art.
quelque: Some; an unspecified amount or element.
emblème: Emblem; symbol representing an idea or quality.
vie: Life; existence of a living being.
humaine: Human; relating to people or humanity.
représenté: Depicted or represented in a visual work.
habit: Outfit or attire; formal dress or costume.
attitude: Attitude or posture; way of holding oneself.
vieux: Old; describing an elderly person or thing.
soldat: Soldier; member of a military force.
édenté: Toothless; having lost all or most teeth.
ivre: Drunk; intoxicated from alcohol.
perché: Perched; sitting or balanced on something high.
anse: Handle; curved grip of a cup or jug.
cafetière: Coffee pot; vessel used for brewing coffee.
lunettes: Eyeglasses; spectacles worn to aid vision.
nez: Nose; the facial organ for smelling.
semblait: Seemed; appeared to be in a certain way.
contempler: To contemplate; gaze thoughtfully at something.
journal: Newspaper or journal; periodical publication.
orné: Adorned or decorated with ornamental elements.
énorme: Enormous; very large in size or degree.
perruque: Wig; artificial hairpiece worn on head.
nouée: Tied; fastened with a knot or bow.
cependant: However; nevertheless; used to contrast ideas.
dissimuler: To conceal or hide; disguise something.
longues: Long; of great length or duration.
oreilles: Ears; organs used for hearing.
posait: Was placing or posing; setting something down.
portrait: Portrait; painted or drawn image of a person.
devant: In front of; positioned before something.
apparaissait: Was appearing; came into sight or view.
outils: Tools; instruments used to perform work.
peinture: Painting; art of applying paint to surfaces.
groupe: Group; collection of people or objects together.
fantasque: Whimsical; fanciful and unpredictably eccentric.
suscita: Aroused or provoked a reaction in others.
gaieté: Gaiety; cheerfulness and lively happiness.
rencontra: Met with or encountered a response.
approbation: Approval; expression of agreement or praise.
générale: General; widespread or applying to everyone.
espiègle: Mischievous; playfully naughty or roguish.
malicieux: Malicious or mischievous; intending to cause trouble.
laissât: Let or allowed; subjunctive of laisser.
entendre: To hear or imply; let it be understood.
ensemble: Together; the whole group considered as one.
libelle: Libel; defamatory written piece targeting someone.
contre: Preposition meaning 'against'.
amis: Friends; people one has friendly relations with.
artiste: Artist; person who creates works of art.
insinuation: Insinuation; indirect suggestion implying something negative.
tôt: Soon or early; not long after something.
circulé: Circulated; spread or passed around among people.
mêmes: Same; identical or the very same people.
personnes: Persons; individual human beings.
applaudie: Applauded; praised or clapped in approval.
auparavant: Previously; before a certain point in time.
commencèrent: Began; started to do something.
alarmer: To alarm; to become worried or frightened.
même: Even; also means 'same' depending on context.
imaginer: To imagine; to picture something in one's mind.
désignées: Designated or indicated; pointed out as representing.
différentes: Different; not the same; varied.
figures: Figures; depicted characters or forms in art.
Entre: Among or between; used to indicate a group.
autres: Others; additional people or things.
digne: Worthy or dignified; deserving respect.
personnage: Character or personage; notable or important person.
certain: A certain; a particular unspecified person or thing.
âge: Age; the length of time someone has lived.
servi: Served; past participle of servir.
armée: Army; military force of a country.
honneur: Honor; high respect and personal integrity.
outragé: Outraged; deeply offended or insulted.
affront: Affront; deliberate insult or offense to someone.
supposé: Supposed; assumed or believed without certainty.
rendit: Went or made his way; past historic of rendre.
logement: Lodging or dwelling; place where someone lives.
trouvant: Finding; discovering someone or something present.
chez: At the home or place of someone.
Écoutez: Listen; imperative form of écouter, plural.
monsieur: Mister or sir; polite form of address.
Singe: Monkey or ape; used here as a nickname.
bien: Well; also used to intensify meaning.
envie: Desire or urge; wanting to do something.
convaincre: To convince; to persuade someone of something.
perdu: Lost; past participle of perdre.
dents: Teeth; hard structures in the mouth for chewing.
conserve: Retains or keeps; preserves something still usable.
pattes: Paws or claws; animal's feet or hands.
si: So; if; used in conditionals or intensifiers.
puisse: Can; subjunctive of pouvoir (to be able).
percevoir: To perceive or feel; notice something clearly.
impertinence: Impertinence; rude and disrespectful behavior.

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