The Confessions of St. Augustine — Page 12
This age then, Lord, whereof I have no remembrance, which I take on others' word, and guess from other infants that I have passed, true though the guess be, I am yet loth to count in this life of mine which I live in this world.
Cet âge donc, Seigneur, dont je n'ai aucun souvenir, que je tiens du témoignage des autres, et que je conjecture d'après d'autres enfants en bas âge dont j'ai observé le passage, si vraie que soit cette conjecture, je répugne encore à le compter dans cette vie que je vis en ce monde.
For no less than that which I spent in my mother's womb, is it hid from me in the shadows of forgetfulness.
Car il ne m'est pas moins caché dans les ombres de l'oubli que le temps que j'ai passé dans le sein de ma mère.
But if I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me, where, I beseech Thee, O my God, where, Lord, or when, was I Thy servant guiltless?
Mais si j'ai été formé dans l'iniquité, et si ma mère m'a conçu dans le péché, où, je Vous en supplie, ô mon Dieu, où, Seigneur, ou quand, ai-je été Votre serviteur sans faute ?
But, lo! that period I pass by; and what have I now to do with that, of which I can recall no vestige?
Mais, voilà ! je passe outre à cette période ; et qu'ai-je maintenant à faire de ce dont je ne puis rappeler aucune trace ?
Passing hence from infancy, I came to boyhood, or rather it came to me, displacing infancy.
Quittant ainsi l'enfance en bas âge, je parvins à l'enfance proprement dite, ou plutôt c'est elle qui vint à moi, déplaçant le premier âge.
Nor did that depart,--(for whither went it?)--and yet it was no more.
Et pourtant ce premier âge ne s'en alla pas — car où serait-il allé ? — et néanmoins il n'était plus.
For I was no longer a speechless infant, but a speaking boy.
Car je n'étais plus un nourrisson sans parole, mais un enfant qui parlait.
This I remember; and have since observed how I learned to speak.
Je me souviens de cela ; et j'ai depuis observé comment j'ai appris à parler.
It was not that my elders taught me words (as, soon after, other learning) in any set method; but I, longing by cries and broken accents and various motions of my limbs to express my thoughts, that so I might have my will, and yet unable to express all I willed, or to whom I willed, did myself, by the understanding which Thou, my God, gavest me, practise the sounds in my memory.
Ce n'est pas que mes aînés m'aient enseigné les mots selon quelque méthode fixe, comme ils le firent peu après pour d'autres apprentissages ; mais moi, désirant exprimer mes pensées par des cris et des accents brisés et divers mouvements de mes membres, afin de pouvoir satisfaire ma volonté, et pourtant incapable d'exprimer tout ce que je voulais, ni à qui je le voulais, je m'exerçais moi-même, par l'intelligence que Vous, mon Dieu, m'aviez donnée, à reproduire les sons dans ma mémoire.
Vocabulary
- âge
- ahzh — Age; period or stage of life
- donc
- donk — Therefore; so; consequently
- Seigneur
- se-nyur — Lord; title of respect for God or nobility
- dont
- don — Of which; whose; relative pronoun indicating possession
- aucun
- o-kun — No; none; not any
- souvenir
- soov-neer — Memory; recollection of a past event
- tiens
- tyan — Hold; get; derive; first person present of 'tenir'
- témoignage
- tay-mwa-nyazh — Testimony; witness account or evidence
- autres
- ohtr — Others; other people or things
- conjecture
- kon-zhek-tür — Guess; inference based on incomplete information
- après
- ah-pray — After; following in time or order
- enfants
- on-fon — Children; young boys or girls
- bas
- bah — Low; bottom; young in age context
- observé
- ob-ser-vay — Observed; watched or noticed carefully
- passage
- pa-sazh — Passage; transition from one state to another
- si
- see — If; so; whether; conditional conjunction
- vraie
- vray — True; real; genuine; feminine form of 'vrai'
- soit
- swat — May be; let it be; subjunctive of 'être'
- répugne
- ray-pün-yuh — Repels; is reluctant; feels repugnance toward something
- encore
- on-kor — Still; yet; again; even
- compter
- kon-tay — To count; to include; to consider
- vie
- vee — Life; existence; one's lifetime
- vis
- vee — Lived; past historic of 'vivre'
- monde
- mond — World; earth; people; society
- Car
- kar — For; because; coordinating causal conjunction
- moins
- mwan — Less; fewer; minus
- caché
- ka-shay — Hidden; concealed; not visible or known
- ombres
- ombr — Shadows; darkness; shades of obscurity
- oubli
- oo-blee — Forgetfulness; oblivion; state of being forgotten
- temps
- ton — Time; weather; period or duration
- passé
- pa-say — Past; gone by; former time
- sein
- san — Bosom; breast; womb; within something
- mère
- mair — Mother; female parent
- Mais
- may — But; however; coordinating conjunction of contrast
- été
- ay-tay — Been; past participle of 'être'; also summer
- formé
- for-may — Formed; shaped; created; brought into being
- iniquité
- ee-nee-kee-tay — Iniquity; wickedness; moral injustice or sin
- conçu
- kon-sü — Conceived; created or formed in the womb
- péché
- pay-shay — Sin; transgression against divine or moral law
- où
- oo — Where; when; relative or interrogative adverb of place
- supplie
- sü-plee — Beg; implore; entreat earnestly
- ô
- oh — O; oh; interjection used in address or exclamation
- Dieu
- dyuh — God; the supreme divine being
- quand
- kon — When; at what time; temporal conjunction
- serviteur
- ser-vee-tur — Servant; one who serves another, especially God
- sans
- son — Without; lacking; preposition of absence
- faute
- foht — Fault; mistake; sin; wrongdoing
- voilà
- vwa-lah — There it is; behold; that is it
- passe
- pass — Pass; go past; move beyond something
- outre
- ootr — Beyond; over; past; further than
- période
- pay-ryod — Period; span of time; stage of life
- maintenant
- man-t-non — Now; at this present moment
- faire
- fair — To do; to make; general action verb
- puis
- pwee — Then; can; first person of 'pouvoir'
- rappeler
- ra-play — To recall; to remember; to call back to mind
- aucune
- o-kün — No; none; not any; feminine form
- trace
- tras — Trace; mark; sign; vestige left behind
- Quittant
- kee-ton — Leaving; departing from; abandoning a place or stage
- ainsi
- an-see — Thus; in this way; so
- enfance
- on-fons — Childhood; early years of life
- parvins
- par-van — Arrived at; reached; past historic of 'parvenir'
- proprement
- prop-ruh-mon — Properly; strictly speaking; in the precise sense
- dite
- deet — Called; said; named; feminine past participle of 'dire'
- plutôt
- plü-toh — Rather; instead; somewhat; preferably
- vint
- van — Came; past historic third person singular of 'venir'
- déplaçant
- day-pla-son — Displacing; replacing; pushing out of a position
- premier
- pruh-myay — First; earliest; primary in order or rank
- pourtant
- poor-ton — Yet; nevertheless; however; despite that
- alla
- a-lah — Went; past historic third person singular of 'aller'
- car
- kar — For; because; coordinating causal conjunction
- serait-
- suh-ray — Would be; conditional of 'être' in inversion
- allé
- a-lay — Gone; past participle of 'aller'
- néanmoins
- nay-on-mwan — Nevertheless; nonetheless; still; in spite of that
- plus
- plü — More; plus; no longer; comparative adverb
- nourrisson
- noo-ree-son — Infant; nursing baby; very young child
- parole
- pa-rol — Speech; word; spoken language; ability to speak
- mais
- may — But; however; coordinating conjunction of contrast
- enfant
- on-fon — Child; young person; boy or girl
- parlait
- par-lay — Spoke; was speaking; imperfect of 'parler'
- souviens
- soov-yan — Remember; recall; first person of 'se souvenir'
- cela
- suh-lah — That; that thing; demonstrative pronoun
- depuis
- duh-pwee — Since; for; from a point in time until now
- comment
- ko-mon — How; in what way; interrogative adverb
- appris
- a-pree — Learned; acquired knowledge; past participle of 'apprendre'
- parler
- par-lay — To speak; to talk; to communicate verbally
- aînés
- ay-nay — Elders; older people; those older than oneself
- enseigné
- on-se-nyay — Taught; instructed; past participle of 'enseigner'
- mots
- moh — Words; units of spoken or written language
- selon
- suh-lon — According to; following; in accordance with
- quelque
- kel-kuh — Some; any; a certain; indefinite adjective
- méthode
- may-tod — Method; systematic way of doing something
- fixe
- feeks — Fixed; set; established; not changing
- comme
- kom — As; like; in the way that; conjunction of comparison
- firent
- feer — Did; made; past historic third person plural of 'faire'
- peu
- puh — Little; few; a small amount
- apprentissages
- a-pron-tee-sazh — Learnings; apprenticeships; processes of acquiring skills
- désirant
- day-zee-ron — Desiring; wishing; wanting something strongly
- exprimer
- eks-pree-may — To express; to communicate feelings or thoughts
- pensées
- pon-say — Thoughts; ideas; reflections of the mind
- par
- par — By; through; by means of; preposition of means
- cris
- kree — Cries; shouts; screams; loud vocal expressions
- accents
- ak-son — Accents; tones; vocal expressions or inflections
- brisés
- bree-zay — Broken; fragmented; interrupted; not smooth
- divers
- dee-vair — Various; diverse; different kinds of things
- mouvements
- moov-mon — Movements; motions; physical gestures or actions
- membres
- membr — Limbs; members; parts of the body
- afin
- a-fan — In order to; so as to; expressing purpose
- pouvoir
- poov-war — To be able to; can; to have the power
- satisfaire
- sa-tees-fair — To satisfy; to fulfill; to meet a need
- volonté
- vo-lon-tay — Will; desire; intention; determination
- incapable
- an-ka-pabl — Incapable; unable; lacking ability or capacity
- tout
- too — All; everything; every; entirely
- voulais
- voo-lay — Wanted; wished; imperfect of 'vouloir'
- ni
- nee — Nor; neither; used in negative constructions
- exerçais
- eg-zer-say — Was exercising; was using; imperfect of 'exercer'
- même
- mem — Same; even; self; emphasizing pronoun or adjective
- intelligence
- an-te-lee-zhons — Intelligence; understanding; mental capacity or faculty
- donnée
- do-nay — Given; provided; feminine past participle of 'donner'
- reproduire
- ruh-pro-dweer — To reproduce; to imitate; to copy sounds or actions
- sons
- son — Sounds; auditory perceptions; noises
- mémoire
- may-mwar — Memory; faculty of remembering past experiences
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