The divine comedy — Page 2
a panther, nimble, light,
une panthère, agile, légère,
And cover'd with a speckled skin, appear'd,
Et couverte d'une peau tachetée, apparut,
Nor, when it saw me, vanish'd, rather strove
Et, lorsqu'elle me vit, ne s'enfuit point, mais s'efforça
To check my onward going; that ofttimes
De barrer mon chemin; si bien que souvent
With purpose to retrace my steps I turn'd.
Je me retournai avec l'intention de rebrousser chemin.
The hour was morning's prime, and on his way
L'heure était celle de l'aurore, et le soleil montait
Aloft the sun ascended with those stars,
En haut avec ces étoiles,
That with him rose, when Love divine first mov'd
Qui s'étaient levées avec lui, lorsque l'Amour divin fit mouvoir
Those its fair works: so that with joyous hope
Ses belles œuvres: de sorte qu'une joyeuse espérance
All things conspir'd to fill me, the gay skin
Tout conspirait à me remplir, la belle robe
Of that swift animal, the matin dawn
De ce rapide animal, l'aurore matinale
And the sweet season. Soon that joy was chas'd,
Et la douce saison. Bientôt cette joie fut chassée,
And by new dread succeeded, when in view
Et remplacée par une nouvelle terreur, lorsqu'apparut
A lion came, 'gainst me, as it appear'd,
Un lion qui s'avançait contre moi, à ce qu'il semblait,
With his head held aloft and hunger-mad,
La tête haute et furieux de faim,
That e'en the air was fear-struck. A she-wolf
Si bien que l'air même en était frappé d'effroi. Une louve
Was at his heels, who in her leanness seem'd
Le suivait de près, qui dans sa maigreur semblait
Full of all wants, and many a land hath made
Rongée de tous les manques, et qui avait rendu
Disconsolate ere now. She with such fear
Bien des contrées inconsolables. Elle m'accabla d'une telle frayeur,
O'erwhelmed me, at the sight of her appall'd,
Épouvanté que j'étais à sa vue,
That of the height all hope I lost. As one,
Que je perdis tout espoir de la hauteur. Tel un homme,
Who with his gain elated, sees the time
Qui, enivré de son gain, voit venir le moment
When all unwares is gone, he inwardly
Où tout s'est évanoui sans qu'il s'en soit aperçu, et qui intérieurement
Mourns with heart-griping anguish; such was I,
Se lamente d'une angoisse qui lui tord le cœur; tel j'étais,
Haunted by that fell beast, never at peace,
Hanté par cette bête cruelle, jamais en paix,
Who coming o'er against me, by degrees
Qui, s'avançant contre moi, peu à peu
Impell'd me where the sun in silence rests.
Me repoussait là où le soleil se tait.
While to the lower space with backward step
Tandis qu'à reculons vers le bas
I fell, my ken discern'd the form one of one,
Je m'enfonçais, mon regard discerna la forme de quelqu'un,
Whose voice seem'd faint through long disuse of speech.
Dont la voix semblait affaiblie par un long silence.
Vocabulary
- panthère
- large wild cat with spotted coat; panther
- agile
- able to move quickly and easily; nimble
- légère
- light in weight; not heavy or burdensome
- couverte
- covered, clothed in; feminine past participle
- peau
- outer layer covering body of animal; skin
- tachetée
- marked with spots or stains; spotted
- apparut
- appeared; came into view or became visible
- lorsqu
- when; at the time that (lorsque contracted)
- vit
- saw; perceived with eyes (past tense)
- enfuit
- fled; ran away quickly (archaic/poetic)
- point
- not; not at all (archaic negation emphasis)
- efforça
- made effort; tried hard to accomplish
- barrer
- to block; to obstruct or prevent passage
- chemin
- path; road or way through space
- bien
- well; in good manner or condition
- souvent
- often; frequently; many times or occasions
- retournai
- returned; went back to previous location
- intention
- purpose; plan or aim in mind
- rebrousser
- to retrace one's steps; go back
- heure
- hour; unit of time, sixty minutes
- celle
- that one; the one (feminine demonstrative)
- aurore
- dawn; early morning light before sunrise
- soleil
- sun; star at center of solar system
- montait
- was rising; going up or ascending
- haut
- high; at or to great height or elevation
- étoiles
- stars; celestial bodies shining in night sky
- levées
- raised; risen up (feminine plural past participle)
- Amour
- love; strong affection or devotion to person
- divin
- divine; of or relating to God
- fit
- made; caused to happen (past tense faire)
- mouvoir
- to move; to set in motion
- belles
- beautiful; of pleasing appearance (feminine plural)
- œuvres
- works; creative productions or accomplishments
- sorte
- sort; kind or type of thing
- joyeuse
- joyful; full of joy or gladness
- espérance
- hope; feeling of expectation and desire
- Tout
- everything; all things or entire amount
- conspirait
- remplir
- to fill; to make full or complete
- belle
- beautiful; having pleasing appearance (feminine)
- robe
- dress; garment worn by woman or girl
- rapide
- fast; moving or happening with great speed
- animal
- animal; living creature other than human
- matinale
- of morning; happening in early morning
- douce
- sweet; pleasing to taste or gentle
- saison
- season; one of four periods of year
- Bientôt
- soon; in the near future or shortly
- joie
- joy; feeling of great happiness or delight
- chassée
- chased away; driven out or expelled
- remplacée
- replaced; taken place of something else
- nouvelle
- new; recently made or recently discovered
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