The Prince — Page 14
This was followed by the sack of Rome, upon the news of which the popular party at Florence threw off the yoke of the Medici, who were once more banished.
Cela fut suivi du sac de Rome, à la nouvelle duquel le parti populaire de Florence secoua le joug des Médicis, qui furent une fois de plus bannis.
Machiavelli was absent from Florence at this time, but hastened his return, hoping to secure his former office of secretary to the "Ten of Liberty and Peace."
Machiavel était absent de Florence à ce moment-là, mais il hâta son retour, espérant obtenir son ancien poste de secrétaire des « Dix de la Liberté et de la Paix ».
Unhappily he was taken ill soon after he reached Florence, where he died on 22nd June 1527.
Malheureusement, il tomba malade peu après son arrivée à Florence, où il mourut le 22 juin 1527.
No one can say where the bones of Machiavelli rest, but modern Florence has decreed him a stately cenotaph in Santa Croce, by the side of her most famous sons; recognizing that, whatever other nations may have found in his works, Italy found in them the idea of her unity and the germs of her renaissance among the nations of Europe.
Nul ne peut dire où reposent les ossements de Machiavel, mais la Florence moderne lui a érigé un cénotaphe majestueux à Santa Croce, aux côtés de ses fils les plus illustres ; reconnaissant que, quoi que d'autres nations aient pu trouver dans ses œuvres, l'Italie y trouva l'idée de son unité et les germes de sa renaissance parmi les nations d'Europe.
Whilst it is idle to protest against the world-wide and evil signification of his name, it may be pointed out that the harsh construction of his doctrine which this sinister reputation implies was unknown to his own day, and that the researches of recent times have enabled us to interpret him more reasonably.
S'il est vain de protester contre la signification universelle et maléfique de son nom, on peut faire remarquer que l'interprétation sévère de sa doctrine qu'implique cette réputation sinistre était inconnue de son vivant, et que les recherches des temps modernes nous ont permis de l'interpréter de manière plus raisonnée.
It is due to these inquiries that the shape of an "unholy necromancer," which so long haunted men's vision, has begun to fade.
C'est grâce à ces recherches que la figure d'un « nécromancien impie », qui hanta si longtemps l'imagination des hommes, a commencé à s'estomper.
Vocabulary
- Cela
- That; used to refer to something previously mentioned
- fut
- Was; third person singular simple past of être
- suivi
- Followed; past participle of suivre
- du
- Of the; contraction of de + le
- sac
- Sack; here referring to the sacking of a city
- de
- Of, from; common French preposition
- à
- At, to, in; very common French preposition
- la
- The; feminine definite article
- nouvelle
- News, piece of news; feminine noun
- duquel
- Of which; relative pronoun combining de + lequel
- le
- The; masculine definite article
- parti
- Party; political faction or group
- populaire
- Popular; relating to the common people
- secoua
- Shook off; third person singular simple past of secouer
- joug
- Yoke; symbol of oppression or domination
- des
- Of the; plural contraction of de + les
- qui
- Who, which; relative or interrogative pronoun
- furent
- Were; third person plural simple past of être
- une
- A, one; feminine indefinite article
- fois
- Time, occasion; used in expressions like une fois
- plus
- More, again; adverb of degree or addition
- bannis
- Banished, exiled; past participle of bannir
- était
- Was; third person singular imperfect of être
- absent
- Absent; not present at a given moment
- ce
- This, that; demonstrative adjective or pronoun
- moment-là
- That moment; refers to a specific point in time
- mais
- But; conjunction expressing contrast or opposition
- il
- He, it; third person masculine singular pronoun
- hâta
- Hastened; third person singular simple past of se hâter
- son
- His, her, its; possessive adjective masculine singular
- retour
- Return; the act of coming back
- espérant
- Hoping; present participle of espérer
- obtenir
- To obtain, to get; infinitive verb
- ancien
- Former, old; adjective indicating past status
- poste
- Post, position; a job or official role
- secrétaire
- Secretary; administrative or clerical official
- Dix
- Ten; number, here part of a council's name
- Liberté
- Liberty, freedom; fundamental political concept
- et
- And; basic coordinating conjunction
- Paix
- Peace; absence of war or conflict
- Malheureusement
- Unfortunately; adverb expressing regret or misfortune
- tomba
- Fell, became; third person singular simple past of tomber
- malade
- Sick, ill; adjective describing poor health
- peu
- Little, shortly; adverb indicating small quantity or time
- après
- After; preposition or adverb of time
- arrivée
- Arrival; the act of arriving somewhere
- où
- Where; relative or interrogative adverb of place
- mourut
- Died; third person singular simple past of mourir
- juin
- June; sixth month of the year
- Nul
- No one, nobody; negative indefinite pronoun
- ne
- Not; negative particle used with pas or other negatives
- peut
- Can, is able to; third person singular of pouvoir
- dire
- To say, to tell; common infinitive verb
- reposent
- Rest, lie; third person plural present of reposer
- les
- The; plural definite article
- ossements
- Bones, remains; skeletal remains of a person
- moderne
- Modern; relating to recent or contemporary times
- lui
- Him, to him; third person singular pronoun
- a
- Has; third person singular present of avoir
- érigé
- Erected; past participle of ériger, to build
- un
- A, one; masculine indefinite article
- cénotaphe
- Cenotaph; monument honoring someone buried elsewhere
- majestueux
- Majestic; impressive and grand in appearance
- aux
- To the, at the; contraction of à + les
- côtés
- Sides; aux côtés de means alongside
- ses
- His, her, its; possessive adjective plural form
- fils
- Sons; male offspring, here meaning great figures
- illustres
- Illustrious, famous; distinguished and celebrated
- reconnaissant
- Acknowledging, recognizing; present participle of reconnaître
- que
- That, what; conjunction or relative pronoun
- quoi
- What; interrogative or relative pronoun
- d'autres
- Other; plural indefinite pronoun meaning other ones
- nations
- Nations; countries or peoples as political entities
- aient
- Have; third person plural subjunctive of avoir
- pu
- Been able to; past participle of pouvoir
- trouver
- To find; infinitive verb meaning to discover
- dans
- In, inside; common preposition of location
- œuvres
- Works; artistic or literary productions
- y
- There, in it; adverbial pronoun of place
- trouva
- Found; third person singular simple past of trouver
- l'idée
- The idea; a thought or concept
- unité
- Unity; the state of being united as one
- germes
- Seeds, germs; origins or beginnings of something
- sa
- His, her, its; possessive adjective feminine singular
- renaissance
- Rebirth, renaissance; cultural or national revival
- parmi
- Among; preposition indicating inclusion in a group
- S'il
- If it, if he; contraction of si + il
- est
- Is; third person singular present of être
- vain
- Vain, futile; pointless or without effect
- protester
- To protest; to object or speak against something
- contre
- Against; preposition expressing opposition
- signification
- Meaning, significance; what something denotes
- universelle
- Universal; applying to all people or places
- maléfique
- Maleficent, evil; causing harm or misfortune
- nom
- Name; word by which someone is known
- on
- One, we, people; indefinite subject pronoun
- faire
- To do, to make; very common infinitive verb
- remarquer
- To note, to point out; to draw attention to
- l'interprétation
- The interpretation; the way something is understood
- sévère
- Severe, harsh; strict or extreme in judgment
- doctrine
- Doctrine; a set of principles or beliefs
- qu'implique
- That implies; relative clause verb meaning to entail
- cette
- This; feminine demonstrative adjective
- réputation
- Reputation; general opinion held about someone
- sinistre
- Sinister; threatening or suggesting evil
- inconnue
- Unknown; not known or not recognized
- vivant
- Living, alive; present participle used as adjective
- recherches
- Research, studies; investigations into a subject
- temps
- Time; general term for a period or era
- modernes
- Modern; of contemporary or recent times, plural
- nous
- We, us; first person plural pronoun
- ont
- Have; third person plural present of avoir
- permis
- Allowed, permitted; past participle of permettre
- l'interpréter
- To interpret it; infinitive with object pronoun
- manière
- Manner, way; how something is done
- raisonnée
- Reasoned, rational; based on logic and evidence
- C'est
- It is, that is; very common presentative expression
- grâce
- Thanks to; grâce à means owing to something
- ces
- These, those; plural demonstrative adjective
- figure
- Figure; image or representation of a person
- d'un
- Of a; contraction of de + un
- nécromancien
- Necromancer; one who practices dark magic or sorcery
- impie
- Impious, godless; showing lack of reverence
- hanta
- Haunted; third person singular simple past of hanter
- si
- So, such; adverb of intensity or condition
- longtemps
- For a long time; adverb of duration
- l'imagination
- The imagination; the faculty of forming mental images
- hommes
- Men, people; plural of homme
- commencé
- Begun, started; past participle of commencer
- s'estomper
- To fade, to blur; to gradually disappear
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