The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, Or Gustavus Vassa, The African: Written By Himself — Page 1
THE
LE
INTERESTING NARRATIVE
RÉCIT INTÉRESSANT
OF
DE
THE LIFE
LA VIE
OF
DE
OLAUDAH EQUIANO,
OLAUDAH EQUIANO,
OR
OU
GUSTAVUS VASSA,
GUSTAVUS VASSA,
THE AFRICAN.
L'AFRICAIN.
_WRITTEN BY HIMSELF._
_ÉCRIT PAR LUI-MÊME._
_Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid, for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation.
_Voici, Dieu est mon salut ; je ferai confiance et ne craindrai point, car le Seigneur Jéhovah est ma force et mon cantique ; il est aussi devenu mon salut.
And in that shall ye say, Praise the Lord, call upon his name, declare his doings among the people. Isaiah xii. 2, 4._
Et en ce jour-là vous direz : Louez le Seigneur, invoquez son nom, publiez ses œuvres parmi les peuples. Ésaïe xii. 2, 4._
LONDON:
LONDRES :
Printed for and sold by the Author, No. 10, Union-Street, Middlesex Hospital
Imprimé pour et vendu par l'Auteur, n° 10, Union-Street, Middlesex Hospital
Sold also by Mr. Johnson, St. Paul's Church-Yard; Mr. Murray, Fleet-Street; Messrs. Robson and Clark, Bond-Street; Mr. Davis, opposite Gray's Inn, Holborn; Messrs. Shepperson and Reynolds, and Mr. Jackson, Oxford Street; Mr. Lackington, Chiswell-Street; Mr. Mathews, Strand; Mr. Murray, Prince's-Street, Soho; Mess. Taylor and Co. South Arch, Royal Exchange; Mr. Button, Newington-Causeway; Mr. Parsons, Paternoster-Row; and may be had of all the Booksellers in Town and Country.
Vendu également par M. Johnson, St. Paul's Church-Yard ; M. Murray, Fleet-Street ; MM. Robson et Clark, Bond-Street ; M. Davis, en face de Gray's Inn, Holborn ; MM. Shepperson et Reynolds, et M. Jackson, Oxford Street ; M. Lackington, Chiswell-Street ; M. Mathews, Strand ; M. Murray, Prince's-Street, Soho ; MM. Taylor et Cie, South Arch, Royal Exchange ; M. Button, Newington-Causeway ; M. Parsons, Paternoster-Row ; et peut être obtenu chez tous les Libraires en ville et en province.
[Entered at Stationer's Hall.]
[Enregistré à Stationer's Hall.]
[Illustration: Olaudah Equiano or GUSTAVUS VASSA, _the African_]
[Illustration : Olaudah Equiano ou GUSTAVUS VASSA, _l'Africain_]
To the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and the Commons of the Parliament of Great Britain.
Aux Lords Spirituels et Temporels, et aux Communes du Parlement de Grande-Bretagne.
_My Lords and Gentlemen_,
_Mes Lords et Messieurs_,
Permit me, with the greatest deference and respect, to lay at your feet the following genuine Narrative; the chief design of which is to excite in your august assemblies a sense of compassion for the miseries which the Slave-Trade has entailed on my unfortunate countrymen.
Permettez-moi, avec la plus grande déférence et le plus profond respect, de déposer à vos pieds le récit authentique qui suit ; dont le principal dessein est d'éveiller dans vos augustes assemblées un sentiment de compassion pour les misères que la Traite des Esclaves a infligées à mes malheureux compatriotes.
Vocabulary
- RÉCIT
- A narrative or account of events
- INTÉRESSANT
- Something that captures attention or curiosity
- VIE
- The existence or experience of being alive
- OU
- Conjunction meaning 'or' offering an alternative
- AFRICAIN
- A person or thing originating from Africa
- ÉCRIT
- Past participle of 'écrire'; written or composed
- PAR
- Preposition meaning 'by' indicating agency
- LUI
- Third-person singular pronoun meaning 'him' or 'he'
- MÊME
- Means 'same' or 'himself' emphasizing identity
- Voici
- Presentation word meaning 'here is' or 'behold'
- Dieu
- The supreme being or God in religious context
- est
- Third-person singular of 'être'; means 'is'
- mon
- First-person singular masculine possessive meaning 'my'
- salut
- Salvation, deliverance, or a greeting
- je
- First-person singular subject pronoun meaning 'I'
- ferai
- Future tense of 'faire'; means 'I will do'
- confiance
- Trust or confidence placed in someone or something
- ne
- Negative particle used with 'pas' or alone
- craindrai
- Future tense of 'craindre'; means 'I will fear'
- point
- Negative adverb meaning 'not at all' or 'point'
- car
- Conjunction meaning 'because' or 'for'
- Seigneur
- Lord, a title of authority often referring to God
- ma
- First-person singular feminine possessive meaning 'my'
- force
- Strength or power of a person or thing
- cantique
- A hymn or sacred song of praise
- il
- Third-person singular masculine pronoun meaning 'he'
- aussi
- Adverb meaning 'also,' 'too,' or 'as well'
- devenu
- Past participle of 'devenir'; means 'become'
- en
- Preposition meaning 'in,' 'on,' or 'by'
- ce
- Demonstrative adjective meaning 'this' or 'that'
- jour
- A period of 24 hours; a day
- là
- Adverb meaning 'there' indicating a place
- vous
- Second-person plural or formal pronoun meaning 'you'
- direz
- Future tense of 'dire'; means 'you will say'
- Louez
- Imperative of 'louer'; means 'praise' or 'glorify'
- invoquez
- Imperative of 'invoquer'; means 'call upon' or 'invoke'
- son
- Third-person singular possessive meaning 'his,' 'her,' 'its'
- nom
- A word used to identify a person or thing
- publiez
- Imperative of 'publier'; means 'publish' or 'announce'
- ses
- Third-person plural possessive meaning 'his,' 'her,' 'its'
- œuvres
- Works, deeds, or creative productions of someone
- parmi
- Preposition meaning 'among' or 'amid' a group
- peuples
- Nations or groups of people sharing culture
- LONDRES
- The capital city of England, known in English as London
- Imprimé
- Past participle of 'imprimer'; printed or published
- pour
- Preposition meaning 'for' indicating purpose or recipient
- vendu
- Past participle of 'vendre'; sold to a buyer
- par
- Preposition meaning 'by' indicating agency or means
- Auteur
- A person who writes or creates a literary work
- n°
- Abbreviation for 'numéro' meaning 'number'
- Vendu
- Past participle of 'vendre'; sold at a location
- également
- Adverb meaning 'also,' 'equally,' or 'likewise'
- M.
- Abbreviation for 'Monsieur' meaning 'Mr.'
- MM.
- Abbreviation for 'Messieurs' meaning 'Gentlemen' or 'Messrs.'
- face
- Front side of something; opposite side facing you
- Cie
- Abbreviation for 'Compagnie' meaning 'Company'
- peut
- Third-person singular of 'pouvoir'; means 'can'
- être
- Infinitive meaning 'to be'; a core French verb
- obtenu
- Past participle of 'obtenir'; means 'obtained' or 'gotten'
- chez
- Preposition meaning 'at the place of' someone
- tous
- Masculine plural of 'tout' meaning 'all' or 'every'
- Libraires
- Booksellers who sell books in a shop
- ville
- An urban settlement; a town or city
- province
- A regional administrative division outside the capital
- Enregistré
- Past participle of 'enregistrer'; registered or recorded officially
- à
- Preposition meaning 'at,' 'to,' or 'in'
- Illustration
- A picture or image used to clarify or decorate
- ou
- Conjunction meaning 'or' offering an alternative
- Africain
- A person or thing originating from Africa
- Aux
- Contracted form of 'à les' meaning 'to the'
- Spirituels
- Relating to the spirit; here referring to bishops
- Temporels
- Relating to worldly matters; secular lords in Parliament
- aux
- Contracted form of 'à les' meaning 'to the'
- Communes
- The House of Commons, elected lower chamber of Parliament
- du
- Contracted form of 'de le' meaning 'of the'
- Parlement
- The legislative body of a country or state
- Grande
- Feminine adjective meaning 'great' or 'large'
- Bretagne
- The French name for Britain, a European island nation
- Mes
- First-person plural possessive meaning 'my' before plural nouns
- Messieurs
- Plural of 'Monsieur'; formal address meaning 'Gentlemen'
- Permettez
- Imperative of 'permettre'; means 'allow' or 'permit'
- moi
- Stressed first-person pronoun meaning 'me' or 'I'
- avec
- Preposition meaning 'with' indicating accompaniment or manner
- plus
- Adverb meaning 'more' used in comparisons
- grande
- Feminine adjective meaning 'great,' 'large,' or 'big'
- déférence
- Respectful submission or yielding to another's authority
- profond
- Deep in degree, intensity, or meaning
- respect
- High regard or esteem shown toward someone
- déposer
- To place down or submit something formally
- vos
- Second-person plural possessive meaning 'your'
- pieds
- Plural of 'pied'; feet of a person
- récit
- A narrative or account of events
- authentique
- Genuine, real, and not false or copied
- qui
- Relative pronoun meaning 'who,' 'which,' or 'that'
- suit
- Third-person singular of 'suivre'; means 'follows'
- dont
- Relative pronoun meaning 'of which,' 'whose,' or 'from which'
- principal
- Most important or primary in significance or rank
- dessein
- An intention or plan; purpose behind an action
- éveiller
- To awaken or stir up a feeling or awareness
- dans
- Preposition meaning 'in' or 'inside' a space
- augustes
- Majestic or venerable assemblies of great dignity
- assemblées
- Gatherings or legislative bodies of people meeting
- un
- Masculine indefinite article meaning 'a' or 'an'
- sentiment
- An emotion or feeling experienced by a person
- compassion
- Sympathy and concern for the suffering of others
- misères
- Plural of 'misère'; extreme poverty or suffering
- que
- Conjunction or pronoun meaning 'that,' 'which,' or 'whom'
- Traite
- The trade or trafficking of enslaved persons
- Esclaves
- Plural of 'esclave'; people held in slavery
- a
- Third-person singular of 'avoir'; means 'has'
- infligées
- Past participle of 'infliger'; imposed or caused suffering
- mes
- First-person plural possessive meaning 'my'
- malheureux
- Unhappy or unfortunate people suffering hardship
- compatriotes
- People from the same country; fellow countrymen
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