The Republic — Page 10

English → Fr INTRODUCTION AND ANALYSIS. Level 9/10

There is no absurdity in supposing that he may have laid his labours aside for a time, or turned from one work to another; and such interruptions would be more likely to occur in the case of a long than of a short writing.

Il n'y a aucune absurdité à supposer qu'il ait pu mettre ses travaux de côté pour un temps, ou passer d'une œuvre à une autre ; et de telles interruptions auraient été plus susceptibles de se produire dans le cas d'un écrit long que dans celui d'un écrit court.

In all attempts to determine the chronological order of the Platonic writings on internal evidence, this uncertainty about any single Dialogue being composed at one time is a disturbing element, which must be admitted to affect longer works, such as the Republic and the Laws, more than shorter ones.

Dans toutes les tentatives visant à déterminer l'ordre chronologique des écrits platoniciens à partir de preuves internes, cette incertitude quant au fait qu'un Dialogue donné ait été composé en une seule fois constitue un élément perturbateur, qui doit être reconnu comme affectant davantage les œuvres longues, telles que la République et les Lois, que les œuvres plus courtes.

But, on the other hand, the seeming discrepancies of the Republic may only arise out of the discordant elements which the philosopher has attempted to unite in a single whole, perhaps without being himself able to recognise the inconsistency which is obvious to us.

Mais, d'un autre côté, les apparentes contradictions de la République peuvent ne provenir que des éléments discordants que le philosophe a tenté d'unir en un tout unique, peut-être sans être lui-même capable de reconnaître l'incohérence qui nous paraît évidente.

For there is a judgment of after ages which few great writers have ever been able to anticipate for themselves.

Car il existe un jugement des âges ultérieurs que peu de grands écrivains ont jamais été capables d'anticiper pour eux-mêmes.

They do not perceive the want of connexion in their own writings, or the gaps in their systems which are visible enough to those who come after them.

Ils ne perçoivent pas le manque de cohésion dans leurs propres écrits, ni les lacunes de leurs systèmes qui sont suffisamment visibles pour ceux qui viennent après eux.

In the beginnings of literature and philosophy, amid the first efforts of thought and language, more inconsistencies occur than now, when the paths of speculation are well worn and the meaning of words precisely defined.

Aux débuts de la littérature et de la philosophie, au milieu des premiers efforts de la pensée et du langage, les incohérences étaient plus fréquentes qu'aujourd'hui, où les voies de la spéculation sont bien balisées et le sens des mots précisément défini.

For consistency, too, is the growth of time; and some of the greatest creations of the human mind have been wanting in unity.

Car la cohérence, elle aussi, est le fruit du temps ; et certaines des plus grandes créations de l'esprit humain ont manqué d'unité.

Vocabulary

aucune: Negative adjective meaning 'no' or 'not any'.
absurdité: A statement or idea that is completely unreasonable or ridiculous.
supposer: To assume or suppose something to be true.
mettre: To put, place, or set something somewhere.
travaux: Works, tasks, or pieces of scholarly or artistic effort.
côté: Side; direction; also used in expressions like 'aside'.
temps: Time, weather, or a period of duration.
passer: To pass, move on, or transition from one thing to another.
œuvre: A work, especially a literary, artistic, or philosophical creation.
telles: Adjective meaning 'such' or 'like this', feminine plural.
interruptions: Breaks or pauses that disrupt the flow of an activity.
susceptibles: Likely or prone to something; sensitive to influence.
produire: To produce, occur, or bring about a result.
cas: A case, instance, or situation under consideration.
écrit: Written; a written work or piece of text.
celui: Demonstrative pronoun meaning 'the one' (masculine singular).
court: Adjective meaning 'short' in length or duration.
tentatives: Attempts or efforts made to accomplish something.
visant: Present participle of 'viser', meaning 'aiming at' or 'targeting'.
déterminer: To determine, establish, or ascertain something precisely.
ordre: Order, sequence, or arrangement of elements.
chronologique: Arranged or relating to order of time or dates.
écrits: Written works, texts, or documents (plural of 'écrit').
platoniciens: Relating to or characteristic of Plato's philosophy.
partir: To leave, depart, or start from a point.
preuves: Proofs or pieces of evidence supporting a conclusion.
internes: Internal; relating to the inside or inner workings.
incertitude: Uncertainty or doubt about a fact or outcome.
quant: Used in 'quant à', meaning 'as for' or 'regarding'.
fait: Fact; also past tense of 'faire', meaning 'did' or 'made'.
Dialogue: A written conversation or philosophical discussion between characters.
donné: Given; a particular or specified instance.
composé: Composed or made up of various parts or elements.
seule: Alone, single, or only (feminine form of 'seul').
fois: Time or occasion, as in 'one time' or 'once'.
constitue: Constitutes or forms a part of something larger.
élément: An element or component that is part of a whole.
perturbateur: Disruptive or disturbing; causing disorder or confusion.
reconnu: Recognized or acknowledged as valid or real.
affectant: Affecting or having an impact on something.
davantage: More; to a greater degree or extent.
œuvres: Works, especially literary, artistic, or philosophical creations.
République: Republic; title of Plato's famous philosophical dialogue.
Lois: Laws; title of Plato's philosophical work on legislation.
apparentes: Apparent or seemingly obvious contradictions or differences.
contradictions: Contradictions or inconsistencies between statements or ideas.
provenir: To come from or originate from a particular source.
éléments: Elements or components that make up a larger whole.
discordants: Discordant or conflicting elements that do not harmonize.
philosophe: A philosopher, someone who studies or practices philosophy.
tenté: Attempted or tried; also tempted to do something.
unir: To unite or bring together different elements into one.
unique: Unique, single, or one of a kind.
peut-être: Perhaps or maybe; expressing possibility or uncertainty.
lui-même: Himself; used for emphasis or reflexive reference.
capable: Capable or able to do or achieve something.
reconnaître: To recognize, acknowledge, or identify something or someone.
incohérence: Incoherence or lack of logical consistency in thought.
paraît: Appears or seems; third person singular of 'paraître'.
évidente: Evident or obvious; clearly apparent to the observer.
Car: Conjunction meaning 'for' or 'because', giving a reason.
jugement: Judgment or opinion formed after consideration or evaluation.
âges: Ages or periods of time; also plural of 'âge' (age).
ultérieurs: Later or subsequent; occurring after the current time.
écrivains: Writers or authors who produce literary works.
jamais: Never or ever; used in negative or emphatic contexts.
capables: Capable or able (plural form) to do something.
anticiper: To anticipate or foresee something before it occurs.
eux-mêmes: Themselves; used for emphasis or reflexive reference (masculine).
perçoivent: Perceive or notice; third person plural of 'percevoir'.
manque: Lack or absence of something needed or expected.
cohésion: Cohesion or unity holding elements together effectively.
propres: Own; belonging to oneself; also meaning 'clean'.
ni: Conjunction meaning 'nor' or 'neither', used in negation.
lacunes: Gaps or missing parts in knowledge, a text, or system.
systèmes: Systems or organized sets of ideas, rules, or structures.
suffisamment: Sufficiently or enough; to an adequate degree.
visibles: Visible or easily seen by those who look carefully.
ceux: Demonstrative pronoun meaning 'those' or 'the ones' (masculine).
débuts: Beginnings or early stages of something.
littérature: Literature; written works considered as an art form.
philosophie: Philosophy; the study of fundamental questions about existence.
milieu: Middle, environment, or social setting surrounding someone.
efforts: Efforts or attempts made to accomplish a difficult task.
pensée: Thought or thinking; the act of intellectual reasoning.
langage: Language or the system of communication using words.
incohérences: Incoherences or inconsistencies in reasoning or expression.
fréquentes: Frequent or common; occurring often (feminine plural).
aujourd'hui: Today; referring to the present day or current time.
voies: Ways, paths, or routes for thought or action.
spéculation: Speculation or theoretical thinking without firm evidence.
balisées: Marked out or well-charted paths or routes.
sens: Meaning, sense, or direction; significance of words.
mots: Words; individual units of language with meaning.
précisément: Precisely or exactly; in an accurate and specific manner.
défini: Defined or clearly established in meaning or scope.
cohérence: Coherence; logical consistency and clarity in ideas.
fruit: Fruit; also the result or product of an effort.
certaines: Certain or some; referring to specific unspecified things.
créations: Creations or works brought into existence by imagination.
esprit: Mind, spirit, or wit; intellectual or creative faculty.
humain: Human; relating to people or human characteristics.
manqué: Missed or lacked; failed to achieve or possess something.
unité: Unity or oneness; the quality of being unified.

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