The Prince — Page 10
In a letter to Francesco Vettori, dated 13th December 1513, he has left a very interesting description of his life at this period, which elucidates his methods and his motives in writing _The Prince_.
Dans une lettre à Francesco Vettori, datée du 13 décembre 1513, il a laissé une description très intéressante de sa vie à cette époque, qui élucide ses méthodes et ses motivations dans la rédaction du _Prince_.
After describing his daily occupations with his family and neighbours, he writes: "The evening being come, I return home and go to my study;
Après avoir décrit ses occupations quotidiennes avec sa famille et ses voisins, il écrit : « Le soir venu, je rentre chez moi et me rends à mon cabinet d'étude ;
at the entrance I pull off my peasant-clothes, covered with dust and dirt, and put on my noble court dress, and thus becomingly re-clothed I pass into the ancient courts of the men of old,
à l'entrée je retire mes habits de paysan, couverts de poussière et de crasse, et revêts mon noble habit de cour, et ainsi convenablement rhabillé je pénètre dans les cours antiques des hommes d'autrefois,
where, being lovingly received by them, I am fed with that food which is mine alone;
où, étant reçu par eux avec amour, je me nourris de cette nourriture qui m'appartient en propre ;
where I do not hesitate to speak with them, and to ask for the reason of their actions, and they in their benignity answer me;
où je n'hésite pas à leur parler, et à demander la raison de leurs actions, et eux dans leur bienveillance me répondent ;
and for four hours I feel no weariness, I forget every trouble, poverty does not dismay, death does not terrify me;
et pendant quatre heures je ne ressens aucune lassitude, j'oublie tous mes soucis, la pauvreté ne m'effraie pas, la mort ne me terrifie pas ;
I am possessed entirely by those great men.
je suis entièrement possédé par ces grands hommes.
Vocabulary
- Dans
- Preposition indicating location or time: in, within
- une
- Indefinite article, feminine singular: a, an
- lettre
- A written message sent to someone
- à
- Preposition meaning to, at, or in
- datée
- Dated; marked with a specific date
- du
- Contraction of de + le meaning of the
- décembre
- The twelfth month of the year
- il
- Third-person masculine singular pronoun: he
- a
- Third-person singular of avoir: has
- laissé
- Left behind; produced and left for others
- description
- A detailed account of something's characteristics
- très
- Adverb meaning very, extremely
- intéressante
- Feminine adjective meaning interesting, engaging
- de
- Preposition meaning of, from, about
- sa
- Possessive adjective, feminine: his, her, its
- vie
- One's existence and daily living
- cette
- Demonstrative adjective, feminine: this, that
- époque
- A particular period or era in time
- qui
- Relative or interrogative pronoun: who, which, that
- élucide
- Clarifies, sheds light on something obscure
- ses
- Possessive adjective, plural: his, her, its
- méthodes
- Systematic ways or procedures of doing something
- et
- Coordinating conjunction meaning and
- motivations
- Reasons or drives behind one's actions
- dans
- Preposition indicating location or time: in, within
- la
- Definite article, feminine singular: the
- rédaction
- The act of writing or drafting a text
- Après
- Preposition or adverb meaning after, afterwards
- avoir
- Infinitive of the verb to have
- décrit
- Past participle of décrire: described in detail
- occupations
- Activities or tasks that fill one's time
- quotidiennes
- Feminine adjective meaning daily, everyday
- avec
- Preposition meaning with, together with
- famille
- A group of related people living together
- voisins
- People who live nearby; neighbors
- écrit
- Writes; third-person singular present of écrire
- Le
- Definite article, masculine singular: the
- soir
- The evening, late part of the day
- venu
- Past participle of venir: come, having arrived
- je
- First-person singular subject pronoun: I
- rentre
- Return home; go back inside
- chez
- Preposition meaning at the home of
- moi
- Stressed first-person pronoun: me, myself
- me
- First-person reflexive or object pronoun: myself, me
- rends
- Go to; make one's way toward a place
- mon
- Possessive adjective, masculine: my
- cabinet
- A small private room or study
- d'
- Elided form of de meaning of, from
- étude
- A room or place dedicated to studying
- l'
- Elided definite article meaning the
- entrée
- The act of entering; entrance, doorway
- retire
- Removes, takes off clothing or items
- mes
- Possessive adjective, plural: my
- habits
- Clothes, garments worn on the body
- paysan
- Relating to a peasant or rural laborer
- couverts
- Covered, coated with something on the surface
- poussière
- Fine dry particles of dirt; dust
- crasse
- Thick filth or grime accumulated on surfaces
- revêts
- Put on, dress oneself in clothing
- noble
- Of high social rank or dignified quality
- habit
- A garment or outfit worn for occasions
- cour
- A royal or noble court; courtyard
- ainsi
- Adverb meaning thus, in this way, so
- convenablement
- In a suitable, proper, or appropriate manner
- rhabillé
- Redressed, having put on appropriate clothing again
- pénètre
- Enters, penetrates into a space or place
- les
- Definite article or pronoun, plural: the, them
- cours
- Courts; plural of cour, noble gatherings
- antiques
- Ancient, belonging to classical antiquity
- des
- Contraction of de + les: of the, some
- hommes
- Men, human beings in general
- autrefois
- In the past, formerly, in times gone by
- où
- Relative or interrogative adverb: where, when
- étant
- Present participle of être: being
- reçu
- Received, welcomed by someone
- par
- Preposition meaning by, through, per
- eux
- Stressed third-person plural masculine pronoun: them
- amour
- A deep feeling of affection and love
- nourris
- Fed, nourished; past participle of nourrir
- nourriture
- Food, sustenance that nourishes the body
- m'
- Elided first-person object pronoun: me, myself
- appartient
- Belongs to; is the property of someone
- en
- Preposition or pronoun meaning in, of it
- propre
- One's own; belonging specifically to oneself
- n'
- Elided negative particle used before vowels
- hésite
- Hesitates, pauses with uncertainty before acting
- pas
- Negative particle completing ne...pas: not
- leur
- Indirect object pronoun or possessive: them, their
- parler
- To speak, to talk with someone
- demander
- To ask, to request information from someone
- raison
- The reason or rationale behind something
- leurs
- Possessive adjective or pronoun, plural: their
- actions
- Things done; deeds or behaviors performed
- bienveillance
- Kindness and goodwill toward others
- répondent
- They respond, answer a question or address
- pendant
- Preposition meaning during, for a period of time
- quatre
- The number four
- heures
- Hours; units of time equal to sixty minutes
- ne
- Negative particle used with pas or other negatives
- ressens
- Feel, experience an emotion or sensation
- aucune
- No, not any; feminine form of aucun
- lassitude
- A feeling of weariness, fatigue, or boredom
- j'
- Elided first-person subject pronoun: I
- oublie
- Forgets, fails to remember something
- tous
- All, every one; masculine plural of tout
- soucis
- Worries, concerns, or anxieties one has
- pauvreté
- The state of being poor; poverty
- effraie
- Frightens, scares, fills someone with fear
- mort
- Death; the end of life
- terrifie
- Terrifies, causes extreme fear or dread
- suis
- First-person singular of être: I am
- entièrement
- Entirely, completely, wholly without exception
- possédé
- Possessed, wholly taken over or consumed by something
- ces
- Demonstrative adjective, plural: these, those
- grands
- Great, large; masculine plural of grand
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