The Picture of Dorian Gray — Page 12
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Neither of us could help laughing, and we became friends at once."
Ni l'un ni l'autre ne put s'empêcher de rire, et nous devînmes amis sur-le-champ."
"Laughter is not at all a bad beginning for a friendship, and it is far the best ending for one," said the young lord, plucking another daisy.
« Le rire n'est pas du tout un mauvais début pour une amitié, et c'est de loin la meilleure façon d'en finir une », dit le jeune lord en cueillant une autre marguerite.
Hallward shook his head. "You don't understand what friendship is, Harry," he murmured—"or what enmity is, for that matter. You like every one; that is to say, you are indifferent to every one."
Hallward secoua la tête. « Vous ne comprenez pas ce qu'est l'amitié, Harry », murmura-t-il, « ni ce qu'est l'inimitié, d'ailleurs. Vous aimez tout le monde ; c'est-à-dire que vous êtes indifférent à tout le monde. »
"How horribly unjust of you!" cried Lord Henry, tilting his hat back and looking up at the little clouds that, like ravelled skeins of glossy white silk, were drifting across the hollowed turquoise of the summer sky.
« Comme c'est horriblement injuste de votre part ! » s'écria Lord Henry, inclinant son chapeau en arrière et levant les yeux vers les petits nuages qui, tels des écheveaux emmêlés de soie blanche lustrée, dérivaient à travers le turquoise creux du ciel d'été.
"Yes; horribly unjust of you. I make a great difference between people. I choose my friends for their good looks, my acquaintances for their good characters, and my enemies for their good intellects.
« Oui ; horriblement injuste de votre part. Je fais une grande distinction entre les gens. Je choisis mes amis pour leur belle apparence, mes connaissances pour leur bon caractère, et mes ennemis pour leur bonne intelligence.
A man cannot be too careful in the choice of his enemies. I have not got one who is a fool. They are all men of some intellectual power, and consequently they all appreciate me. Is that very vain of me? I think it is rather vain."
On ne saurait être trop prudent dans le choix de ses ennemis. Je n'en ai pas un seul qui soit un sot. Ce sont tous des hommes d'un certain pouvoir intellectuel, et par conséquent ils m'apprécient tous. Est-ce là une grande vanité de ma part ? Je crois que c'est plutôt vaniteux. »
"I should think it was, Harry. But according to your category I must be merely an acquaintance."
« Je le crois bien, Harry. Mais d'après votre classification, je ne dois être qu'une simple connaissance. »
"My dear old Basil, you are much more than an acquaintance."
« Mon cher vieux Basil, vous êtes bien plus qu'une simple connaissance. »
"And much less than a friend. A sort of brother, I suppose?"
« Et bien moins qu'un ami. Une sorte de frère, je suppose ? »
"Oh, brothers! I don't care for brothers.
« Oh, les frères ! Je n'ai que faire des frères.
Vocabulary
- Ni
- Neither; nor; used in negative constructions
- l'
- Elided form of le or la before vowel
- un
- A, an; the number one
- ni
- Neither; nor; used in negative constructions
- autre
- Other; another; different person or thing
- ne
- Negative particle used with pas, jamais, etc.
- put
- Past historic of pouvoir; was able to
- s'
- Reflexive pronoun se elided before vowel
- empêcher
- To prevent, stop, or keep someone from doing
- de
- Of, from, about; versatile preposition in French
- rire
- To laugh; laughter
- et
- And; conjunction connecting words or clauses
- nous
- We; us; first person plural pronoun
- devînmes
- Past historic of devenir; we became
- amis
- Friends; plural of ami
- sur-le-champ
- Immediately, on the spot, right away
- Le
- The; masculine definite article in French
- n'
- Elided form of ne; negative particle
- est
- Is; third person singular of être
- pas
- Not; negation particle used with ne
- du
- Of the; contraction of de and le
- tout
- All, every, entirely; very common French word
- mauvais
- Bad, poor, wrong; negative quality descriptor
- début
- Beginning, start of something
- pour
- For, in order to; common French preposition
- une
- A, an; feminine indefinite article
- amitié
- Friendship; bond between friends
- c'
- Elided form of ce before est
- loin
- Far, far away; distant in space or time
- la
- The; feminine definite article; her, it
- meilleure
- Best; feminine superlative of bon
- façon
- Way, manner, method of doing something
- d'
- Elided form of de before vowel
- en
- In, on, by; pronoun replacing a phrase with de
- finir
- To finish, end, conclude something
- dit
- Said; past historic of dire
- le
- The; masculine definite article; him, it
- jeune
- Young; youthful; of little age
- cueillant
- Picking, plucking; present participle of cueillir
- marguerite
- Daisy; small white and yellow flower
- secoua
- Shook; past historic of secouer
- tête
- Head; top part of the body
- Vous
- You; formal or plural second person pronoun
- comprenez
- You understand; second person plural of comprendre
- ce
- This, that; demonstrative pronoun or adjective
- qu'
- Elided form of que; that, which, what
- murmura-t-il
- He murmured; inverted past historic of murmurer
- inimitié
- Enmity, hostility, animosity toward someone
- ailleurs
- Elsewhere, somewhere else; in another place
- aimez
- You love; second person plural of aimer
- monde
- World; people; society in general
- est-à-dire
- That is to say; in other words; namely
- que
- That, which, what; subordinating conjunction
- vous
- You; formal or plural second person pronoun
- êtes
- You are; second person plural of être
- indifférent
- Indifferent, unconcerned, not caring about something
- à
- To, at, in; very common French preposition
- Comme
- How, as, like; exclamatory or comparative word
- horriblement
- Horribly, terribly, dreadfully; in a horrible manner
- injuste
- Unjust, unfair, not fair or right
- votre
- Your; formal or plural possessive adjective
- part
- Part, share; side; role in something
- écria
- Exclaimed; past historic of s'écrier
- inclinant
- Tilting, inclining; present participle of incliner
- son
- His, her, its; third person singular possessive
- chapeau
- Hat; head covering worn outdoors
- arrière
- Back, backward, rear; toward the back
- levant
- Raising, lifting; present participle of lever
- les
- The; plural definite article; them
- yeux
- Eyes; plural of oeil
- vers
- Toward, to; in the direction of
- petits
- Small, little; masculine plural of petit
- nuages
- Clouds; masses of water vapor in sky
- qui
- Who, which, that; relative pronoun
- tels
- Such, like; masculine plural of tel
- des
- Some; plural indefinite article; of the
- écheveaux
- Skeins; loose coils of tangled thread or yarn
- emmêlés
- Tangled, entangled; past participle of emmêler
- soie
- Silk; fine lustrous natural fabric
- blanche
- White; feminine form of blanc
- lustrée
- Lustrous, shiny, polished; feminine of lustré
- dérivaient
- Were drifting, floating; imperfect of dériver
- travers
- Through, across; used in à travers
- turquoise
- Turquoise; blue-green color
- creux
- Hollow, concave; depth or cavity
- ciel
- Sky; heaven; the space above earth
- été
- Summer; the warmest season of the year
- Oui
- Yes; affirmative response in French
- Je
- I; first person singular subject pronoun
- fais
- Make, do; first person singular of faire
- grande
- Great, large, big; feminine form of grand
- distinction
- Distinction, difference, differentiation between things
- entre
- Between, among; preposition indicating position
- gens
- People, folks; persons in general
- choisis
- Chosen, selected; past participle of choisir
- mes
- My; first person plural possessive adjective
- leur
- Their; third person plural possessive adjective
- belle
- Beautiful; feminine form of beau
- apparence
- Appearance, look, outward impression of someone
- connaissances
- Acquaintances; knowledge; people one knows
- bon
- Good; positive quality; masculine form
- caractère
- Character, personality, nature of a person
- ennemis
- Enemies; adversaries; plural of ennemi
- bonne
- Good; feminine form of bon
- intelligence
- Intelligence, intellect, mental ability
- On
- One, we, they, people; impersonal subject pronoun
- saurait
- Could, would know; conditional of savoir
- être
- To be; most fundamental French verb
- trop
- Too, too much; excessively
- prudent
- Cautious, careful, prudent in one's actions
- dans
- In, inside, within; common French preposition
- choix
- Choice, selection; act of choosing something
- ses
- His, her, its; third person plural possessive
- ai
- Have; first person singular of avoir
- seul
- Alone, only, single; solitary
- soit
- Be; subjunctive of être; that is, namely
- sot
- Fool, idiot; foolish, stupid person
- Ce
- This, that, it; demonstrative pronoun
- sont
- Are; third person plural of être
- tous
- All, every one; masculine plural of tout
- hommes
- Men, humans; plural of homme
- certain
- Certain, some, a degree of; adjective
- pouvoir
- To be able to; power; ability
- intellectuel
- Intellectual; relating to the intellect or mind
- par
- By, through, per; common French preposition
- conséquent
- Consequently; therefore; as a result
- ils
- They; third person masculine plural pronoun
- m'
- Me; elided form of me before vowel
- apprécient
- Appreciate, value; third person plural of apprécier
- Est-ce
- Is it; interrogative construction in French
- là
- There, here; indicating a place or thing
- vanité
- Vanity, conceit, excessive pride in oneself
- ma
- My; feminine first person possessive adjective
- crois
- Believe, think; first person singular of croire
- plutôt
- Rather, quite, instead; preference or correction
- vaniteux
- Vain, conceited; excessively proud of oneself
- bien
- Well, good; very; common French adverb
- Mais
- But; conjunction indicating contrast or exception
- après
- After, afterwards; following in time or order
- classification
- Classification; act of grouping into categories
- je
- I; first person singular subject pronoun
- dois
- Must, owe; first person singular of devoir
- simple
- Simple, plain, ordinary; not complex
- connaissance
- Acquaintance; knowledge; someone one knows slightly
- Mon
- My; masculine first person possessive adjective
- cher
- Dear, expensive; term of affection or cost
- vieux
- Old; masculine form of vieux before consonant
- plus
- More; no more; most; comparative adverb
- Et
- And; conjunction connecting words or clauses
- moins
- Less, fewer; opposite of plus
- ami
- Friend; close companion
- Une
- A, an; feminine indefinite article
- sorte
- Sort, kind, type of something
- frère
- Brother; male sibling
- suppose
- Suppose, assume, guess; first person of supposer
- frères
- Brothers; plural of frère
- faire
- To do, to make; fundamental French verb
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