The Adventures of Roderick Random — Page 1
Of my Birth and Parentage
De ma naissance et de mes origines
I was born in the northern part of this united kingdom, in the house of my grandfather, a gentleman of considerable fortune and influence, who had on many occasions signalised himself in behalf of his country; and was remarkable for his abilities in the law, which he exercised with great success in the station of a judge, particularly against beggars, for whom he had a singular aversion.
Je suis né dans la partie septentrionale de ce royaume uni, dans la maison de mon grand-père, un gentilhomme d'une fortune et d'une influence considérables, qui s'était signalé en maintes occasions au service de sa patrie ; et qui était remarquable par ses capacités en droit, qu'il exerçait avec grand succès dans la fonction de juge, particulièrement à l'encontre des mendiants, pour lesquels il éprouvait une aversion singulière.
My father (his youngest son) falling in love with a poor relation, who lived with the old gentleman in quality of a housekeeper, espoused her privately; and I was the first fruit of that marriage.
Mon père (son fils cadet) étant tombé amoureux d'une parente sans fortune, qui vivait chez le vieux gentilhomme en qualité de gouvernante, l'épousa secrètement ; et je fus le premier fruit de cette union.
During her pregnancy, a dream discomposed my mother so much that her husband, tired with her importunity, at last consulted a highland seer, whose favourable interpretation he would have secured beforehand by a bribe, but found him incorruptible.
Durant sa grossesse, un rêve troubla tant ma mère que son mari, lassé de ses importunités, consulta finalement un devin des Highlands, dont il aurait voulu s'assurer à l'avance une interprétation favorable moyennant un pot-de-vin, mais le trouva incorruptible.
She dreamed she was delivered of a tennis-ball, which the devil (who, to her great surprise, acted the part of a midwife) struck so forcibly with a racket that it disappeared in an instant; and she was for some time inconsolable for the lost of her offspring; when, all on a sudden, she beheld it return with equal violence, and enter the earth, beneath her feet, whence immediately sprang up a goodly tree covered with blossoms, the scent of which operated so strongly on her nerves that she awoke.
Elle rêva qu'elle accouchait d'une balle de tennis, que le diable (qui, à sa grande surprise, jouait le rôle de sage-femme) frappa si violemment avec une raquette qu'elle disparut en un instant ; et elle fut quelque temps inconsolable de la perte de son enfant ; lorsque, tout à coup, elle la vit revenir avec une égale violence, et s'enfoncer dans la terre sous ses pieds, d'où surgit aussitôt un bel arbre couvert de fleurs, dont le parfum agit si puissamment sur ses nerfs qu'elle se réveilla.
Vocabulary
- naissance
- Birth; the act or event of being born
- origines
- Origins; background, ancestry, or place of coming from
- né
- Born; past participle of naître, having come into life
- partie
- Part, portion; a section or region of something larger
- septentrionale
- Northern; relating to or situated in the north
- royaume
- Kingdom; a country or territory ruled by a monarch
- uni
- United; joined together as one entity or whole
- maison
- House, home; a building where people live
- père
- Father; a male parent
- gentilhomme
- Gentleman; a man of noble or upper-class birth
- fortune
- Fortune, wealth; a large amount of money or assets
- influence
- Influence; the power to affect people or events
- considérables
- Considerable; notably large or significant in degree
- signalé
- Distinguished, noted; marked oneself out remarkably
- maintes
- Many, numerous; used in phrase maintes occasions
- occasions
- Occasions; particular times or opportunities for action
- service
- Service; work done for or duty performed for someone
- patrie
- Homeland, fatherland; one's native country
- remarquable
- Remarkable; worthy of attention or admiration
- capacités
- Abilities, capacities; skills or competencies one possesses
- droit
- Law, right; legal system or a legal entitlement
- exerçait
- Practiced, exercised; imperfect of exercer, to practice
- succès
- Success; the achievement of a desired aim or result
- fonction
- Function, role; an official duty or professional position
- juge
- Judge; an official who presides over legal proceedings
- particulièrement
- Particularly, especially; to a special or notable degree
- encontre
- Against; used in phrase à l'encontre de, against
- mendiants
- Beggars; people who ask others for money or food
- lesquels
- Which, whom; masculine plural relative pronoun
- éprouvait
- Felt, experienced; imperfect of éprouver, to feel
- aversion
- Aversion; a strong dislike or hostility toward something
- singulière
- Singular, peculiar; unique or strikingly unusual
- fils
- Son; a male child in relation to his parents
- cadet
- Younger son; the younger of two or more siblings
- amoureux
- In love; feeling romantic love for someone
- parente
- Female relative; a woman related by blood or family
- vivait
- Was living, lived; imperfect of vivre, to live
- chez
- At the home of; preposition indicating someone's place
- vieux
- Old man; masculine adjective or noun meaning old
- qualité
- Quality, capacity; here meaning in the role or capacity of
- gouvernante
- Governess, housekeeper; a woman managing a household
- épousa
- Married; simple past of épouser, to marry someone
- secrètement
- Secretly; done in a hidden or clandestine manner
- fruit
- Fruit, result; outcome or product of something
- union
- Union; a joining together, especially in marriage
- Durant
- During; preposition indicating something happening within a period
- grossesse
- Pregnancy; the condition of carrying a developing fetus
- rêve
- Dream; images and events experienced during sleep
- troubla
- Troubled, disturbed; simple past of troubler, to disturb
- tant
- So much, so many; indicating a great degree or extent
- mère
- Mother; a female parent
- mari
- Husband; a man in relation to his spouse
- lassé
- Weary, tired; worn out by repeated importunity
- importunités
- Importunities; persistent and annoying requests or demands
- consulta
- Consulted; simple past of consulter, to seek advice from
- finalement
- Finally, in the end; at the last moment or conclusion
- devin
- Soothsayer, diviner; someone who predicts the future
- dont
- Of which, whose; relative pronoun replacing de + noun
- assurer
- To ensure, assure; to make certain or guarantee something
- avance
- Advance; beforehand, in phrase à l'avance, in advance
- interprétation
- Interpretation; explanation of the meaning of something
- favorable
- Favorable; giving approval or expressing a positive outcome
- moyennant
- In exchange for, by means of; in return for payment
- pot
- Pot; here used in pot-de-vin, meaning bribe
- vin
- Wine; an alcoholic drink made from fermented grapes
- incorruptible
- Incorruptible; impossible to bribe or morally compromise
- rêva
- Dreamed; simple past of rêver, to dream
- accouchait
- Was giving birth; imperfect of accoucher, to give birth
- balle
- Ball; a small round object used in games
- diable
- Devil; the supreme evil being in Christian belief
- surprise
- Surprise; an unexpected or astonishing event or feeling
- jouait
- Was playing; imperfect of jouer, to play
- rôle
- Role; the part played by someone in a situation
- sage
- Wise; having good judgment, here in sage-femme midwife
- femme
- Woman, wife; an adult female person
- frappa
- Struck, hit; simple past of frapper, to hit
- violemment
- Violently; in a forceful or intense manner
- raquette
- Racket; a bat with strings used in tennis
- disparut
- Disappeared; simple past of disparaître, to vanish
- instant
- Instant, moment; a very brief period of time
- quelque
- Some, a few; indefinite adjective indicating an unspecified amount
- temps
- Time, weather; a duration or meteorological conditions
- inconsolable
- Inconsolable; unable to be comforted after grief or loss
- perte
- Loss; the state of no longer having something
- enfant
- Child; a young human being, boy or girl
- lorsque
- When; conjunction indicating the time something happens
- coup
- Blow, strike; here in tout à coup, suddenly
- revenir
- To come back, return; to come again to a place
- égale
- Equal, same; of the same degree or intensity
- violence
- Violence; extreme force or intense physical aggression
- enfoncer
- To drive in, sink into; to push deeply into a surface
- terre
- Earth, ground, soil; the surface of the ground
- pieds
- Feet; the lower extremities of the human body
- surgit
- Sprang up, arose; simple past of surgir, to emerge suddenly
- aussitôt
- Immediately, at once; without any delay
- bel
- Beautiful, fine; masculine form of beau before a vowel
- arbre
- Tree; a tall woody plant with trunk and branches
- couvert
- Covered; past participle of couvrir, covered with something
- fleurs
- Flowers; the colorful blooms of a plant
- parfum
- Perfume, fragrance; a pleasant sweet scent or smell
- agit
- Acted, affected; simple past of agir, to act or affect
- puissamment
- Powerfully; in a strong or forceful manner
- nerfs
- Nerves; the bodily fibers or one's nervous sensibility
- réveilla
- Woke up; simple past of se réveiller, to wake up
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