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The Republic — Page 3

English → Fr INTRODUCTION AND ANALYSIS. Level 9/10

Neither must we forget that the Republic is but the third part of a still larger design which was to have included an ideal history of Athens, as well as a political and physical philosophy.

Il ne faut pas non plus oublier que la République n'est que la troisième partie d'un projet encore plus vaste qui devait inclure une histoire idéale d'Athènes, ainsi qu'une philosophie politique et naturelle.

The fragment of the Critias has given birth to a world-famous fiction, second only in importance to the tale of Troy and the legend of Arthur; and is said as a fact to have inspired some of the early navigators of the sixteenth century.

Le fragment du Critias a donné naissance à une fiction de renommée mondiale, dont l'importance n'est dépassée que par le récit de Troie et la légende d'Arthur ; et il est dit qu'il a effectivement inspiré certains des premiers navigateurs du seizième siècle.

This mythical tale, of which the subject was a history of the wars of the Athenians against the Island of Atlantis, is supposed to be founded upon an unfinished poem of Solon, to which it would have stood in the same relation as the writings of the logographers to the poems of Homer.

Ce récit mythique, dont le sujet était une histoire des guerres des Athéniens contre l'île d'Atlantis, est supposé être fondé sur un poème inachevé de Solon, auquel il aurait entretenu le même rapport que les écrits des logographes aux poèmes d'Homère.

It would have told of a struggle for Liberty (cp. Tim. 25 C), intended to represent the conflict of Persia and Hellas.

Il aurait relaté une lutte pour la Liberté (cf. Tim. 25 C), destinée à représenter le conflit entre la Perse et l'Hellade.

We may judge from the noble commencement of the Timaeus, from the fragment of the Critias itself, and from the third book of the Laws, in what manner Plato would have treated this high argument.

Nous pouvons juger, à partir du noble commencement du Timée, du fragment du Critias lui-même, et du troisième livre des Lois, de la manière dont Platon aurait traité ce grand sujet.

Vocabulary

ne
nə — Negative particle used with 'pas' to negate verbs
faut
fo — Impersonal verb meaning 'it is necessary'
plus
ply — Adverb meaning 'no longer' or 'more'
oublier
ublije — Verb meaning 'to forget' something
République
Repyblik — Plato's famous philosophical work on justice and governance
troisième
tʁwazjɛm — Ordinal number meaning 'third' in a sequence
partie
paʁti — Noun meaning 'part' or 'portion' of something
projet
pʁɔʒɛ — Noun meaning 'project' or 'plan'
encore
ɑ̃kɔʁ — Adverb meaning 'still', 'yet', or 'again'
vaste
vast — Adjective meaning 'vast', 'large', or 'extensive'
devait
dəvɛ — Imperfect tense of 'devoir', meaning 'was supposed to'
inclure
ɛ̃klyʁ — Verb meaning 'to include' something within a whole
histoire
istwaʁ — Noun meaning 'history' or 'story'
idéale
ideal — Adjective meaning 'ideal' or 'perfect'
Athènes
atɛn — The ancient and modern capital city of Greece
ainsi
ɛ̃si — Adverb meaning 'thus', 'so', or 'in this way'
philosophie
filɔzɔfi — Noun meaning 'philosophy', the study of knowledge
politique
pɔlitik — Adjective or noun meaning 'political' or 'politics'
naturelle
natyʁɛl — Adjective meaning 'natural', relating to nature
fragment
fʁagmɑ̃ — Noun meaning 'fragment' or 'incomplete piece of text'
Critias
kʁitjas — An unfinished dialogue by Plato about Atlantis
donné
dɔne — Past participle of 'donner', meaning 'given'
naissance
nɛsɑ̃s — Noun meaning 'birth' or 'origin' of something
fiction
fiksjɔ̃ — Noun meaning 'fiction', an imagined literary narrative
renommée
ʁənɔme — Noun or adjective meaning 'fame' or 'renowned'
mondiale
mɔ̃djal — Adjective meaning 'worldwide' or 'global'
dont
dɔ̃ — Relative pronoun meaning 'whose', 'of which'
importance
ɛ̃pɔʁtɑ̃s — Noun meaning 'importance' or 'significance'
dépassée
depase — Past participle meaning 'surpassed' or 'exceeded'
récit
ʁesi — Noun meaning 'narrative' or 'account' of events
Troie
tʁwa — Ancient city of Troy, famous from Homer's epics
légende
leʒɑ̃d — Noun meaning 'legend', a traditional story or myth
Arthur
aʁtyʁ — Legendary British king of Camelot and the Round Table
dit
di — Third person singular of 'dire', meaning 'says/said'
effectivement
efɛktivmɑ̃ — Adverb meaning 'indeed' or 'effectively'
inspiré
ɛ̃spiʁe — Past participle meaning 'inspired' by a source
certains
sɛʁtɛ̃ — Adjective meaning 'certain' or 'some' people or things
premiers
pʁəmje — Adjective meaning 'first' or 'earliest' in order
navigateurs
navigatœʁ — Noun meaning 'navigators' or 'sailors' who explore seas
seizième
sɛzjɛm — Ordinal number meaning 'sixteenth'
siècle
sjɛkl — Noun meaning 'century', a period of one hundred years
mythique
mitik — Adjective meaning 'mythical' or 'legendary'
sujet
syʒɛ — Noun meaning 'subject' or 'topic' of discussion
était
etɛ — Imperfect tense of 'être', meaning 'was'
guerres
gɛʁ — Plural noun meaning 'wars' or 'conflicts'
Athéniens
atenjɛ̃ — Noun meaning 'Athenians', inhabitants of ancient Athens
contre
kɔ̃tʁ — Preposition meaning 'against' or 'opposing'
île
il — Noun meaning 'island', land surrounded by water
Atlantis
atlɑ̃tis — Mythical sunken island civilization described by Plato
supposé
sypoze — Adjective meaning 'supposed' or 'assumed' to be true
être
ɛtʁ — Infinitive verb meaning 'to be'
fondé
fɔ̃de — Past participle meaning 'founded' or 'based upon'
poème
poɛm — Noun meaning 'poem', a literary work in verse
inachevé
inaʃve — Adjective meaning 'unfinished' or 'incomplete'
Solon
sɔlɔ̃ — Ancient Athenian statesman and lawgiver of Greece
auquel
okɛl — Relative pronoun meaning 'to which' or 'to whom'
aurait
oʁɛ — Conditional of 'avoir', meaning 'would have'
entretenu
ɑ̃tʁətəny — Past participle of 'entretenir', meaning 'maintained' or 'kept'
même
mɛm — Adjective or adverb meaning 'same' or 'even'
rapport
ʁapɔʁ — Noun meaning 'relationship', 'connection', or 'report'
écrits
ekʁi — Noun meaning 'writings' or 'written works'
logographes
lɔgɔgʁaf — Ancient Greek prose writers who recorded historical accounts
poèmes
poɛm — Plural noun meaning 'poems' or 'poetic works'
Homère
omɛʁ — Ancient Greek epic poet, author of Iliad and Odyssey
relaté
ʁəlate — Past participle meaning 'recounted' or 'narrated'
lutte
lyt — Noun meaning 'struggle', 'fight', or 'conflict'
Liberté
libɛʁte — Noun meaning 'liberty' or 'freedom'
destinée
dɛstine — Past participle meaning 'destined' or 'intended' for purpose
représenter
ʁəpʁezɑ̃te — Verb meaning 'to represent' or 'to depict' something
conflit
kɔ̃fli — Noun meaning 'conflict' or 'clash' between parties
entre
ɑ̃tʁ — Preposition meaning 'between' or 'among'
Perse
pɛʁs — Ancient Persia, powerful empire rivaling ancient Greece
Hellade
ɛlad — Ancient Greek name referring to the land of Greece
pouvons
puvɔ̃ — First person plural of 'pouvoir', meaning 'we can'
juger
ʒyʒe — Verb meaning 'to judge' or 'to evaluate'
partir
paʁtiʁ — Verb meaning 'to leave' or used in 'à partir de'
noble
nɔbl — Adjective meaning 'noble', elevated in quality or rank
commencement
kɔmɑ̃smɑ̃ — Noun meaning 'beginning' or 'start' of something
Timée
time — Plato's dialogue on cosmology and the nature of world
lui
lɥi — Personal pronoun meaning 'him', 'her', or 'to him/her'
livre
livʁ — Noun meaning 'book', a written or printed literary work
Lois
lwa — Plato's last dialogue discussing law and governance
manière
manjɛʁ — Noun meaning 'manner', 'way', or 'style'
Platon
platɔ̃ — Ancient Greek philosopher, student of Socrates
traité
tʁɛte — Past participle or noun meaning 'treated' or 'treatise'
grand
gʁɑ̃ — Adjective meaning 'great', 'large', or 'important'
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