The Picture of Dorian Gray — Page 8
The reason I will not exhibit this picture is that I am afraid that I have shown in it the secret of my own soul."
La raison pour laquelle je ne veux pas exposer ce tableau, c'est que j'ai peur d'y avoir révélé le secret de ma propre âme."
Lord Henry laughed. "And what is that?" he asked.
Lord Henry rit. « Et qu'est-ce que c'est ? » demanda-t-il.
"I will tell you," said Hallward; but an expression of perplexity came over his face.
« Je vais vous le dire », dit Hallward ; mais une expression de perplexité se répandit sur son visage.
"I am all expectation, Basil," continued his companion, glancing at him.
« Je suis tout ouïe, Basil », continua son compagnon, en lui jetant un coup d'œil.
"Oh, there is really very little to tell, Harry," answered the painter; "and I am afraid you will hardly understand it. Perhaps you will hardly believe it."
« Oh, il y a vraiment très peu à dire, Harry », répondit le peintre ; « et je crains que vous ne le compreniez guère. Peut-être ne le croirez-vous guère non plus. »
Lord Henry smiled, and leaning down, plucked a pink-petalled daisy from the grass and examined it.
Lord Henry sourit, et se penchant, cueillit une pâquerette aux pétales roses dans l'herbe et l'examina.
"I am quite sure I shall understand it," he replied, gazing intently at the little golden, white-feathered disk, "and as for believing things, I can believe anything, provided that it is quite incredible."
« Je suis tout à fait sûr de le comprendre », répondit-il, regardant fixement le petit disque doré aux plumes blanches, « et quant à croire les choses, je peux croire n'importe quoi, pourvu que ce soit tout à fait incroyable. »
The wind shook some blossoms from the trees, and the heavy lilac-blooms, with their clustering stars, moved to and fro in the languid air.
Le vent fit tomber quelques fleurs des arbres, et les lourdes fleurs de lilas, avec leurs étoiles groupées, se balançaient dans l'air languissant.
A grasshopper began to chirrup by the wall, and like a blue thread a long thin dragon-fly floated past on its brown gauze wings.
Une sauterelle commença à striduler près du mur, et comme un fil bleu, une longue et fine libellule passa en flottant sur ses ailes de gaze brune.
Lord Henry felt as if he could hear Basil Hallward's heart beating, and wondered what was coming.
Lord Henry avait l'impression d'entendre battre le cœur de Basil Hallward, et se demandait ce qui allait suivre.
"The story is simply this," said the painter after some time. "Two months ago I went to a crush at Lady Brandon's.
« L'histoire est simplement la suivante », dit le peintre après un moment. « Il y a deux mois, je me suis rendu à une grande réception chez Lady Brandon.
Vocabulary
- raison
- Reason, cause, or justification for something
- laquelle
- Relative pronoun meaning 'which' (feminine form)
- veux
- First person singular of 'vouloir', meaning 'want'
- exposer
- To exhibit or display something publicly
- tableau
- A painting or picture displayed as artwork
- peur
- Fear or fright; avoir peur means 'to be afraid'
- révélé
- Past participle of 'révéler', meaning 'revealed'
- secret
- Something hidden or known only to a few
- propre
- Own (when before noun) or clean (after noun)
- âme
- The soul or inner spiritual essence of a person
- rit
- Third person singular past tense of 'rire', meaning 'laughed'
- demanda-t-il
- Inverted form of 'he asked', used in narration
- expression
- A look or appearance on someone's face
- perplexité
- State of being puzzled or confused about something
- se répandit
- Spread across or over something (past tense)
- visage
- The face of a person
- ouïe
- Hearing; être tout ouïe means 'to be all ears'
- continua
- Third person singular past tense of 'continuer', meaning 'continued'
- compagnon
- A companion, friend, or associate
- jetant
- Present participle of 'jeter', meaning 'throwing' or 'casting'
- coup d'œil
- A quick glance or brief look at something
- vraiment
- Truly, really, or genuinely; intensifying adverb
- répondit
- Third person singular past tense of 'répondre', meaning 'replied'
- peintre
- A painter or artist who creates paintings
- crains
- First person singular of 'craindre', meaning 'I fear'
- compreniez
- Second person plural imperfect of 'comprendre', meaning 'understood'
- guère
- Barely, hardly, or scarcely; used in negative contexts
- Peut-être
- Perhaps or maybe; expressing possibility or uncertainty
- croirez
- Future tense of 'croire', meaning 'you will believe'
- non plus
- Either or neither; used in negative agreement
- sourit
- Third person singular past tense of 'sourire', meaning 'smiled'
- penchant
- Leaning forward; present participle of 'se pencher'
- cueillit
- Third person singular past tense of 'cueillir', meaning 'picked'
- pâquerette
- A small daisy flower found in grassy areas
- pétales
- The petals of a flower
- roses
- Pink in color; or plural of 'rose' (flower)
- l'herbe
- The grass growing on the ground
- l'examina
- Examined it; third person singular past tense of 'examiner'
- sûr
- Sure, certain, or confident about something
- comprendre
- To understand or grasp something mentally
- répondit-il
- Inverted form of 'he replied', used in narration
- regardant
- Looking at; present participle of 'regarder'
- fixement
- Fixedly, steadily, or intently without looking away
- disque
- A disk or circular flat object
- doré
- Golden in color or gilded with gold
- plumes
- Feathers of a bird or quill pen
- quant
- As for; used in expression 'quant à' meaning 'as for'
- croire
- To believe or think something is true
- n'importe quoi
- Anything at all; no matter what
- pourvu
- Provided that; as long as a condition is met
- soit
- Third person singular subjunctive of 'être', meaning 'be'
- incroyable
- Incredible, unbelievable, or astonishing
- vent
- The wind or a current of air
- fit tomber
- Caused to fall; past tense of 'faire tomber'
- quelques
- A few or some; indicating a small number
- fleurs
- Flowers; plural of 'fleur'
- arbres
- Trees; plural of 'arbre'
- lourdes
- Heavy; feminine plural of 'lourd'
- lilas
- Lilac flowers or the lilac tree
- étoiles
- Stars; plural of 'étoile'
- groupées
- Grouped or clustered together
- balançaient
- Were swaying or swinging; imperfect tense of 'balancer'
- l'air
- The air or atmosphere; also can mean appearance
- languissant
- Languid, listless, or dreamily slow
- sauterelle
- A grasshopper; a jumping insect found in grass
- commença
- Third person singular past tense of 'commencer', meaning 'began'
- striduler
- To stridulate; to make a chirping or buzzing sound
- mur
- A wall, typically of a building or garden
- fil
- A thread, wire, or thin line
- fine
- Thin, delicate, or slender in appearance
- libellule
- A dragonfly; a slender flying insect near water
- passa
- Third person singular past tense of 'passer', meaning 'passed'
- flottant
- Floating or drifting through the air
- ailes
- Wings; plural of 'aile'
- gaze
- Gauze; a thin, translucent fabric or material
- brune
- Brown or dark; feminine form of 'brun'
- l'impression
- The impression or feeling that something is true
- d'entendre
- To hear; infinitive used after preposition 'de'
- battre
- To beat or strike; often used for heartbeat
- cœur
- The heart; also used metaphorically for emotion
- demandait
- Was wondering or asking; imperfect tense of 'demander'
- suivre
- To follow or to come after something
- L'histoire
- The story, history, or narrative being told
- simplement
- Simply, plainly, or just; used as an adverb
- suivante
- Following or next; feminine form of 'suivant'
- mois
- Month or months; unit of time
- rendu
- Past participle of 'rendre', meaning 'brought' or 'rendered'
- réception
- A formal party or social gathering hosted by someone
- chez
- At the home or place of someone
Unlock audio playback, vocabulary games, and reading progress tracking.
Create free account →