The Picture of Dorian Gray — Page 1
The studio was filled with the rich odour of roses, and when the light summer wind stirred amidst the trees of the garden, there came through the open door the heavy scent of the lilac, or the more delicate perfume of the pink-flowering thorn.
L'atelier était empli du riche parfum des roses, et quand la légère brise estivale s'agitait parmi les arbres du jardin, il venait par la porte ouverte la lourde senteur du lilas, ou le plus délicat arôme de l'aubépine à fleurs roses.
From the corner of the divan of Persian saddle-bags on which he was lying, smoking, as was his custom, innumerable cigarettes, Lord Henry Wotton could just catch the gleam of the honey-sweet and honey-coloured blossoms of a laburnum, whose tremulous branches seemed hardly able to bear the burden of a beauty so flamelike as theirs; and now and then the fantastic shadows of birds in flight flitted across the long tussore-silk curtains that were stretched in front of the huge window, producing a kind of momentary Japanese effect, and making him think of those pallid, jade-faced painters of Tokyo who, through the medium of an art that is necessarily immobile, seek to convey the sense of swiftness and motion.
Du coin du divan de sacoches persanes sur lequel il était allongé, fumant, comme à son habitude, d'innombrables cigarettes, Lord Henry Wotton pouvait tout juste apercevoir l'éclat des fleurs dorées et suaves d'un cytise, dont les branches frémissantes semblaient à peine capables de supporter le poids d'une beauté aussi flamboyante que la leur ; et de temps en temps les ombres fantastiques d'oiseaux en vol passaient furtivement sur les longues tentures de soie tussore tendues devant l'immense fenêtre, produisant une sorte d'effet japonais passager, et lui faisant penser à ces peintres blêmes au visage de jade de Tokyo qui, par le truchement d'un art nécessairement immobile, cherchent à transmettre le sens de la rapidité et du mouvement.
The sullen murmur of the bees shouldering their way through the long unmown grass, or circling with monotonous insistence round the dusty gilt horns of the straggling woodbine, seemed to make the stillness more oppressive.
Le murmure maussade des abeilles se frayant un chemin à travers la longue herbe non fauchée, ou tournoyant avec une insistance monotone autour des tiges dorées et poussiéreuses du chèvrefeuille épars, semblait rendre le silence encore plus oppressant.
The dim roar of London was like the bourdon note of a distant organ.
La rumeur sourde de Londres ressemblait à la note de bourdon d'un orgue lointain.
Vocabulary
- atelier
- A studio or workshop for an artist
- était
- Past tense of 'être'; was or were
- empli
- Filled or pervaded with something
- riche
- Rich, abundant, or full in quality
- parfum
- A fragrance, scent, or perfume
- roses
- Roses; fragrant flowering plants
- quand
- When; used to introduce time clauses
- légère
- Light, gentle, or delicate in nature
- brise
- A light, gentle breeze
- estivale
- Relating to or characteristic of summer
- agitait
- Stirred, shook, or moved gently
- parmi
- Among or amidst a group of things
- arbres
- Trees; woody perennial plants
- jardin
- A garden; cultivated outdoor space
- venait
- Came; imperfect tense of 'venir'
- par
- Through, by, or via something
- porte
- A door or gate
- ouverte
- Open; not closed or shut
- lourde
- Heavy, weighty, or oppressive
- senteur
- A scent or fragrance from flowers
- lilas
- Lilac; a fragrant flowering shrub
- délicat
- Delicate, subtle, or finely nuanced
- arôme
- An aroma; a pleasant distinctive smell
- aubépine
- Hawthorn; a thorny flowering shrub
- fleurs
- Flowers; blossoms of a plant
- coin
- A corner or nook of a room
- divan
- A low couch or sofa without backrest
- sacoches
- Bags or saddlebags used for carrying
- persanes
- Persian; relating to Persia or Iran
- lequel
- Which; relative pronoun referring to noun
- allongé
- Stretched out or lying down
- fumant
- Smoking; present participle of 'fumer'
- habitude
- A habit or customary practice
- innombrables
- Countless, innumerable, or very many
- cigarettes
- Cigarettes; small rolled tobacco cylinders
- pouvait
- Could; imperfect tense of 'pouvoir'
- tout
- All, quite, or entirely; intensifier
- juste
- Just, barely, or exactly right
- apercevoir
- To catch a glimpse of something
- éclat
- A burst of brilliance or brightness
- dorées
- Golden; having a gold color
- suaves
- Smooth, sweet, or pleasantly agreeable
- cytise
- Laburnum; a shrub with yellow flowers
- dont
- Whose or of which; relative pronoun
- branches
- Branches; limbs extending from a tree
- frémissantes
- Trembling or quivering gently in air
- semblaient
- Seemed or appeared; imperfect of 'sembler'
- peine
- Barely, hardly; scarcely able to manage
- capables
- Capable or able to do something
- supporter
- To bear, support, or withstand weight
- poids
- Weight or heaviness of an object
- beauté
- Beauty; the quality of being beautiful
- aussi
- Also, too, or as; used comparatively
- flamboyante
- Flamboyant, dazzling, or brilliantly striking
- temps
- Time or weather; a common French noun
- ombres
- Shadows or shades cast by objects
- fantastiques
- Fantastic, strange, or phantomlike in appearance
- oiseaux
- Birds; feathered flying animals
- vol
- Flight; the act of flying
- passaient
- Were passing by; imperfect of 'passer'
- furtivement
- Furtively, stealthily, or in a sneaky manner
- longues
- Long; feminine plural adjective for length
- tentures
- Draperies or hangings used as curtains
- soie
- Silk; a fine natural textile fiber
- tussore
- Tussore silk; a coarse wild silk fabric
- tendues
- Stretched or hung taut across a space
- devant
- In front of or before something
- immense
- Immense, vast, or enormously large
- fenêtre
- A window in a wall or building
- produisant
- Producing or creating a particular effect
- sorte
- A sort, kind, or type of thing
- effet
- An effect or result produced visually
- japonais
- Japanese; relating to Japan or its culture
- passager
- Passing, fleeting, or momentary in nature
- faisant
- Making or causing; present participle of 'faire'
- penser
- To think or reflect upon something
- peintres
- Painters; artists who create paintings
- blêmes
- Pale or pallid in facial complexion
- visage
- A face; the front of a person's head
- jade
- Jade; a green semi-precious stone
- truchement
- The medium or means of expression used
- art
- Art; creative expression through various mediums
- nécessairement
- Necessarily or inevitably by its very nature
- immobile
- Motionless, still, or not moving
- cherchent
- Seek or look for; third-person plural
- transmettre
- To transmit, convey, or pass on something
- sens
- Sense, meaning, or direction of something
- rapidité
- Speed, rapidity, or swiftness of movement
- mouvement
- Movement or motion through space
- murmure
- A murmur or soft indistinct sound
- maussade
- Sullen, gloomy, or drearily monotonous
- abeilles
- Bees; flying insects that produce honey
- frayant
- Forging or making one's way through
- chemin
- A path, road, or way forward
- travers
- Through or across; used in 'à travers'
- longue
- Long; feminine adjective indicating length
- herbe
- Grass or herb; low green ground cover
- fauchée
- Mowed or cut down; describing uncut grass
- tournoyant
- Circling, whirling, or buzzing around repeatedly
- insistance
- Insistence or persistent repetition of action
- monotone
- Monotonous or having an unvarying tone
- autour
- Around or surrounding something nearby
- tiges
- Stems or stalks of plants
- poussiéreuses
- Dusty; covered with or full of dust
- chèvrefeuille
- Honeysuckle; a fragrant climbing flowering plant
- épars
- Scattered or spread about loosely
- semblait
- Seemed or appeared; imperfect of 'sembler'
- rendre
- To make or render something a quality
- silence
- Silence; complete absence of sound
- encore
- Still, yet, or even more so
- oppressant
- Oppressive or stifling in atmosphere
- rumeur
- A distant rumbling sound or murmur
- sourde
- Muffled, dull, or barely audible sound
- ressemblait
- Resembled or looked like; imperfect tense
- note
- A musical note or tone of sound
- bourdon
- A deep drone or bass note sound
- orgue
- An organ; a large pipe musical instrument
- lointain
- Distant, far away, or remote in space
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