The Republic — Page 4
We can only guess why the great design was abandoned; perhaps because Plato became sensible of some incongruity in a fictitious history, or because he had lost his interest in it, or because advancing years forbade the completion of it; and we may please ourselves with the fancy that had this imaginary narrative ever been finished, we should have found Plato himself sympathising with the struggle for Hellenic independence (cp. Laws, iii. 698 ff.), singing a hymn of triumph over Marathon and Salamis, perhaps making the reflection of Herodotus (v. 78) where he contemplates the growth of the Athenian empire—'How brave a thing is freedom of speech, which has made the Athenians so far exceed every other state of Hellas in greatness!' or, more probably, attributing the victory to the ancient good order of Athens and to the favor of Apollo and Athene (cp. Introd. to Critias).
Nous ne pouvons que supposer pourquoi ce grand projet fut abandonné ; peut-être parce que Platon prit conscience d'une certaine incongruité dans une histoire fictive, ou parce qu'il avait perdu tout intérêt pour elle, ou parce que l'avancée en âge lui interdit d'en achever la rédaction ; et nous pouvons nous plaire à imaginer que si ce récit imaginaire avait jamais été achevé, nous aurions trouvé Platon lui-même compatissant avec la lutte pour l'indépendance hellénique (cf. Lois, iii. 698 ss.), chantant un hymne de triomphe pour Marathon et Salamine, faisant peut-être la réflexion d'Hérodote (v. 78) lorsqu'il contemple la croissance de l'empire athénien — « Quelle belle chose que la liberté de parole, qui a permis aux Athéniens de surpasser de si loin tout autre État de l'Hellade en grandeur ! » ou, plus probablement, attribuant la victoire à l'antique bon ordre d'Athènes et à la faveur d'Apollon et d'Athéna (cf. Introd. au Critias).
Again, Plato may be regarded as the 'captain' ('arhchegoz') or leader of a goodly band of followers; for in the Republic is to be found the original of Cicero's De Republica, of St. Augustine's City of God, of the Utopia of Sir Thomas More, and of the numerous other imaginary States which are framed upon the same model.
Par ailleurs, Platon peut être considéré comme le « capitaine » (« archégos ») ou le chef d'une belle troupe de disciples ; car c'est dans la République que l'on trouve le modèle original du De Republica de Cicéron, de la Cité de Dieu de saint Augustin, de l'Utopie de sir Thomas More, et des nombreux autres États imaginaires qui sont construits sur le même modèle.
The extent to which Aristotle or the Aristotelian school were indebted to him in the Politics has been little recognised, and the recognition is the more necessary because it is not made by Aristotle himself.
La mesure dans laquelle Aristote ou l'école aristotélicienne lui sont redevables dans la Politique a été peu reconnue, et cette reconnaissance est d'autant plus nécessaire qu'elle n'est pas faite par Aristote lui-même.
Vocabulary
- Nous
- We; first person plural subject pronoun.
- ne
- Not; negation particle used with pas or que.
- pouvons
- We can; first person plural of pouvoir.
- que
- That, than, only; versatile conjunction or pronoun.
- supposer
- To suppose, to assume, to hypothesize something.
- pourquoi
- Why; interrogative adverb asking for a reason.
- ce
- This, that; demonstrative adjective or pronoun.
- grand
- Great, large, big; describes size or importance.
- projet
- Project, plan, scheme; an undertaking or design.
- fut
- Was; third person singular simple past of être.
- abandonné
- Abandoned, left behind, given up entirely.
- peut-être
- Perhaps, maybe; expresses uncertainty or possibility.
- parce
- Because; used in parce que to introduce reason.
- prit
- Took; third person singular simple past of prendre.
- conscience
- Consciousness, awareness, conscience; mental perception.
- d'
- Of, from; elided preposition de before vowel.
- une
- A, an; indefinite feminine article.
- certaine
- Certain, particular; feminine form of certain.
- incongruité
- Incongruity, inconsistency, lack of harmony or coherence.
- dans
- In, inside, within; preposition indicating location or time.
- histoire
- Story, history; a narrative or account of events.
- fictive
- Fictional, fictitious; relating to invented narrative.
- ou
- Or; conjunction presenting alternatives.
- qu'
- That; elided form of que before vowel sound.
- il
- He, it; third person masculine singular pronoun.
- avait
- Had; third person singular imperfect of avoir.
- perdu
- Lost; past participle of perdre.
- tout
- All, every, entirely; indicates totality.
- intérêt
- Interest, concern, benefit; engagement with something.
- pour
- For, in order to; preposition indicating purpose.
- elle
- She, her, it; third person feminine singular pronoun.
- l'
- The; elided definite article le or la.
- avancée
- Advance, progression; feminine past participle of avancer.
- en
- In, by, as; versatile preposition or pronoun.
- âge
- Age; the length of time someone has lived.
- lui
- Him, her, to him; indirect object or stressed pronoun.
- interdit
- Forbidden, prohibited; also third singular of interdire.
- achever
- To complete, to finish, to bring to an end.
- la
- The; definite feminine singular article.
- rédaction
- Writing, drafting, composition; act of writing text.
- et
- And; coordinating conjunction linking words or clauses.
- nous
- We, us; first person plural pronoun.
- plaire
- To please, to be pleasing; infinitive of plaire.
- à
- To, at, in; common preposition indicating direction or location.
- imaginer
- To imagine, to picture, to envision something mentally.
- si
- If, whether, so; conditional conjunction or intensifier.
- récit
- Account, narrative, story; a told or written tale.
- imaginaire
- Imaginary, fictional; existing only in the imagination.
- jamais
- Never, ever; adverb of time indicating negation.
- été
- Been; past participle of être; also summer.
- achevé
- Completed, finished; past participle of achever.
- aurions
- We would have; conditional perfect of avoir.
- trouvé
- Found; past participle of trouver.
- lui-même
- Himself; emphatic reflexive pronoun for third person.
- compatissant
- Compassionate, sympathetic; feeling or showing empathy.
- avec
- With; preposition indicating accompaniment or means.
- lutte
- Struggle, fight, battle; an effort against opposition.
- indépendance
- Independence; freedom from control or domination.
- hellénique
- Hellenic, Greek; relating to ancient or modern Greece.
- chantant
- Singing; present participle of chanter.
- un
- A, an, one; masculine indefinite article or numeral.
- hymne
- Hymn, anthem; a song of praise or celebration.
- de
- Of, from; very common French preposition.
- triomphe
- Triumph, victory; a great success or celebration.
- faisant
- Making, doing; present participle of faire.
- réflexion
- Reflection, thought, remark; pondering a subject.
- lorsqu'
- When; conjunction meaning at the time that.
- contemple
- Contemplates; third singular present of contempler.
- croissance
- Growth, increase; the process of growing or expanding.
- empire
- Empire; a large territory under single authority.
- athénien
- Athenian; relating to the city of Athens, Greece.
- Quelle
- What a; exclamatory adjective expressing strong feeling.
- belle
- Beautiful, lovely; feminine form of beau.
- chose
- Thing; a general noun referring to any object or matter.
- liberté
- Liberty, freedom; absence of oppression or constraint.
- parole
- Speech, word; spoken language or expression.
- qui
- Who, which, that; relative or interrogative pronoun.
- a
- Has; third person singular present of avoir.
- permis
- Allowed, permitted; past participle of permettre.
- aux
- To the; contraction of à and les.
- surpasser
- To surpass, to exceed, to outperform others.
- loin
- Far, far away; indicates great distance.
- autre
- Other, another; indicates a different entity.
- État
- State; a political entity or organized government.
- grandeur
- Greatness, grandeur, magnitude; impressive scale or quality.
- plus
- More, most, no more; adverb of degree or negation.
- probablement
- Probably, likely; expressing a degree of certainty.
- attribuant
- Attributing, assigning; present participle of attribuer.
- victoire
- Victory, win; a success in battle or competition.
- antique
- Ancient, antique; belonging to a very old era.
- bon
- Good; positive quality adjective in masculine form.
- ordre
- Order, arrangement; organized or disciplined state.
- faveur
- Favor, goodwill; support or approval given to someone.
- au
- To the, at the; contraction of à and le.
- Par
- By, through, per; preposition indicating means or agent.
- ailleurs
- Elsewhere, besides; par ailleurs means furthermore.
- peut
- Can, may; third person singular present of pouvoir.
- être
- To be; fundamental French infinitive linking subject and predicate.
- considéré
- Considered, regarded; past participle of considérer.
- comme
- As, like; comparison conjunction or preposition.
- le
- The; definite masculine singular article.
- capitaine
- Captain; a leader or commander of a group.
- chef
- Chief, leader, head; person in charge of others.
- troupe
- Troop, group, company; a band of people.
- disciples
- Disciples, followers; those who follow a teacher.
- car
- Because, for; causal coordinating conjunction.
- c'
- It is; elided demonstrative pronoun ce before est.
- est
- Is; third person singular present of être.
- République
- Republic; Plato's foundational dialogue on justice and state.
- on
- One, we, people; impersonal subject pronoun.
- trouve
- Finds; third person singular present of trouver.
- modèle
- Model, pattern, example; something to be imitated.
- original
- Original; the first or primary version of something.
- du
- Of the; contraction of de and le.
- Cité
- City; La Cité de Dieu is a work by Augustine.
- Dieu
- God; the supreme being in monotheistic religions.
- saint
- Saint, holy; title for a canonized religious figure.
- Utopie
- Utopia; ideal imaginary society, title of More's work.
- des
- Some, of the; plural partitive or indefinite article.
- nombreux
- Numerous, many; indicating a large quantity.
- autres
- Other, others; plural form of autre.
- États
- States; plural of état, political entities.
- imaginaires
- Imaginary; plural adjective describing fictional entities.
- sont
- Are; third person plural present of être.
- construits
- Built, constructed; masculine plural past participle of construire.
- sur
- On, upon, over; preposition indicating position or basis.
- même
- Same, even, itself; adjective or adverb of identity.
- La
- The; definite feminine article before a noun.
- mesure
- Measure, extent; the degree to which something applies.
- laquelle
- Which; feminine relative pronoun replacing a noun.
- école
- School; an institution or tradition of thought.
- redevables
- Indebted, owing; having a debt of gratitude to someone.
- Politique
- Politics; Aristotle's treatise on government and political theory.
- peu
- Little, few, not much; indicates small quantity or degree.
- reconnue
- Recognized, acknowledged; feminine past participle of reconnaître.
- cette
- This, that; feminine singular demonstrative adjective.
- reconnaissance
- Recognition, gratitude, acknowledgment; appreciation of a debt.
- autant
- As much, as many; indicates equal degree or quantity.
- nécessaire
- Necessary, essential; something that must be done.
- n'
- Not; elided negation particle ne before vowel.
- pas
- Not; negation adverb used with ne.
- faite
- Done, made; feminine past participle of faire.
- par
- By, through, per; preposition indicating agent or means.
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