The Picture of Dorian Gray — Page 5
There is a fatality about all physical and intellectual distinction, the sort of fatality that seems to dog through history the faltering steps of kings.
Il y a une fatalité attachée à toute distinction physique et intellectuelle, le genre de fatalité qui semble poursuivre à travers l'histoire les pas chancelants des rois.
It is better not to be different from one's fellows.
Il vaut mieux ne pas être différent de ses semblables.
The ugly and the stupid have the best of it in this world.
Les laids et les stupides ont la belle part en ce monde.
They can sit at their ease and gape at the play.
Ils peuvent s'asseoir à leur aise et regarder bouche bée le spectacle.
If they know nothing of victory, they are at least spared the knowledge of defeat.
S'ils ne connaissent rien de la victoire, ils sont au moins épargnés de la connaissance de la défaite.
They live as we all should live—undisturbed, indifferent, and without disquiet.
Ils vivent comme nous devrions tous vivre — tranquilles, indifférents, et sans inquiétude.
They neither bring ruin upon others, nor ever receive it from alien hands.
Ils n'apportent la ruine ni sur autrui, ni ne la reçoivent jamais de mains étrangères.
Your rank and wealth, Harry; my brains, such as they are—my art, whatever it may be worth; Dorian Gray's good looks—we shall all suffer for what the gods have given us, suffer terribly."
Votre rang et votre fortune, Harry ; mon intelligence, telle qu'elle est — mon art, quelle que soit sa valeur ; la beauté de Dorian Gray — nous souffrirons tous pour ce que les dieux nous ont donné, nous souffrirons terriblement. »
"Dorian Gray? Is that his name?" asked Lord Henry, walking across the studio towards Basil Hallward.
« Dorian Gray ? C'est là son nom ? » demanda Lord Henry, traversant l'atelier en direction de Basil Hallward.
"Yes, that is his name. I didn't intend to tell it to you."
« Oui, c'est son nom. Je n'avais pas l'intention de vous le dire. »
"But why not?"
« Mais pourquoi donc ? »
"Oh, I can't explain.
« Oh, je ne saurais l'expliquer.
When I like people immensely, I never tell their names to any one.
Quand j'ai une immense affection pour des gens, je ne dis jamais leur nom à quiconque.
It is like surrendering a part of them.
C'est comme abandonner une partie d'eux-mêmes.
I have grown to love secrecy.
J'en suis venu à aimer le secret.
It seems to be the one thing that can make modern life mysterious or marvellous to us.
Il semble que ce soit la seule chose qui puisse rendre la vie moderne mystérieuse ou merveilleuse à nos yeux.
The commonest thing is delightful if one only hides it.
La chose la plus banale est délicieuse si seulement on la dissimule.
When I leave town now I never tell my people where I am going.
Quand je quitte la ville à présent, je ne dis jamais à mes proches où je vais.
If I did, I would lose all my pleasure.
Si je le faisais, je perdrais tout mon plaisir.
Vocabulary
- y
- ee — Adverbial pronoun meaning 'there' or 'it'
- fatalité
- fah-tah-lee-tay — Fate or fatality; inevitable destiny or doom
- attachée
- ah-tah-shay — Attached or linked; connected to something or someone
- distinction
- dees-tank-syon — A difference or mark of excellence setting someone apart
- physique
- fee-zeek — Relating to the body or physical appearance
- intellectuelle
- an-teh-lek-tü-el — Feminine adjective meaning intellectual or relating to the mind
- genre
- zhon-ruh — Type, kind, or sort of something
- semble
- som-bluh — Third person singular of 'sembler', meaning 'seems'
- poursuivre
- poor-swee-vruh — To pursue, chase, or continue following something persistently
- travers
- trah-vair — Used in 'à travers' meaning 'through' or 'across'
- histoire
- ees-twar — History or story; narrative of past events
- pas
- pah — Steps or footsteps; also used in negation 'ne...pas'
- chancelants
- shon-suh-lon — Staggering, tottering, or unsteady on one's feet
- rois
- rwah — Kings; plural of 'roi', male monarchs
- vaut
- voh — Third person singular of 'valoir', meaning 'is worth'
- mieux
- myuh — Better; comparative adverb used to indicate preference
- différent
- dee-fay-ron — Different; not the same as others or the norm
- semblables
- som-blah-bluh — Peers or fellow human beings; those similar to oneself
- laids
- lay — Ugly or unattractive; lacking physical beauty (plural masculine)
- stupides
- stü-peed — Stupid or foolish; lacking intelligence or sense
- belle
- bel — Feminine form of 'beau', meaning beautiful or fine
- part
- par — Share or portion; one's lot or role in something
- monde
- mond — World or society; people in general or the earth
- asseoir
- ah-swahr — To sit down; reflexive verb meaning to seat oneself
- aise
- ez — Ease or comfort; feeling of relaxed well-being
- regarder
- ruh-gar-day — To look at or watch; to observe something visually
- bouche
- boosh — Mouth; the oral opening used for eating and speaking
- bée
- bay — Wide open; used in 'bouche bée' meaning agape or dumbstruck
- spectacle
- spek-tah-kluh — A show or spectacle; an impressive or striking visual scene
- connaissent
- koh-nes — Third person plural of 'connaître', meaning 'know' or 'are acquainted with'
- rien
- ryen — Nothing; used in negation 'ne...rien' meaning nothing at all
- victoire
- veek-twar — Victory; success achieved over an opponent or obstacle
- moins
- mwan — Less or at least; used in comparisons or minimizing statements
- épargnés
- ay-par-nyay — Spared; protected from harm, suffering, or unpleasant experience
- connaissance
- koh-neh-sons — Knowledge or acquaintance; familiarity with a subject or person
- défaite
- day-fet — Defeat; a loss or failure in contest or conflict
- vivent
- veev — Third person plural of 'vivre', meaning 'live'
- devrions
- duh-vryon — First person plural conditional of 'devoir', meaning 'should'
- tranquilles
- tron-keel — Calm, peaceful, or quiet; undisturbed by worry or noise
- indifférents
- an-dee-fay-ron — Indifferent; unconcerned or unaffected by surrounding events
- sans
- son — Without; preposition indicating absence of something
- inquiétude
- an-kyeh-tüd — Worry, anxiety, or unease about something uncertain
- apportent
- ah-port — Third person plural of 'apporter', meaning 'bring' or 'bring about'
- ruine
- rween — Ruin; destruction or collapse of something valuable
- ni
- nee — Neither/nor; used to connect two negative elements
- autrui
- oh-trwee — Others; other people considered collectively or in general
- reçoivent
- ruh-swav — Third person plural of 'recevoir', meaning 'receive'
- jamais
- zhah-meh — Never or ever; used in negative or superlative contexts
- mains
- man — Hands; the plural of 'main', the body's grasping limbs
- étrangères
- ay-tron-zhair — Foreign or strange; from another country or unfamiliar (feminine plural)
- rang
- ron — Rank or social standing; one's position in a hierarchy
- fortune
- for-tün — Fortune or wealth; accumulated riches or favorable destiny
- intelligence
- an-teh-lee-zhons — Intelligence; mental ability to learn, reason, and understand
- telle
- tel — Such or as; feminine form of 'tel' used for comparison
- art
- ar — Art; creative expression through painting, music, literature, etc.
- quelle
- kel — Feminine interrogative or exclamative adjective meaning 'what' or 'which'
- soit
- swah — Subjunctive form of 'être', meaning 'be' or 'may be'
- valeur
- vah-lur — Value or worth; importance or merit of something
- beauté
- boh-tay — Beauty; the quality of being visually or aesthetically pleasing
- souffrirons
- soo-free-ron — First person plural future of 'souffrir', meaning 'will suffer'
- dieux
- dyuh — Gods; plural of 'dieu', divine or supernatural beings
- donné
- doh-nay — Given; past participle of 'donner', to give
- terriblement
- teh-ree-bluh-mon — Terribly or dreadfully; to an extreme or intense degree
- là
- lah — There; adverb indicating a specific place or pointing out something
- nom
- non — Name; word used to identify a person or thing
- demanda
- duh-mon-dah — Asked; past tense of 'demander', to ask or request
- traversant
- trah-vair-son — Crossing or going through; present participle of 'traverser'
- atelier
- ah-tuh-lyay — A studio or workshop; artist's creative working space
- direction
- dee-rek-syon — Direction; the way toward a place or guiding orientation
- avais
- ah-veh — First person singular imperfect of 'avoir', meaning 'had'
- intention
- an-ton-syon — Intention or plan; a deliberate purpose or aim
- dire
- deer — To say or tell; to express something verbally
- pourquoi
- poor-kwah — Why; interrogative word asking for a reason or cause
- donc
- donk — So, therefore, or then; conjunction indicating consequence
- saurais
- soh-reh — First person singular conditional of 'savoir', meaning 'would know'
- expliquer
- ex-plee-kay — To explain; to make something clear or understandable
- Quand
- kon — When; conjunction or adverb introducing a time clause
- immense
- ee-mons — Immense; extremely large or great in scale or degree
- affection
- ah-fek-syon — Affection; a feeling of fondness or warm attachment toward someone
- gens
- zhon — People; persons or individuals in general
- dis
- dee — First person singular present of 'dire', meaning 'say'
- quiconque
- kee-konk — Whoever or anyone who; indefinite relative pronoun
- abandonner
- ah-bon-doh-nay — To abandon or give up; to leave or relinquish something
- partie
- par-tee — Part or portion; a piece or share of a whole
- eux
- uh — Third person plural masculine disjunctive pronoun meaning 'them'
- mêmes
- mem — Same; used reflexively as '-mêmes' meaning 'themselves' or 'itself'
- venu
- vuh-nü — Past participle of 'venir', meaning 'come' or 'having come'
- aimer
- eh-may — To love or like; to have affection or preference for something
- secret
- suh-kreh — Secret; something kept hidden or known only to a few
- seule
- sul — Alone or only; feminine adjective meaning sole or single
- chose
- shohz — Thing; a general noun referring to any object or matter
- puisse
- pwees — Subjunctive of 'pouvoir', meaning 'can' or 'may be able to'
- rendre
- ron-druh — To render or make; to cause something to become a certain way
- vie
- vee — Life; one's existence or the living experience
- moderne
- moh-dairn — Modern; contemporary or relating to the present era
- mystérieuse
- mees-tay-ryuz — Mysterious; full of mystery or not easily explained
- merveilleuse
- mair-vay-yuz — Wonderful or marvelous; extraordinarily beautiful or impressive
- yeux
- yuh — Eyes; plural of 'oeil', the organs of sight
- banale
- bah-nahl — Banal or commonplace; lacking originality or interest
- délicieuse
- day-lee-syuz — Delicious or delightful; extremely pleasing to senses or mind
- seulement
- sul-mon — Only or merely; limiting something to just one condition
- on
- on — Indefinite pronoun meaning 'one', 'we', 'people', or 'they'
- dissimule
- dee-see-mül — Conceals or hides; third person of 'dissimuler', to disguise
- quitte
- keet — Leaves or quits; third person of 'quitter', to leave a place
- ville
- veel — City or town; an urban settlement or municipality
- présent
- pray-zon — Present; current moment or time; also a gift
- proches
- prosh — Close ones; family members or those emotionally near to you
- où
- oo — Where; relative or interrogative adverb of place
- vais
- veh — First person singular of 'aller', meaning 'go' or 'am going'
- faisais
- fuh-zeh — First person singular imperfect of 'faire', meaning 'was doing'
- perdrais
- pair-dreh — First person singular conditional of 'perdre', meaning 'would lose'
- plaisir
- pleh-zeer — Pleasure or enjoyment; a feeling of happiness or satisfaction
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