← The Odyssey: Rendered into English prose for the use of those who cannot read the original

The Odyssey: Rendered into English prose for the use of those who cannot read the original — Page 7

English → Fr Preface Level 6/10

But Odysseus yearning to see if it were but the smoke leap upwards from his own land, hath a desire to die.

Mais Ulysse, qui aspire à voir ne fût-ce que la fumée s'élever de sa propre terre, a le désir de mourir.

As for thee, thine heart regardeth it not at all, Olympian!

Quant à toi, ton cœur n'y prête aucune attention, Olympien !

What! Did not Odysseus by the ships of the Argives make thee free offering of sacrifice in the wide Trojan land?

Quoi ! Ulysse ne t'a-t-il pas offert librement des sacrifices auprès des vaisseaux des Argiens dans la vaste terre de Troie ?

Wherefore wast thou then so wroth with him, O Zeus?'

Pourquoi donc étais-tu si courroucé contre lui, ô Zeus ?'

The "Odyssey" (as every one knows) abounds in passages borrowed from the "Iliad"; I had wished to print these in a slightly different type, with marginal references to the "Iliad," and had marked them to this end in my MS.

L'« Odyssée » (comme chacun sait) abonde en passages empruntés à l'« Iliade » ; j'avais souhaité les imprimer dans un caractère légèrement différent, avec des renvois en marge à l'« Iliade », et les avais marqués à cet effet dans mon manuscrit.

I found, however, that the translation would be thus hopelessly scholasticised, and abandoned my intention.

Je constatai cependant que la traduction serait ainsi irrémédiablement scolastisée, et j'abandonnai mon intention.

I would nevertheless urge on those who have the management of our University presses, that they would render a great service to students if they would publish a Greek text of the "Odyssey" with the Iliadic passages printed in a different type, and with marginal references.

J'insisterais néanmoins auprès de ceux qui ont la direction de nos presses universitaires pour qu'ils rendent un grand service aux étudiants en publiant un texte grec de l'« Odyssée » avec les passages iliadiques imprimés dans un caractère différent et accompagnés de renvois en marge.

I have given the British Museum a copy of the "Odyssey" with the Iliadic passages underlined and referred to in MS.; I have also given an "Iliad" marked with all the Odyssean passages, and their references; but copies of both the "Iliad" and "Odyssey" so marked ought to be within easy reach of all students.

J'ai remis au British Museum un exemplaire de l'« Odyssée » avec les passages iliadiques soulignés et référencés en manuscrit ; j'ai également remis une « Iliade » annotée avec tous les passages odysséens et leurs références ; mais des exemplaires de l'« Iliade » et de l'« Odyssée » ainsi annotés devraient être aisément accessibles à tous les étudiants.

Vocabulary

Mais: mɛ — Conjunction meaning 'but', used to contrast ideas.
qui: ki — Relative pronoun meaning 'who' or 'which'.
aspire: aspiʁ — To long for or desire something strongly.
à: a — Preposition meaning 'to', 'at', or 'in'.
voir: vwaʁ — Infinitive verb meaning 'to see'.
ne: nə — Negative particle used with 'pas' to negate verbs.
fût: fy — Imperfect subjunctive of 'être', meaning 'were'.
ce: sə — Demonstrative pronoun or adjective meaning 'this' or 'that'.
que: kə — Conjunction or pronoun meaning 'that', 'which', or 'what'.
la: la — Definite feminine article meaning 'the'.
fumée: fyme — Smoke rising from a fire or source.
s': s — Reflexive pronoun clitic used before a vowel sound.
élever: elve — To rise, lift, or raise upward.
de: də — Preposition meaning 'of', 'from', or 'about'.
sa: sa — Possessive adjective meaning 'his', 'her', or 'its'.
propre: pʁɔpʁ — Adjective meaning 'own' (before noun) or 'clean'.
terre: tɛʁ — Noun meaning 'earth', 'land', or 'ground'.
a: a — Third-person singular present of 'avoir', meaning 'has'.
le: lə — Definite masculine article meaning 'the'.
désir: deziʁ — Noun meaning 'desire' or 'wish' for something.
mourir: muʁiʁ — Infinitive verb meaning 'to die'.
Quant: kɑ̃ — Used in 'quant à', meaning 'as for' or 'regarding'.
toi: twa — Stressed second-person pronoun meaning 'you'.
ton: tɔ̃ — Possessive adjective meaning 'your' (masculine singular).
cœur: kœʁ — Noun meaning 'heart', literal or figurative.
n': n — Clitic negative particle used before vowels with 'pas'.
y: i — Adverbial pronoun meaning 'there' or 'to it'.
prête: pʁɛt — To lend or give attention to something.
aucune: okyn — Negative adjective meaning 'no' or 'not any'.
attention: atɑ̃sjɔ̃ — Noun meaning 'attention' or 'care'.
Quoi: kwa — Interrogative pronoun meaning 'what'.
t': t — Clitic second-person pronoun before a vowel.
il: il — Third-person masculine singular pronoun meaning 'he' or 'it'.
pas: pɑ — Negative particle used with 'ne' to negate verbs.
offert: ɔfɛʁ — Past participle of 'offrir', meaning 'offered' or 'given'.
librement: libʁəmɑ̃ — Adverb meaning 'freely' or 'without constraint'.
des: de — Indefinite plural article meaning 'some' or 'of the'.
sacrifices: sakʁifis — Ritual offerings made to gods or deities.
auprès: opʁɛ — Preposition meaning 'near', 'beside', or 'with'.
vaisseaux: vɛso — Plural of 'vaisseau', meaning 'ships' or 'vessels'.
dans: dɑ̃ — Preposition meaning 'in' or 'inside'.
vaste: vast — Adjective meaning 'vast', 'wide', or 'immense'.
Pourquoi: puʁkwa — Interrogative adverb meaning 'why'.
donc: dɔ̃k — Adverb meaning 'therefore', 'so', or 'then'.
étais: etɛ — Imperfect of 'être', meaning 'was' or 'were' (you/I).
tu: ty — Second-person singular subject pronoun meaning 'you'.
si: si — Adverb meaning 'so' or 'such'; conjunction meaning 'if'.
courroucé: kuʁuse — Adjective meaning 'angered', 'wrathful', or 'furious'.
contre: kɔ̃tʁ — Preposition meaning 'against' or 'opposed to'.
lui: lɥi — Third-person pronoun meaning 'him' or 'to him'.
ô: o — Exclamatory interjection 'O' used to address someone.
L': l — Elided form of definite article 'le' or 'la' before vowels.
comme: kɔm — Conjunction meaning 'as', 'like', or 'since'.
chacun: ʃakœ̃ — Pronoun meaning 'each one' or 'everyone'.
sait: sɛ — Third-person singular present of 'savoir', meaning 'knows'.
abonde: abɔ̃d — To abound; to be full of or rich in something.
en: ɑ̃ — Preposition meaning 'in', 'by', or pronoun replacing a noun phrase.
passages: pasaʒ — Sections or excerpts from a text or work.
empruntés: ɑ̃pʁœ̃te — Borrowed or taken from another source or work.
l': l — Elided definite article before a vowel sound.
j': ʒ — First-person singular pronoun 'je' elided before a vowel.
avais: avɛ — Imperfect of 'avoir', meaning 'had' (first person).
souhaité: swɛte — Past participle of 'souhaiter', meaning 'wished' or 'desired'.
les: le — Definite plural article meaning 'the'; also object pronoun.
imprimer: ɛ̃pʁime — To print or publish text in a physical format.
un: œ̃ — Indefinite masculine article meaning 'a' or 'one'.
caractère: kaʁaktɛʁ — Character, style, or typographic font.
légèrement: leʒɛʁmɑ̃ — Adverb meaning 'slightly' or 'lightly'.
différent: difɛʁɑ̃ — Adjective meaning 'different' or 'distinct'.
avec: avɛk — Preposition meaning 'with'.
renvois: ʁɑ̃vwa — Cross-references or notes directing the reader elsewhere.
marge: maʁʒ — Margin of a page; space around the printed text.
et: e — Conjunction meaning 'and'.
marqués: maʁke — Past participle of 'marquer', meaning 'marked' or 'noted'.
cet: sɛt — Demonstrative adjective 'this' before a masculine vowel noun.
effet: efɛ — Effect or purpose; 'à cet effet' means 'for this purpose'.
mon: mɔ̃ — Possessive adjective meaning 'my' (masculine singular).
manuscrit: manyskʁi — A manuscript; a handwritten or typed draft of a text.
Je: ʒə — First-person singular subject pronoun meaning 'I'.
constatai: kɔ̃state — Past historic of 'constater', meaning 'noted' or 'observed'.
cependant: səpɑ̃dɑ̃ — Adverb meaning 'however' or 'nevertheless'.
traduction: tʁadyksjɔ̃ — A translation of a text from one language to another.
serait: səʁɛ — Conditional of 'être', meaning 'would be'.
ainsi: ɛ̃si — Adverb meaning 'thus', 'so', or 'in this way'.
irrémédiablement: iʁemedjabl̃əmɑ̃ — Adverb meaning 'irremediably' or 'beyond any remedy.
abandonnai: abɑ̃dɔne — Past historic of 'abandonner', meaning 'gave up' or 'dropped'.
intention: ɛ̃tɑ̃sjɔ̃ — Noun meaning 'intention' or 'plan'.
J': ʒ — Elided first-person pronoun 'je' before a vowel.
insisterais: ɛ̃sistəʁɛ — Conditional of 'insister', meaning 'would insist'.
néanmoins: neɑ̃mwɛ̃ — Adverb meaning 'nevertheless' or 'nonetheless'.
ceux: sø — Demonstrative pronoun 'those' referring to persons or things.
ont: ɔ̃ — Third-person plural present of 'avoir', meaning 'have'.
direction: diʁɛksjɔ̃ — Management or oversight of an institution or project.
nos: no — Possessive adjective meaning 'our' (plural).
presses: pʁɛs — Printing presses; publishing houses or their operations.
universitaires: ynivɛʁsitɛʁ — Adjective meaning 'university' or 'academic' in nature.
pour: puʁ — Preposition meaning 'for', 'in order to', or 'because of'.
qu': k — Elided form of 'que', meaning 'that', before a vowel.
ils: Third-person masculine plural pronoun meaning 'they'.
rendent: ʁɑ̃d — Third-person plural present of 'rendre', meaning 'render' or 'provide'.
grand: ɡʁɑ̃ — Adjective meaning 'great', 'big', or 'important'.
service: sɛʁvis — Noun meaning 'service' or 'help' provided to others.
aux: o — Contraction of 'à les', meaning 'to the' (plural).
étudiants: etydjɑ̃ — Noun meaning 'students' in an educational setting.
publiant: pybljɑ̃ — Present participle of 'publier', meaning 'publishing'.
texte: tɛkst — Noun meaning 'text' or written content.
grec: ɡʁɛk — Adjective or noun meaning 'Greek' (language or person).
imprimés: ɛ̃pʁime — Printed texts or documents; past participle of 'imprimer'.
accompagnés: akɔ̃paɲe — Accompanied or supplemented by something additional.
ai: e — First-person singular present of 'avoir', meaning 'have'.
remis: ʁəmi — Past participle of 'remettre', meaning 'handed over' or 'submitted'.
au: o — Contraction of 'à le', meaning 'to the' (masculine singular).
exemplaire: ɛɡzɑ̃plɛʁ — A copy of a book, document, or printed work.
soulignés: suliɲe — Underlined text; past participle of 'souligner'.
référencés: ʁefəʁɑ̃se — Referenced or cited with notes directing to sources.
également: eɡalmɑ̃ — Adverb meaning 'also', 'equally', or 'as well'.
une: yn — Indefinite feminine article meaning 'a' or 'one'.
annotée: anɔte — Annotated; provided with explanatory notes or comments.
tous: tu — Adjective/pronoun meaning 'all' or 'every' (masculine plural).
leurs: lœʁ — Possessive adjective meaning 'their' (plural).
références: ʁefəʁɑ̃s — References or citations pointing to source material.
mais: mɛ — Conjunction meaning 'but', used to introduce contrast.
exemplaires: ɛɡzɑ̃plɛʁ — Plural noun meaning 'copies' of a text or document.
annotés: anɔte — Annotated copies; furnished with explanatory marginal notes.
devraient: dəvʁɛ — Conditional plural of 'devoir', meaning 'should' or 'ought to'.
être: ɛtʁ — Infinitive of the verb 'to be'.
aisément: ɛzmɑ̃ — Adverb meaning 'easily' or 'without difficulty'.
accessibles: aksɛsibl — Adjective meaning 'accessible' or 'available' to people.

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