The Prince — Page 11
And because Dante says:
Et parce que Dante dit :
Knowledge doth come of learning well retained, Unfruitful else,
La connaissance vient d'un apprentissage bien retenu, Sans quoi elle est stérile,
I have noted down what I have gained from their conversation, and have composed a small work on 'Principalities,' where I pour myself out as fully as I can in meditation on the subject, discussing what a principality is, what kinds there are, how they can be acquired, how they can be kept, why they are lost: and if any of my fancies ever pleased you, this ought not to displease you: and to a prince, especially to a new one, it should be welcome: therefore I dedicate it to his Magnificence Giuliano.
J'ai noté ce que j'ai tiré de leur conversation, et j'ai composé un petit ouvrage sur les « Principautés », où je m'épanche aussi pleinement que possible en méditant sur le sujet, en examinant ce qu'est une principauté, quelles en sont les sortes, comment elles peuvent être acquises, comment elles peuvent être conservées, pourquoi elles sont perdues : et si quelqu'une de mes idées vous a jamais plu, celle-ci ne devrait pas vous déplaire : et pour un prince, surtout pour un prince nouveau, elle devrait être la bienvenue : c'est pourquoi je la dédie à Sa Magnificence Giuliano.
Filippo Casavecchio has seen it; he will be able to tell you what is in it, and of the discourses I have had with him; nevertheless, I am still enriching and polishing it."
Filippo Casavecchio l'a vu ; il pourra vous dire ce qu'il contient, et vous parler des entretiens que j'ai eus avec lui ; néanmoins, je l'enrichis et le perfectionne encore. »
The "little book" suffered many vicissitudes before attaining the form in which it has reached us.
Le « petit livre » connut bien des vicissitudes avant d'atteindre la forme sous laquelle il nous est parvenu.
Various mental influences were at work during its composition; its title and patron were changed; and for some unknown reason it was finally dedicated to Lorenzo de' Medici.
Diverses influences intellectuelles étaient à l'œuvre durant sa composition ; son titre et son dédicataire furent modifiés ; et pour une raison inconnue, il fut finalement dédié à Laurent de Médicis.
Although Machiavelli discussed with Casavecchio whether it should be sent or presented in person to the patron, there is no evidence that Lorenzo ever received or even read it: he certainly never gave Machiavelli any employment.
Bien que Machiavel ait discuté avec Casavecchio de la question de savoir s'il devait être envoyé ou présenté en personne au dédicataire, rien ne prouve que Laurent l'ait jamais reçu ni même lu : il ne donna certainement jamais à Machiavel aucun emploi.
Although it was plagiarized during Machiavelli's lifetime, _The Prince_ was never published by him, and its text is still disputable.
Bien qu'il ait été plagié du vivant de Machiavel, _Le Prince_ ne fut jamais publié par lui, et son texte est encore contesté.
Vocabulary
- parce
- Used in 'parce que', meaning 'because'.
- dit
- Third person singular of 'dire'; means 'says' or 'said'.
- connaissance
- Knowledge or acquaintance; awareness of facts or people.
- vient
- Third person singular of 'venir'; means 'comes'.
- apprentissage
- The process of learning or acquiring new skills.
- retenu
- Past participle of 'retenir'; retained or well-remembered.
- Sans
- Preposition meaning 'without'.
- quoi
- Pronoun meaning 'what'; used after prepositions.
- stérile
- Adjective meaning barren, unproductive, or fruitless.
- noté
- Past participle of 'noter'; noted or written down.
- tiré
- Past participle of 'tirer'; drawn or extracted from something.
- conversation
- An informal spoken exchange between two or more people.
- composé
- Past participle of 'composer'; composed or put together.
- ouvrage
- A written or artistic work; a book or literary piece.
- Principautés
- Principalities; territories ruled by a prince.
- épanche
- To pour out or express one's thoughts freely and openly.
- pleinement
- Adverb meaning 'fully' or 'completely'.
- méditant
- Present participle of 'méditer'; reflecting deeply on something.
- sujet
- A topic or subject under consideration or discussion.
- examinant
- Present participle of 'examiner'; carefully analyzing or studying.
- principauté
- A principality; a state ruled by a prince.
- quelles
- Feminine interrogative adjective meaning 'which' or 'what'.
- sortes
- Types or kinds; varieties of something categorized.
- acquises
- Feminine plural of 'acquis'; acquired or obtained through effort.
- conservées
- Feminine plural of 'conservé'; preserved or maintained over time.
- perdues
- Feminine plural of 'perdu'; lost or no longer possessed.
- idées
- Ideas or thoughts; concepts held in the mind.
- jamais
- Adverb meaning 'never' or 'ever' depending on context.
- plu
- Past participle of 'plaire'; pleased or been liked.
- celle-ci
- Demonstrative pronoun meaning 'this one' (feminine).
- devrait
- Conditional of 'devoir'; means 'should' or 'ought to'.
- déplaire
- To displease or be unpleasant to someone.
- prince
- A ruler or sovereign; a male member of royalty.
- surtout
- Adverb meaning 'above all', 'especially', or 'particularly'.
- bienvenue
- A warm reception; the act of welcoming someone.
- dédie
- First/third person of 'dédier'; to dedicate a work to someone.
- Magnificence
- Splendor or grandeur; honorific title for a noble lord.
- vu
- Past participle of 'voir'; seen or having looked at.
- pourra
- Future tense of 'pouvoir'; will be able to.
- contient
- Third person singular of 'contenir'; contains or holds within.
- entretiens
- Conversations or interviews; formal exchanges between people.
- eus
- Simple past of 'avoir'; 'had' (first person singular).
- néanmoins
- Adverb meaning 'nevertheless' or 'however'.
- enrichis
- Past participle of 'enrichir'; enriched or made richer.
- perfectionne
- To perfect or refine; to improve something to its best state.
- encore
- Adverb meaning 'still', 'yet', or 'again'.
- livre
- A book; a printed or written literary work.
- connut
- Simple past of 'connaître'; experienced or went through.
- vicissitudes
- Changes of circumstances; alternating phases of fortune.
- atteindre
- To reach or achieve; to arrive at a goal or state.
- forme
- Form or shape; the structure or appearance of something.
- sous
- Preposition meaning 'under' or 'beneath'.
- laquelle
- Relative pronoun meaning 'which' (feminine singular).
- parvenu
- Past participle of 'parvenir'; reached or come down to us.
- Diverses
- Adjective meaning 'various' or 'several' (feminine plural).
- influences
- Effects or impacts that shape something or someone.
- intellectuelles
- Adjective meaning 'intellectual'; relating to the mind or thought.
- œuvre
- A work; especially an artistic or literary creation.
- durant
- Preposition meaning 'during' or 'throughout' a period.
- composition
- The act of composing or writing a text or piece.
- titre
- A title; the name given to a book or work.
- dédicataire
- The person to whom a work is formally dedicated.
- furent
- Simple past of 'être'; 'were' (third person plural).
- modifiés
- Past participle of 'modifier'; changed or altered.
- raison
- Reason or cause; the rationale behind an action.
- inconnue
- Adjective meaning 'unknown'; not yet identified or discovered.
- fut
- Simple past of 'être'; 'was' (third person singular).
- finalement
- Adverb meaning 'finally' or 'in the end'.
- dédié
- Past participle of 'dédier'; dedicated or devoted to someone.
- ait
- Subjunctive of 'avoir'; 'has' used in subordinate clauses.
- discuté
- Past participle of 'discuter'; discussed or debated a topic.
- question
- A question or issue; a matter under consideration.
- savoir
- To know; refers to knowledge of facts or information.
- devait
- Imperfect of 'devoir'; 'should', 'had to', or 'was supposed to'.
- envoyé
- Past participle of 'envoyer'; sent or dispatched to someone.
- présenté
- Past participle of 'présenter'; presented or introduced formally.
- personne
- Person or individual; also 'nobody' in negative sentences.
- rien
- Pronoun meaning 'nothing' or 'anything' in questions.
- prouve
- Third person singular of 'prouver'; proves or demonstrates.
- reçu
- Past participle of 'recevoir'; received or accepted something.
- ni
- Conjunction meaning 'nor'; used in negative constructions.
- même
- Adjective or adverb meaning 'even', 'same', or 'itself'.
- lu
- Past participle of 'lire'; read (a text or document).
- donna
- Simple past of 'donner'; gave or granted something.
- certainement
- Adverb meaning 'certainly' or 'definitely'.
- aucun
- Adjective meaning 'no' or 'none'; used in negation.
- emploi
- Employment or job; the use or application of something.
- plagié
- Past participle of 'plagier'; copied or plagiarized without credit.
- vivant
- Present participle of 'vivre'; living; during someone's lifetime.
- publié
- Past participle of 'publier'; published or made publicly available.
- texte
- A text; a written or printed body of words.
- contesté
- Past participle of 'contester'; disputed or challenged by others.
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