The Odyssey: Rendered into English prose for the use of those who cannot read the original — Page 1
THE GODS IN COUNCIL—MINERVA'S VISIT TO ITHACA—THE CHALLENGE FROM TELEMACHUS TO THE SUITORS.
LE CONSEIL DES DIEUX—LA VISITE DE MINERVE À ITHAQUE—LE DÉFI DE TÉLÉMAQUE AUX PRÉTENDANTS.
Tell me, O Muse, of that ingenious hero who travelled far and wide after he had sacked the famous town of Troy.
Parle-moi, ô Muse, de cet ingénieux héros qui voyagea si loin et si longtemps après avoir pillé la célèbre ville de Troie.
Many cities did he visit, and many were the nations with whose manners and customs he was acquainted; moreover he suffered much by sea while trying to save his own life and bring his men safely home; but do what he might he could not save his men, for they perished through their own sheer folly in eating the cattle of the Sun-god Hyperion; so the god prevented them from ever reaching home.
Il visita de nombreuses cités, et il connut les mœurs et les coutumes de nombreux peuples ; de plus, il souffrit beaucoup sur mer en cherchant à sauver sa propre vie et à ramener ses hommes sains et saufs au pays ; mais quoi qu'il fît, il ne put sauver ses hommes, car ils périrent par leur propre folie en mangeant les bœufs du dieu Soleil Hypérion ; aussi le dieu les empêcha-t-il de jamais rentrer chez eux.
Tell me, too, about all these things, oh daughter of Jove, from whatsoever source you may know them.
Dis-moi aussi toutes ces choses, ô fille de Jupiter, de quelque source que tu les connaisses.
So now all who escaped death in battle or by shipwreck had got safely home except Ulysses, and he, though he was longing to return to his wife and country, was detained by the goddess Calypso, who had got him into a large cave and wanted to marry him.
Ainsi, tous ceux qui avaient échappé à la mort au combat ou par naufrage étaient rentrés sains et saufs chez eux, à l'exception d'Ulysse ; et lui, bien qu'il brûlât du désir de retrouver sa femme et sa patrie, était retenu par la déesse Calypso, qui l'avait enfermé dans une vaste caverne et voulait l'épouser.
But as years went by, there came a time when the gods settled that he should go back to Ithaca; even then, however, when he was among his own people, his troubles were not yet over; nevertheless all the gods had now begun to pity him except Neptune, who still persecuted him without ceasing and would not let him get home.
Mais au fil des années, vint un temps où les dieux décidèrent qu'il devrait retourner à Ithaque ; même alors, cependant, lorsqu'il se trouvait parmi les siens, ses épreuves n'étaient pas encore terminées ; néanmoins, tous les dieux avaient désormais commencé à le prendre en pitié, à l'exception de Neptune, qui le persécutait encore sans relâche et ne voulait pas le laisser rentrer chez lui.
Vocabulary
- CONSEIL
- A meeting or assembly for deliberation and advice
- DIEUX
- Plural of dieu; divine supernatural beings worshipped
- VISITE
- An act of going to see someone or somewhere
- MINERVE
- Roman goddess of wisdom, equivalent to Greek Athena
- ITHAQUE
- Greek island, home of Odysseus in ancient mythology
- DÉFI
- A challenge issued to someone to compete or confront
- TÉLÉMAQUE
- Son of Odysseus and Penelope in Greek mythology
- PRÉTENDANTS
- Men competing for a woman's hand in marriage
- Parle
- Speak; second-person singular imperative of parler
- moi
- First-person singular stressed pronoun meaning me
- ô
- Exclamatory interjection used to address someone earnestly
- Muse
- One of nine goddesses inspiring art and poetry
- cet
- Masculine singular demonstrative adjective meaning this
- ingénieux
- Clever, inventive, and resourceful in solving problems
- héros
- A man admired for courage or noble achievements
- voyagea
- Past tense of voyager; he traveled to distant places
- loin
- Far away in distance from a reference point
- longtemps
- For a long period or duration of time
- après
- Preposition or adverb meaning after or afterward
- avoir
- Infinitive of to have; auxiliary verb in French
- pillé
- Looted or plundered by force during conflict
- célèbre
- Famous or well-known to many people
- ville
- A city or large town with many inhabitants
- Troie
- Ancient city besieged by Greeks in legendary war
- visita
- Past tense of visiter; he visited various places
- nombreuses
- Feminine plural adjective meaning numerous or many
- cités
- Cities or urban settlements of notable importance
- connut
- Past historic of connaître; he came to know
- mœurs
- Customs, morals, and social habits of a community
- coutumes
- Traditional practices and habits of a group or society
- nombreux
- Masculine plural adjective meaning numerous or many
- peuples
- Peoples or distinct groups sharing culture and identity
- plus
- Adverb meaning more, most, or no longer
- souffrit
- Past historic of souffrir; he suffered greatly
- beaucoup
- Adverb meaning a lot or very much
- mer
- The sea or large body of saltwater
- cherchant
- Present participle of chercher; searching or looking for
- sauver
- To rescue or preserve from danger or harm
- propre
- Adjective meaning own, clean, or proper
- vie
- Life as experienced by a living being
- ramener
- To bring back or return someone to a place
- hommes
- Men or human beings in general
- sains
- Healthy and unharmed in body and condition
- saufs
- Safe and uninjured; used in sains et saufs
- pays
- A country or homeland where one belongs
- mais
- Coordinating conjunction meaning but
- quoi
- Interrogative or relative pronoun meaning what
- fît
- Imperfect subjunctive of faire; whatever he might do
- put
- Past historic of pouvoir; he was able to
- car
- Conjunction meaning because or for
- périrent
- Past historic of périr; they perished or died
- leur
- Possessive adjective or pronoun meaning their or to them
- folie
- Madness, foolishness, or reckless behavior
- mangeant
- Present participle of manger; eating or consuming food
- bœufs
- Plural of bœuf; oxen or cattle used as livestock
- dieu
- A god or divine being worshipped by people
- Soleil
- The sun, central star of our solar system
- Hypérion
- Titan god of the sun in Greek mythology
- aussi
- Adverb meaning also, too, or therefore
- empêcha
- Past historic of empêcher; prevented or stopped him
- jamais
- Adverb meaning never or ever in negative context
- rentrer
- To return home or go back inside
- chez
- Preposition meaning at the home of someone
- eux
- Third-person masculine plural stressed pronoun meaning them
- Dis
- Imperative of dire; tell or say something to someone
- toutes
- Feminine plural of tout meaning all or every
- ces
- Plural demonstrative adjective meaning these or those
- choses
- Things or matters of any kind
- fille
- Daughter or girl; female child of a parent
- Jupiter
- King of the Roman gods, equivalent to Zeus
- quelque
- Adjective or adverb meaning some or however
- source
- An origin, starting point, or spring of water
- connaisses
- Subjunctive of connaître; that you may know something
- Ainsi
- Adverb meaning thus, so, or in this way
- tous
- Masculine plural of tout meaning all or everyone
- ceux
- Plural demonstrative pronoun meaning those or those who
- avaient
- Imperfect of avoir; they had in past context
- échappé
- Past participle of échapper; escaped from danger
- mort
- Death or the state of being dead
- combat
- Fighting or armed conflict between opponents
- naufrage
- A shipwreck or maritime disaster at sea
- étaient
- Imperfect of être; they were in past context
- rentrés
- Past participle of rentrer; returned home safely
- exception
- A case excluded from a general rule or statement
- Ulysse
- Roman name for Odysseus, clever Greek epic hero
- lui
- Third-person singular stressed pronoun meaning him or her
- bien
- Adverb meaning well, very, or indeed
- brûlât
- Imperfect subjunctive of brûler; burned or yearned intensely
- désir
- A strong feeling of wanting or longing for something
- retrouver
- To find again or be reunited with someone
- femme
- A woman or wife in French usage
- patrie
- One's homeland or native country
- était
- Imperfect of être; he or she was
- retenu
- Past participle of retenir; held back or detained
- déesse
- A female deity or goddess in mythology
- Calypso
- Sea nymph who detained Odysseus on her island
- avait
- Imperfect of avoir; he or she had
- enfermé
- Past participle of enfermer; locked up or confined
- vaste
- Vast or very large in size or extent
- caverne
- A cave or large natural underground hollow space
- voulait
- Imperfect of vouloir; she wanted or wished
- épouser
- To marry or take someone as a spouse
- Mais
- Coordinating conjunction meaning but
- fil
- Thread; au fil des années means over the years
- années
- Years as units of time passing
- vint
- Past historic of venir; came or arrived
- temps
- Time, period, or weather depending on context
- où
- Relative or interrogative adverb meaning where or when
- dieux
- Plural of dieu; gods or divine supernatural beings
- décidèrent
- Past historic of décider; they decided or resolved
- devrait
- Conditional of devoir; he should or ought to
- retourner
- To return or go back to a place
- Ithaque
- Greek island, homeland of Odysseus in ancient epic
- même
- Adjective or adverb meaning same, even, or itself
- alors
- Adverb meaning then, at that time, or so
- cependant
- Adverb or conjunction meaning however or nevertheless
- lorsqu'
- Conjunction lorsque elided; meaning when at that moment
- trouvait
- Imperfect of trouver; he found himself or was located
- parmi
- Preposition meaning among or in the midst of
- siens
- Possessive pronoun meaning his own people or family
- épreuves
- Trials, hardships, or tests one must endure
- encore
- Adverb meaning still, yet, or again
- terminées
- Past participle of terminer; finished or completed
- néanmoins
- Adverb meaning nevertheless or even so
- désormais
- Adverb meaning from now on or henceforth
- commencé
- Past participle of commencer; started or begun
- prendre
- To take or to begin to feel something
- pitié
- Pity or compassion felt for someone's suffering
- Neptune
- Roman god of the sea, equivalent to Poseidon
- persécutait
- Imperfect of persécuter; harassed or tormented relentlessly
- sans
- Preposition meaning without
- relâche
- Rest or pause; sans relâche means without ceasing
- laisser
- To let, allow, or leave someone or something
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