The Picture of Dorian Gray — Page 4
Why, my dear Basil, he is a Narcissus, and you—well, of course you have an intellectual expression and all that.
Pourquoi, mon cher Basil, c'est un Narcisse, et vous — eh bien, vous avez bien sûr une expression intellectuelle et tout cela.
But beauty, real beauty, ends where an intellectual expression begins.
Mais la beauté, la vraie beauté, s'arrête là où commence une expression intellectuelle.
Intellect is in itself a mode of exaggeration, and destroys the harmony of any face.
L'intellect est en lui-même un mode d'exagération, et détruit l'harmonie de tout visage.
The moment one sits down to think, one becomes all nose, or all forehead, or something horrid.
Dès l'instant où l'on s'assoit pour réfléchir, on devient tout nez, ou tout front, ou quelque chose d'horrible.
Look at the successful men in any of the learned professions.
Regardez les hommes qui réussissent dans l'une ou l'autre des professions savantes.
How perfectly hideous they are!
Comme ils sont parfaitement hideux !
Except, of course, in the Church.
Sauf, bien sûr, dans l'Église.
But then in the Church they don't think.
Mais dans l'Église, ils ne pensent pas.
A bishop keeps on saying at the age of eighty what he was told to say when he was a boy of eighteen, and as a natural consequence he always looks absolutely delightful.
Un évêque continue de dire à l'âge de quatre-vingts ans ce qu'on lui a dit de dire quand il était un garçon de dix-huit ans, et par conséquent naturel il a toujours l'air absolument charmant.
Your mysterious young friend, whose name you have never told me, but whose picture really fascinates me, never thinks.
Votre mystérieux jeune ami, dont vous ne m'avez jamais dit le nom, mais dont le portrait me fascine vraiment, ne pense jamais.
I feel quite sure of that.
J'en suis tout à fait certain.
He is some brainless beautiful creature who should be always here in winter when we have no flowers to look at, and always here in summer when we want something to chill our intelligence.
C'est une belle créature sans cervelle qui devrait toujours être ici en hiver quand nous n'avons pas de fleurs à regarder, et toujours ici en été quand nous voulons quelque chose pour rafraîchir notre intelligence.
Don't flatter yourself, Basil: you are not in the least like him.
Ne vous flattez pas, Basil : vous ne lui ressemblez pas le moins du monde.
"You don't understand me, Harry," answered the artist.
« Vous ne me comprenez pas, Harry, » répondit l'artiste.
"Of course I am not like him.
« Bien sûr que je ne lui ressemble pas.
I know that perfectly well.
Je le sais parfaitement.
Indeed, I should be sorry to look like him.
En vérité, je serais désolé de lui ressembler.
You shrug your shoulders?
Vous haussez les épaules ?
I am telling you the truth.
Je vous dis la vérité.
Vocabulary
- Pourquoi
- poor-kwah — Why; used to ask for a reason
- mon
- mohn — My; masculine singular possessive adjective
- cher
- shair — Dear; beloved or expensive
- c'est
- say — It is; contraction of ce and est
- un
- uhn — A, an; masculine indefinite article
- Narcisse
- nar-sees — Narcissus; figure obsessed with own reflection
- et
- ay — And; basic coordinating conjunction
- vous
- voo — You; formal or plural second person pronoun
- eh
- ay — Hey; interjection expressing mild surprise
- bien
- byehn — Well; good or properly
- avez
- ah-vay — Have; second person plural of avoir
- sûr
- syoor — Sure; certain or safe
- une
- oon — A, an; feminine indefinite article
- expression
- ex-preh-syohn — Expression; a look conveying feeling or thought
- intellectuelle
- ehn-teh-lehk-tyoo-ehl — Intellectual; relating to the intellect, feminine form
- tout
- too — All, everything; indicating totality
- cela
- suh-lah — That; demonstrative pronoun referring to something
- Mais
- may — But; conjunction indicating contrast or opposition
- la
- lah — The; feminine definite article
- beauté
- boh-tay — Beauty; quality of being pleasing to senses
- vraie
- vray — True, real; feminine adjective for genuine
- s'arrête
- sah-reht — Stops; reflexive verb, ceases or halts
- là
- lah — There; adverb indicating a specific place
- où
- oo — Where; relative or interrogative adverb of place
- commence
- koh-mahns — Begins; third person singular of commencer
- L'intellect
- lehn-teh-lehkt — The intellect; the faculty of reasoning and thinking
- est
- ay — Is; third person singular of être
- en
- ahn — In; preposition indicating location or manner
- lui-même
- lwee-mehm — Itself, himself; emphatic reflexive pronoun
- mode
- mohd — Mode, manner; a way or method of doing
- d'exagération
- dehg-zah-zheh-rah-syohn — Of exaggeration; overstating beyond actual truth
- détruit
- day-trwee — Destroys; third person singular of détruire
- l'harmonie
- lar-moh-nee — Harmony; pleasing combination of elements
- de
- duh — Of, from; common preposition indicating relation
- visage
- vee-zahzh — Face; the front part of a person's head
- Dès
- day — From, as soon as; preposition indicating starting point
- l'instant
- lehn-stahn — The instant, the moment; a very brief time
- l'on
- lohn — One; euphonic form of on before vowel
- s'assoit
- sah-swah — Sits down; reflexive third person singular of s'asseoir
- pour
- poor — For, in order to; preposition of purpose
- réfléchir
- ray-flay-sheer — To think, reflect; to ponder carefully
- on
- ohn — One, we, people; indefinite subject pronoun
- devient
- duh-vyehn — Becomes; third person singular of devenir
- nez
- nay — Nose; the organ of smell on the face
- ou
- oo — Or; conjunction presenting an alternative
- front
- frohn — Forehead; the part of the face above eyebrows
- quelque
- kehl-kuh — Some, a; adjective indicating an unspecified thing
- chose
- shohz — Thing; a general object or matter
- d'horrible
- doh-reebl — Of horrible; something dreadful or very ugly
- Regardez
- ruh-gar-day — Look at; imperative plural of regarder
- les
- lay — The; plural definite article
- hommes
- ohm — Men; plural of homme
- qui
- kee — Who, which; relative or interrogative pronoun
- réussissent
- ray-oo-sees — Succeed; third person plural of réussir
- dans
- dahn — In, inside; preposition of location
- l'une
- loon — One; feminine form of l'un, pronoun
- l'autre
- lohtr — The other; definite pronoun referring to another
- des
- day — Some, of the; plural indefinite or partitive article
- professions
- proh-feh-syohn — Professions; occupations requiring specialized knowledge
- savantes
- sah-vahnt — Learned; feminine plural adjective meaning scholarly
- Comme
- kohm — How, as, like; conjunction or exclamatory adverb
- ils
- eel — They; third person masculine plural pronoun
- sont
- sohn — Are; third person plural of être
- parfaitement
- par-feht-mahn — Perfectly; adverb meaning completely or absolutely
- hideux
- ee-duh — Hideous; extremely ugly or repulsive
- Sauf
- sohf — Except; preposition excluding something from statement
- l'Église
- lay-gleez — The Church; the Christian religious institution
- ne
- nuh — Not; first part of French negation ne...pas
- pensent
- pahns — Think; third person plural of penser
- pas
- pah — Not; second part of the negation ne...pas
- évêque
- ay-vehk — Bishop; a senior Christian church official
- continue
- kohn-tee-noo — Continues; third person singular of continuer
- dire
- deer — To say; infinitive meaning to speak or tell
- à
- ah — At, to; basic preposition of direction or location
- l'âge
- lahzh — The age; a period of life or era
- quatre-vingts
- katr-vahn — Eighty; the number 80 in French
- ans
- ahn — Years; plural of an, referring to age
- ce
- suh — This, that; demonstrative adjective or pronoun
- qu'on
- kohn — That one; contraction of que and on
- lui
- lwee — Him, to him; third person singular object pronoun
- a
- ah — Has; third person singular of avoir
- dit
- dee — Said; past participle of dire
- quand
- kahn — When; conjunction or adverb of time
- il
- eel — He, it; third person masculine singular pronoun
- était
- ay-tay — Was; imperfect tense of être
- garçon
- gar-sohn — Boy; a young male, or a waiter
- dix-huit
- deez-weet — Eighteen; the number 18
- par
- par — By, per; preposition of means or agent
- conséquent
- kohn-say-kahn — Consequently; as a result, therefore
- naturel
- nah-too-rehl — Natural; existing in or derived from nature
- toujours
- too-zhoor — Always, still; indicating continuity or permanence
- l'air
- lair — The air, the look; appearance or atmosphere
- absolument
- ab-soh-loo-mahn — Absolutely; completely, without any doubt
- charmant
- shar-mahn — Charming; delightful and attractive
- Votre
- vohtr — Your; formal possessive adjective
- mystérieux
- mees-tay-ryuh — Mysterious; strange and difficult to explain
- jeune
- zhuhn — Young; of not much age
- ami
- ah-mee — Friend; a person one has affection for
- dont
- dohn — Whose, of which; relative pronoun of possession
- m'avez
- mah-vay — Have me; you have (told) me, indirect object
- jamais
- zhah-may — Never; at no time or not ever
- le
- luh — The; masculine singular definite article
- nom
- nohn — Name; a word used to identify a person
- mais
- may — But; conjunction expressing contrast
- portrait
- por-tray — Portrait; a painting or image of a person
- me
- muh — Me; first person singular object pronoun
- fascine
- fah-seen — Fascinates; captivates or attracts strongly
- vraiment
- vray-mahn — Really, truly; adverb emphasizing truth
- pense
- pahns — Think; first or third person singular of penser
- J'en
- zhahn — I of it; contraction of je and en
- suis
- swee — Am; first person singular of être
- fait
- fay — Done, made; past participle of faire
- certain
- sair-tehn — Certain; sure, definite, without doubt
- C'est
- say — It is; contraction of ce and est
- belle
- behl — Beautiful; feminine adjective meaning lovely
- créature
- kray-ah-tyoor — Creature; a living being or person
- sans
- sahn — Without; preposition indicating absence
- cervelle
- sair-vehl — Brain, brains; used informally for intelligence
- devrait
- duh-vray — Should; conditional tense of devoir
- être
- ehtr — To be; fundamental infinitive verb
- ici
- ee-see — Here; adverb indicating this place
- hiver
- ee-vair — Winter; the coldest season of the year
- nous
- noo — We, us; first person plural pronoun
- n'avons
- nah-vohn — Do not have; negated first plural of avoir
- fleurs
- fluhr — Flowers; blooms of a plant
- regarder
- ruh-gar-day — To look at; infinitive meaning to watch or view
- été
- ay-tay — Summer or been; season or past participle of être
- voulons
- voo-lohn — Want; first person plural of vouloir
- rafraîchir
- rah-freh-sheer — To refresh; to cool down or revitalize
- notre
- nohtr — Our; first person plural possessive adjective
- intelligence
- ehn-teh-lee-zhahns — Intelligence; the ability to learn and understand
- Ne
- nuh — Not; first element of French negation
- flattez
- flah-tay — Flatter; second person plural of flatter
- ressemblez
- ruh-sahm-blay — Resemble; you resemble, second person plural
- moins
- mwahn — Less; comparative adverb of quantity
- du
- doo — Of the; contraction of de and le
- monde
- mohnd — World; the earth or people in general
- Vous
- voo — You; formal second person singular or plural
- comprenez
- kohm-pruh-nay — Understand; second person plural of comprendre
- répondit
- ray-pohn-dee — Replied; simple past of répondre
- l'artiste
- lar-teest — The artist; a person who creates art
- Bien
- byehn — Well; adverb meaning properly or very much
- que
- kuh — That, which; conjunction or relative pronoun
- je
- zhuh — I; first person singular subject pronoun
- ressemble
- ruh-sahm-bl — Resemble; first or third person singular of ressembler
- Je
- zhuh — I; first person singular subject pronoun
- sais
- say — Know; first person singular of savoir
- En
- ahn — In; preposition indicating manner or location
- vérité
- vay-ree-tay — Truth; the quality of being true or real
- serais
- suh-ray — Would be; conditional of être, first person
- désolé
- day-zoh-lay — Sorry, devastated; expressing regret or sadness
- ressembler
- ruh-sahm-blay — To resemble; to look like or be similar
- haussez
- oh-say — Raise, shrug; second person plural of hausser
- épaules
- ay-pohl — Shoulders; the joints connecting arms to torso
- dis
- dee — Say, tell; first person singular of dire
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