The King in Yellow — Page 7
No definite principles had been violated in those wicked pages, no doctrine promulgated, no convictions outraged.
Aucun principe défini n'avait été violé dans ces pages maudites, aucune doctrine proclamée, aucune conviction bafouée.
It could not be judged by any known standard, yet, although it was acknowledged that the supreme note of art had been struck in _The King in Yellow_, all felt that human nature could not bear the strain, nor thrive on words in which the essence of purest poison lurked.
On ne pouvait le juger à l'aune d'aucun critère connu, et pourtant, bien qu'il fût reconnu que la note suprême de l'art avait été atteinte dans _Le Roi en Jaune_, chacun sentait que la nature humaine ne pouvait supporter une telle tension, ni s'épanouir sur des mots où se tapissait l'essence du poison le plus pur.
The very banality and innocence of the first act only allowed the blow to fall afterward with more awful effect.
La banalité et l'innocence même du premier acte ne firent que permettre au coup de tomber ensuite avec un effet plus terrible encore.
It was, I remember, the 13th day of April, 1920, that the first Government Lethal Chamber was established on the south side of Washington Square, between Wooster Street and South Fifth Avenue.
C'était, je m'en souviens, le 13 avril 1920, que la première Chambre Létale Gouvernementale fut établie sur le côté sud de Washington Square, entre Wooster Street et South Fifth Avenue.
The block which had formerly consisted of a lot of shabby old buildings, used as cafés and restaurants for foreigners, had been acquired by the Government in the winter of 1898.
Le pâté de maisons qui avait autrefois été composé d'un grand nombre de vieux bâtiments délabrés, utilisés comme cafés et restaurants pour les étrangers, avait été acquis par le Gouvernement au cours de l'hiver 1898.
The French and Italian cafés and restaurants were torn down; the whole block was enclosed by a gilded iron railing, and converted into a lovely garden with lawns, flowers and fountains.
Les cafés et restaurants français et italiens furent démolis ; tout le pâté de maisons fut entouré d'une grille en fer doré, et transformé en un ravissant jardin avec des pelouses, des fleurs et des fontaines.
In the centre of the garden stood a small, white building, severely classical in architecture, and surrounded by thickets of flowers.
Au centre du jardin se dressait un petit bâtiment blanc, d'une architecture sévèrement classique, entouré de massifs de fleurs.
Six Ionic columns supported the roof, and the single door was of bronze.
Six colonnes ioniques soutenaient le toit, et l'unique porte était en bronze.
A splendid marble group of the "Fates" stood before the door, the work of a young American sculptor, Boris Yvain, who had died in Paris when only twenty-three years old.
Un splendide groupe en marbre des « Parques » se dressait devant la porte, œuvre d'un jeune sculpteur américain, Boris Yvain, mort à Paris à l'âge de vingt-trois ans seulement.
Vocabulary
- Aucun
- Not one; none; no
- principe
- Principle; fundamental rule or law
- défini
- Defined; clearly stated or determined
- avait
- Had (past tense of avoir)
- été
- Been; summer season
- violé
- Violated; broken or infringed upon
- dans
- In; inside; within
- ces
- These; those (plural demonstrative)
- pages
- Pages; sheets of paper in book
- maudites
- Cursed; damned; wretched
- aucune
- Not one; none (feminine form)
- doctrine
- Doctrine; body of teaching or belief
- proclamée
- Proclaimed; publicly announced or declared
- conviction
- Conviction; firm belief or persuasion
- bafouée
- Trampled; treated with contempt
- On
- One; people; we (impersonal pronoun)
- ne
- Not (negative particle)
- pouvait
- Could; was able to (past tense)
- le
- Him; it (masculine direct object)
- juger
- To judge; to form opinion
- critère
- Criterion; standard for judgment
- connu
- Known; familiar; recognized
- et
- And; conjunction
- pourtant
- Yet; however; nevertheless
- bien
- Well; good; quite
- qu
- That (contracted from 'que')
- il
- He; it (masculine subject pronoun)
- fût
- Was (subjunctive of être)
- reconnu
- Recognized; acknowledged; admitted
- que
- That; which; what
- la
- The; her (feminine article/pronoun)
- note
- Note; tone; mark or character
- suprême
- Supreme; highest in authority
- de
- Of; from; by (preposition)
- art
- Art; creative work or skill
- atteinte
- Reached; achieved; touched
- chacun
- Everyone; each one (masculine)
- sentait
- Felt; sensed (past tense)
- nature
- Nature; natural world or essence
- humaine
- Human; of or relating to humans
- supporter
- Support; endure; tolerate
- une
- A; one (feminine article)
- telle
- Such; so great (feminine)
- tension
- Tension; stress; strain
- ni
- Nor; neither
- épanouir
- Blossom; flourish; bloom
- sur
- On; upon; about
- des
- Some; of the (plural article)
- mots
- Words; spoken sounds or terms
- où
- Where; in which; when
- se
- Oneself; himself; herself (reflexive)
- essence
- Essence; fundamental nature or being
- du
- Of the; some (masculine)
- poison
- Poison; toxic substance
- plus
- More; most; plus
- pur
- Pure; unmixed; clean
- La
- The; her (feminine article)
- banalité
- Banality; commonplace nature; triteness
- innocence
- Innocence; lack of guilt
- même
- Same; even; itself
- premier
- First; primary; earliest
- acte
- Act; action; deed
- firent
- Made; did (past tense)
- permettre
- Allow; permit; enable
- au
- To the; at the (masculine)
- coup
- Blow; stroke; attempt
- tomber
- Fall; drop; collapse
- ensuite
- Then; next; afterwards
- avec
- With; by means of
- un
- A; one (masculine article)
- effet
- Effect; result; impact
- terrible
- Terrible; dreadful; frightful
- encore
- Still; yet; moreover; again
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