The Expedition of Humphry Clinker — Page 1

English → Fr SIR, Level 8/10

I received yours in course of post, and shall be glad to treat with you for the M.S. which I have delivered to your friend Mr Behn; but can by no means comply with the terms proposed.

J'ai bien reçu votre lettre par le courrier ordinaire, et je serai heureux de traiter avec vous pour le manuscrit que j'ai remis à votre ami M. Behn ; mais je ne puis en aucune façon accepter les conditions proposées.

Those things are so uncertain--Writing is all a lottery--I have been a loser by the works of the greatest men of the age--I could mention particulars, and name names; but don't choose it--The taste of the town is so changeable.

Ces choses sont si incertaines -- L'écriture n'est qu'une loterie -- J'ai essuyé des pertes avec les œuvres des plus grands hommes de l'époque -- Je pourrais citer des détails, et nommer des noms ; mais je ne le souhaite pas -- Le goût du public est si changeant.

Vocabulary

ai: ay — First-person singular present of 'avoir' (to have)
bien: byaN — Well; very; indeed; expresses affirmation or degree
reçu: ruh-sü — Received; past participle of 'recevoir'
votre: voh-truh — Your; formal or plural possessive adjective
lettre: leh-truh — Letter; written message sent to someone
par: par — By; through; via; indicates means or agent
courrier: koo-ryay — Mail; postal correspondence or delivery service
ordinaire: or-dee-nair — Ordinary; regular; not special or express
serai: suh-ray — Will be; first-person singular future of 'être'
heureux: uh-ruh — Happy; pleased; glad about something
traiter: treh-tay — To deal; to negotiate; to treat or handle
avec: ah-vek — With; preposition indicating accompaniment or means
manuscrit: mah-nü-skree — Manuscript; handwritten or unpublished author's text
remis: ruh-mee — Handed over; past participle of 'remettre'
ami: ah-mee — Friend; a person one has affection for
mais: may — But; however; coordinating conjunction of contrast
ne: nuh — Negation particle; used with 'pas' or other words
puis: pwee — Can; first-person singular of 'pouvoir' (to be able)
en: aN — In; of it; preposition or pronoun with varied uses
aucune: oh-kün — No; not any; feminine negative adjective or pronoun
façon: fah-soN — Way; manner; fashion; how something is done
accepter: ak-sep-tay — To accept; to agree to receive or acknowledge something
conditions: koN-dee-syoN — Conditions; terms; requirements set for an agreement
proposées: proh-poh-zay — Proposed; suggested; feminine plural past participle
Ces: say — These; those; plural demonstrative adjective
choses: shohz — Things; matters; objects or affairs in general
si: see — So; if; used for emphasis or as a conjunction
incertaines: aN-sair-ten — Uncertain; unsure; not fixed or reliable in nature
écriture: ay-kree-tür — Writing; the act or craft of writing texts
loterie: loh-tree — Lottery; game of chance with uncertain outcomes
essuyé: eh-swee-yay — Suffered; endured; past participle of 'essuyer'
pertes: pairt — Losses; financial or other damaging setbacks suffered
œuvres: uh-vruh — Works; literary or artistic creations or productions
plus: plü — More; most; used in comparisons and superlatives
grands: graN — Great; big; eminent; masculine plural adjective
hommes: om — Men; humans; people of note or distinction
époque: ay-pok — Era; period; a specific time in history
pourrais: poo-ray — Could; first-person conditional of 'pouvoir'
citer: see-tay — To cite; to quote; to mention specific examples
détails: day-tie — Details; specific particulars or itemized information
nommer: noh-may — To name; to mention by name; to designate someone
noms: noN — Names; nouns; identifying labels for persons or things
souhaite: soo-et — Wishes; hopes; third-person present of 'souhaiter'
pas: pah — Not; step; negation particle used with 'ne'
goût: goo — Taste; preference; aesthetic sense of the public
public: pü-bleek — Public; the general audience or population at large
changeant: shaN-zhaN — Changing; fickle; shifting; present participle of 'changer'

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