The Ballad of the White Horse — Page 3
It is enough for me to maintain two things: that they are popular traditions; and that without these popular traditions we should have bothered about Alfred about as much as we bother about Eadwig.
Il me suffit de soutenir deux choses : que ce sont des traditions populaires ; et que sans ces traditions populaires, nous nous serions intéressés à Alfred à peu près autant que nous nous intéressons à Eadwig.
One other consideration needs a note.
Une autre considération mérite d'être signalée.
Alfred has come down to us in the best way (that is, by national legends) solely for the same reason as Arthur and Roland and the other giants of that darkness, because he fought for the Christian civilization against the heathen nihilism.
Alfred nous est parvenu de la meilleure façon qui soit (c'est-à-dire par les légendes nationales) uniquement pour la même raison qu'Arthur et Roland et les autres géants de ces temps obscurs, parce qu'il a combattu pour la civilisation chrétienne contre le nihilisme païen.
But since this work was really done by generation after generation, by the Romans before they withdrew, and by the Britons while they remained, I have summarised this first crusade in a triple symbol, and given to a fictitious Roman, Celt, and Saxon, a part in the glory of Ethandune.
Mais comme ce travail fut réellement accompli de génération en génération, par les Romains avant leur retrait, et par les Bretons tant qu'ils demeurèrent, j'ai résumé cette première croisade en un triple symbole, et attribué à un Romain, un Celte et un Saxon fictifs, une part dans la gloire d'Ethandune.
I fancy that in fact Alfred's Wessex was of very mixed bloods; but in any case, it is the chief value of legend to mix up the centuries while preserving the sentiment; to see all ages in a sort of splendid foreshortening.
J'imagine qu'en réalité le Wessex d'Alfred était de sang très mêlé ; mais en tout état de cause, la principale valeur de la légende est de mêler les siècles tout en préservant le sentiment ; de voir toutes les époques dans une sorte de raccourci splendide.
That is the use of tradition: it telescopes history.
Tel est l'usage de la tradition : elle condense l'histoire.
G.K.C.
G.K.C.
DEDICATION
DÉDICACE
Of great limbs gone to chaos, A great face turned to night-- Why bend above a shapeless shroud Seeking in such archaic cloud Sight of strong lords and light?
De grands membres livrés au chaos, Un grand visage tourné vers la nuit -- Pourquoi se pencher sur un linceul informe En cherchant dans un tel nuage archaïque La vision de seigneurs puissants et de lumière ?
Where seven sunken Englands Lie buried one by one, Why should one idle spade, I wonder, Shake up the dust of thanes like thunder To smoke and choke the sun?
Là où sept Angleterre englouties Gisent enterrées l'une après l'autre, Pourquoi une bêche oisive, je me demande, Soulèverait-elle la poussière des thanes comme le tonnerre Pour fumer et étouffer le soleil ?
Vocabulary
- suffit
- It suffices; it is enough (from suffire)
- soutenir
- To support, uphold, or maintain an argument
- traditions
- Traditions; customs passed down through generations
- populaires
- Popular; relating to the common people or folk
- serions
- Conditional first person plural of être: we would be
- intéressés
- Interested; past participle of intéresser
- près
- Near, close; used in expressions of approximation
- autant
- As much, as many; expressing equal quantity
- intéressons
- First person plural present of intéresser: we interest
- considération
- Consideration; a factor worthy of attention or thought
- mérite
- Deserves, merits; third person singular of mériter
- signalée
- Noted, pointed out; past participle of signaler
- parvenu
- Arrived, reached; past participle of parvenir
- meilleure
- Best; feminine superlative form of bon
- façon
- Way, manner; method of doing something
- soit
- Subjunctive third person singular of être: be
- est-à-dire
- That is to say; used to clarify or explain
- légendes
- Legends; traditional stories of heroic figures
- nationales
- National; relating to a country's identity or culture
- uniquement
- Only, solely; exclusively for one reason
- même
- Same; also used for emphasis meaning even
- raison
- Reason; a cause or justification for something
- géants
- Giants; very large or legendary powerful figures
- obscurs
- Obscure, dark; little known or difficult to understand
- combattu
- Fought; past participle of combattre
- civilisation
- Civilization; an advanced stage of human social development
- chrétienne
- Christian; feminine adjective relating to Christianity
- contre
- Against; preposition indicating opposition
- nihilisme
- Nihilism; rejection of all moral and religious principles
- païen
- Pagan; relating to non-Christian or pre-Christian beliefs
- travail
- Work; labor or a task to be accomplished
- fut
- Was; simple past (passé simple) of être
- réellement
- Really, truly; in a genuine or actual manner
- accompli
- Accomplished, achieved; past participle of accomplir
- génération
- Generation; a group of people born in the same era
- retrait
- Withdrawal, retreat; act of pulling back
- Bretons
- Bretons; people of Brittany or ancient Britain
- tant
- So much, as long as; expressing duration or degree
- demeurèrent
- Remained, stayed; passé simple of demeurer
- résumé
- Summarized; past participle of résumer
- croisade
- Crusade; a medieval religious military campaign
- triple
- Triple; consisting of three parts or elements
- symbole
- Symbol; something representing an idea or concept
- attribué
- Attributed; assigned or credited to someone
- Celte
- Celt; a member of the ancient Celtic peoples
- fictifs
- Fictional; imaginary or invented characters
- part
- Part, share; a portion belonging to someone
- gloire
- Glory; great honor or renown achieved by heroism
- imagine
- Imagine; first person singular of imaginer
- réalité
- Reality; the actual state of things as they exist
- sang
- Blood; also used figuratively for lineage
- mêlé
- Mixed, blended; past participle of mêler
- état
- State, condition; also a nation or government
- cause
- Cause; a reason or origin of an event
- principale
- Main, principal; most important feminine adjective
- valeur
- Value, worth; importance or quality of something
- légende
- Legend; a traditional story of historical significance
- mêler
- To mix, blend; to combine different elements together
- siècles
- Centuries; periods of one hundred years
- préservant
- Preserving; present participle of préserver
- sentiment
- Feeling, sentiment; an emotional sense or awareness
- époques
- Eras, epochs; distinct periods of historical time
- sorte
- Sort, kind; a type or variety of something
- raccourci
- Shortcut, condensed version; an abbreviated form
- splendide
- Splendid, magnificent; impressively beautiful or grand
- Tel
- Such; demonstrative adjective meaning of this kind
- usage
- Usage, custom; the conventional practice of something
- tradition
- Tradition; a long-established custom or belief
- condense
- Condenses; compresses information into shorter form
- histoire
- History, story; an account of past events
- DÉDICACE
- Dedication; introductory section honoring someone
- membres
- Members, limbs; parts of a body or group
- livrés
- Delivered, surrendered; past participle of livrer
- chaos
- Chaos; complete disorder and utter confusion
- visage
- Face; the front part of a person's head
- tourné
- Turned; past participle of tourner
- vers
- Toward; preposition indicating direction
- nuit
- Night; the period of darkness between sunset and sunrise
- pencher
- To lean, bend over; to incline toward something
- linceul
- Shroud; a cloth used to wrap a dead body
- informe
- Shapeless, formless; lacking a definite form
- cherchant
- Searching, looking for; present participle of chercher
- tel
- Such, like; demonstrative adjective of comparison
- nuage
- Cloud; a mass of water vapor in the sky
- archaïque
- Archaic; very old-fashioned or from an ancient era
- vision
- Vision; a sight or dream-like mental image
- seigneurs
- Lords; men of high rank or noble authority
- puissants
- Powerful, mighty; having great strength or authority
- lumière
- Light; visible radiance or illumination
- Angleterre
- England; the country in the British Isles
- englouties
- Swallowed up, engulfed; past participle of engloutir
- Gisent
- Lie; third person plural of gésir meaning to lie
- enterrées
- Buried; past participle feminine plural of enterrer
- bêche
- Spade; a digging tool used in gardening
- oisive
- Idle; doing nothing, not in use or active
- demande
- Ask, wonder; first person singular of demander
- Soulèverait-elle
- Would it raise; conditional interrogative of soulever
- poussière
- Dust; fine particles of matter on a surface
- tonnerre
- Thunder; the loud sound following a lightning bolt
- fumer
- To smoke; to emit smoke or to smoke tobacco
- étouffer
- To suffocate, smother; to suppress or choke something
- soleil
- Sun; the star at the center of our solar system
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