The Importance of Being Earnest: A Trivial Comedy for Serious People — Page 9
Cecily, who addresses me as her uncle from motives of respect that you could not possibly appreciate, lives at my place in the country under the charge of her admirable governess, Miss Prism.
Cécily, qui me donne du « mon oncle » par des motifs de respect que vous ne pourriez absolument pas apprécier, vit dans ma propriété à la campagne sous la garde de son admirable gouvernante, Miss Prism.
ALGERNON.
ALGERNON.
Where is that place in the country, by the way?
Où se trouve cette propriété à la campagne, soit dit en passant ?
JACK.
JACK.
That is nothing to you, dear boy. You are not going to be invited . . I may tell you candidly that the place is not in Shropshire.
Cela ne vous regarde pas, mon cher ami. Vous n'allez pas être invité . . Je puis vous dire franchement que la propriété n'est pas dans le Shropshire.
ALGERNON.
ALGERNON.
I suspected that, my dear fellow! I have Bunburyed all over Shropshire on two separate occasions. Now, go on. Why are you Ernest in town and Jack in the country?
Je m'en doutais, mon cher ami ! J'ai « Bunburyé » dans tout le Shropshire en deux occasions distinctes. Maintenant, continuez. Pourquoi êtes-vous Ernest en ville et Jack à la campagne ?
JACK.
JACK.
My dear Algy, I don't know whether you will be able to understand my real motives. You are hardly serious enough. When one is placed in the position of guardian, one has to adopt a very high moral tone on all subjects. It's one's duty to do so. And as a high moral tone can hardly be said to conduce very much to either one's health or one's happiness, in order to get up to town I have always pretended to have a younger brother of the name of Ernest, who lives in the Albany, and gets into the most dreadful scrapes. That, my dear Algy, is the whole truth pure and simple.
Mon cher Algy, je ne sais pas si vous serez en mesure de comprendre mes véritables motifs. Vous n'êtes guère assez sérieux. Lorsqu'on se trouve dans la position de tuteur, on doit adopter un ton moral très élevé sur tous les sujets. C'est son devoir de le faire. Et comme on ne peut guère dire qu'un ton moral élevé contribue beaucoup ni à la santé ni au bonheur, afin de monter en ville, j'ai toujours prétendu avoir un frère cadet du nom d'Ernest, qui vit à l'Albany et se fourre dans les situations les plus épouvantables. Voilà, mon cher Algy, toute la vérité, pure et simple.
ALGERNON.
ALGERNON.
The truth is rarely pure and never simple. Modern life would be very tedious if it were either, and modern literature a complete impossibility!
La vérité est rarement pure et n'est jamais simple. La vie moderne serait fort ennuyeuse si elle l'était, et la littérature moderne une impossibilité absolue !
JACK.
JACK.
Vocabulary
- qui
- Who; which; that (relative pronoun)
- me
- Me; to me (direct or indirect object pronoun)
- donne
- Gives; third person singular of donner
- du
- Of the; some (contraction of de + le)
- mon
- My (masculine singular possessive adjective)
- oncle
- Uncle (male relative)
- par
- By; through; per (preposition)
- des
- Some; any (plural indefinite article)
- motifs
- Motifs; reasons; grounds for something
- de
- Of; from; by (preposition)
- respect
- Respect; regard; consideration for someone
- que
- That; which; whom (relative pronoun)
- vous
- You (formal or plural pronoun)
- ne
- Not (negation particle)
- pourriez
- Could; would be able (conditional of pouvoir)
- absolument
- Absolutely; completely; without question or doubt
- pas
- Not; step (negation or noun)
- apprécier
- To appreciate; to value or enjoy something
- vit
- Lives; third person singular of vivre
- dans
- In; inside; within (preposition)
- ma
- My (feminine singular possessive adjective)
- propriété
- Property; estate; ownership of land
- la
- The (feminine singular article)
- campagne
- Countryside; rural area; campaign or operation
- sous
- Under; beneath; below (preposition)
- garde
- Care; guard; protection or guardianship
- son
- His; her; its (singular possessive adjective)
- admirable
- Admirable; worthy of admiration or respect
- gouvernante
- Governess; female caretaker or household manager
- Où
- Where; at what location (interrogative adverb)
- se
- Oneself; himself; herself (reflexive pronoun)
- trouve
- Finds; is located; third person singular of trouver
- cette
- This; that (feminine singular demonstrative adjective)
- soit
- Is; be (subjunctive of être)
- dit
- Said; told; past participle of dire
- en
- In; of it; some (preposition or pronoun)
- passant
- Passing; in passing; by the way
- Cela
- That; it (demonstrative pronoun)
- regarde
- Concerns; looks at; third person singular of regarder
- cher
- Dear; expensive; valued or costly
- ami
- Friend (male)
- allez
- Go; are going (second person plural of aller)
- être
- To be (infinitive verb)
- invité
- Invited; guest (past participle or noun)
- puis
- Then; next; furthermore (adverb)
- dire
- To say; to tell (infinitive verb)
- franchement
- Frankly; openly; honestly and candidly
- est
- Is (third person singular of être)
- le
- The (masculine singular article)
- doutais
- Doubted; was doubtful (imperfect of douter)
- ai
- Have (first person singular of avoir)
- tout
- All; everything; completely (adjective or adverb)
- deux
- Two (number)
- occasions
- Occasions; opportunities; particular events or times
- distinctes
- Distinct; separate; clearly different from each other
- Maintenant
- Now; at the present time (adverb)
- continuez
- Continue; keep going (imperative of continuer)
- Pourquoi
- Why; for what reason (interrogative adverb)
- êtes-vous
- Are you (second person plural of être)
- ville
- City; town; urban area
- et
- And (conjunction)
- Mon
- My (masculine singular possessive adjective)
- je
- I (first person singular pronoun)
- sais
- Know (first person singular of savoir)
- si
- If; whether; so (conjunction or adverb)
- serez
- Will be (second person plural of être)
- mesure
- Measure; measure out (noun or verb)
- comprendre
- To understand; to comprehend or grasp meaning
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