The Adventures of Roderick Random — Page 3
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In vain the astonished painter declared that he had no intention to give offence, or to characterise particular persons: they affirmed the resemblance was too palpable to be overlooked; they taxed him with insolence, malice, and ingratitude; and their clamours being overheard by the public, the captain was a bear, the doctor an ass, and the senator an owl, to his dying day.
En vain le peintre stupéfait déclara qu'il n'avait nullement l'intention d'offenser qui que ce soit, ni de caractériser des personnes particulières : ils affirmèrent que la ressemblance était trop manifeste pour être ignorée ; ils l'accusèrent d'insolence, de malveillance et d'ingratitude ; et leurs clameurs ayant été entendues du public, le capitaine fut un ours, le docteur un âne, et le sénateur un hibou, jusqu'au dernier jour de sa vie.
Christian reader, I beseech thee, in the bowels of the Lord, remember this example "while thou art employed in the perusal of the following sheets; and seek not to appropriate to thyself that which equally belongs to five hundred different people.
Lecteur chrétien, je t'en conjure, au nom des entrailles du Seigneur, souviens-toi de cet exemple « pendant que tu t'occupes à parcourir les feuillets suivants ; et ne cherche pas à t'approprier ce qui appartient également à cinq cents personnes différentes.
If thou shouldst meet with a character that reflects thee in some ungracious particular, keep thy own counsel; consider that one feature makes not a face, and that though thou art, perhaps, distinguished by a bottle nose, twenty of thy neighbours may be in the same predicament.
Si tu venais à rencontrer un personnage qui te reflète en quelque trait peu flatteur, garde-le pour toi ; considère qu'un seul trait ne fait pas un visage, et que bien que tu sois, peut-être, distingué par un nez en bouteille, vingt de tes voisins pourraient se trouver dans le même cas.
Vocabulary
- En
- Preposition meaning 'in' or 'by' in French.
- vain
- Without success; uselessly; to no effect.
- peintre
- An artist who creates paintings; a painter.
- stupéfait
- Astonished, stunned, or greatly amazed by something.
- déclara
- Past tense of 'déclarer'; stated or announced formally.
- nullement
- Not at all; in no way whatsoever.
- intention
- A plan or aim; what one intends to do.
- offenser
- To offend or insult someone; to cause displeasure.
- soit
- Subjunctive form of 'être'; meaning 'be' or 'may be'.
- ni
- Conjunction meaning 'nor' or 'neither' in negations.
- caractériser
- To characterize or describe the distinct features of someone.
- personnes
- People; individuals; persons in general.
- particulières
- Specific or particular persons; distinct from general.
- affirmèrent
- Past tense of 'affirmer'; they asserted or declared firmly.
- ressemblance
- A likeness or similarity between two people or things.
- trop
- Adverb meaning 'too much' or 'too' before adjectives.
- manifeste
- Obvious, clear, or plainly evident to everyone.
- ignorée
- Feminine past participle of 'ignorer'; overlooked or disregarded.
- accusèrent
- Past tense of 'accuser'; they accused or charged someone.
- insolence
- Rude, disrespectful, or boldly impertinent behavior or attitude.
- malveillance
- Ill will; desire to cause harm or evil to others.
- ingratitude
- Failure to show gratitude or appreciation for kindness received.
- clameurs
- Loud outcries, shouts, or protests from a group.
- ayant
- Present participle of 'avoir'; meaning 'having' in compound forms.
- entendues
- Feminine plural past participle of 'entendre'; heard or listened to.
- public
- The general population; people as a collective audience.
- capitaine
- A captain; a leader or commander of a group.
- fut
- Simple past of 'être'; meaning 'was' in literary contexts.
- ours
- A bear; large wild mammal; also slang for a boorish person.
- docteur
- A doctor; a person holding a medical or academic doctorate.
- âne
- A donkey; also used figuratively for a stubborn or foolish person.
- sénateur
- A senator; an elected member of a senate or legislative body.
- hibou
- An owl; a nocturnal bird often symbolizing wisdom.
- jusqu'
- Contraction of 'jusqu'à'; meaning 'until' or 'up to.'
- dernier
- Last or final; occurring at the end of a sequence.
- jour
- Day; a 24-hour period or the daylight hours.
- vie
- Life; the state of being alive; one's existence.
- Lecteur
- Reader; a person who reads a text or book.
- chrétien
- Christian; a person who follows the Christian religion.
- conjure
- To implore or beseech earnestly; to beg urgently.
- nom
- Name; a word used to identify a person or thing.
- entrailles
- Entrails; bowels; figuratively, deep compassion or inner feelings.
- Seigneur
- Lord; a title for God or a feudal nobleman.
- souviens-
- Imperative of 'se souvenir'; remember or recall something.
- exemple
- An example; a model or illustration used to explain something.
- pendant
- Preposition or conjunction meaning 'during' or 'while.'
- occupes
- Second-person form of 's'occuper'; to busy oneself or engage with.
- parcourir
- To browse through or skim; to travel across or traverse.
- feuillets
- Pages or sheets of paper; leaves of a book or manuscript.
- suivants
- Following; coming after in sequence or order.
- cherche
- Imperative or present of 'chercher'; to look for or seek.
- approprier
- To appropriate; to apply or assign something to oneself.
- appartient
- Third-person singular of 'appartenir'; belongs to someone or something.
- également
- Equally; likewise; also; in the same manner.
- différentes
- Different; varied; not the same; distinct from each other.
- venais
- Imperfect of 'venir'; meaning 'were to come' in conditionals.
- rencontrer
- To meet or encounter someone; to come across unexpectedly.
- personnage
- A character or personage; an important or notable individual.
- reflète
- Third-person singular of 'refléter'; reflects or mirrors something.
- quelque
- Some; a few; any; an indefinite small quantity or degree.
- trait
- A trait or feature; a characteristic line or distinguishing quality.
- peu
- A little; few; not very; a small degree or quantity.
- flatteur
- Flattering; complimentary; painting someone in a favorable light.
- garde-
- Imperative prefix of 'se garder'; beware or be careful.
- considère
- Imperative of 'considérer'; consider or think carefully about something.
- seul
- Alone; only; single; without others; solitary.
- fait
- Fact; an act; something done or known to be true.
- visage
- Face; the front part of a person's head.
- bien
- Well; good; very; used as adverb of degree or quality.
- sois
- Imperative or subjunctive of 'être'; meaning 'be' (command form).
- distingué
- Distinguished; refined; notable for elegance or excellence.
- nez
- Nose; the part of the face used for smelling and breathing.
- bouteille
- A bottle; a container for liquids, typically made of glass.
- vingt
- The number twenty in French.
- voisins
- Neighbors; people living nearby or in adjacent homes.
- pourraient
- Conditional of 'pouvoir'; meaning 'could' or 'might' (they).
- trouver
- To find; to locate; also reflexively, to be situated.
- même
- Same; even; very; identical; used for emphasis or comparison.
- cas
- Case; situation; circumstance; an instance of something occurring.
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