The Scarlet Letter — Page 12

English → Fr Full Text Level 8/10

And yet, though invariably happiest elsewhere, there is within me a feeling for old Salem, which, in lack of a better phrase, I must be content to call affection.

Et pourtant, bien que je sois invariablement plus heureux ailleurs, il existe en moi un sentiment pour le vieux Salem, que, faute d'une meilleure expression, je dois me contenter d'appeler affection.

The sentiment is probably assignable to the deep and aged roots which my family has struck into the soil.

Ce sentiment est probablement attribuable aux racines profondes et anciennes que ma famille a plantées dans le sol.

It is now nearly two centuries and a quarter since the original Briton, the earliest emigrant of my name, made his appearance in the wild and forest-bordered settlement, which has since become a city.

Il y a maintenant près de deux siècles et quart que le premier Breton, le plus ancien émigrant portant mon nom, fit son apparition dans cette bourgade sauvage et bordée de forêts, qui est depuis devenue une ville.

And here his descendants have been born and died, and have mingled their earthy substance with the soil; until no small portion of it must necessarily be akin to the mortal frame wherewith, for a little while, I walk the streets.

Et ici ses descendants sont nés et morts, et ont mêlé leur substance terrestre au sol, si bien qu'une portion non négligeable de celui-ci doit nécessairement être apparentée à l'enveloppe mortelle avec laquelle, pour un peu de temps, je parcours les rues.

In part, therefore, the attachment which I speak of is the mere sensuous sympathy of dust for dust.

En partie, donc, l'attachement dont je parle n'est que la simple sympathie sensuelle de la poussière pour la poussière.

Few of my countrymen can know what it is; nor, as frequent transplantation is perhaps better for the stock, need they consider it desirable to know.

Peu de mes compatriotes peuvent savoir ce que c'est ; et comme les transplantations fréquentes sont peut-être meilleures pour la souche, ils n'ont pas besoin de le considérer comme désirable à connaître.

But the sentiment has likewise its moral quality.

Mais ce sentiment a également sa qualité morale.

The figure of that first ancestor, invested by family tradition with a dim and dusky grandeur, was present to my boyish imagination, as far back as I can remember.

La figure de cet ancêtre premier, revêtue par la tradition familiale d'une grandeur vague et sombre, était présente à mon imagination d'enfant, aussi loin que je puisse me souvenir.

It still haunts me, and induces a sort of home-feeling with the past, which I scarcely claim in reference to the present phase of the town.

Elle me hante encore, et suscite en moi une sorte de sentiment d'appartenance envers le passé, que je ne revendique guère en ce qui concerne la phase actuelle de la ville.

Vocabulary

Et: And; used to connect words or clauses.
pourtant: However; yet; nevertheless; despite this.
bien: Well; good; many; quite; very.
que: That; which; whom; what; than.
je: I; first person singular pronoun.
sois: Am; second person singular of être.
plus: More; plus; additional; greater in quantity.
heureux: Happy; fortunate; lucky; pleased; content.
ailleurs: Elsewhere; in another place; somewhere else.
il: He; it; third person singular pronoun.
existe: Exists; is present; third person singular.
en: In; on; some; any; about it.
moi: Me; I; myself; first person pronoun.
un: A; an; one; singular indefinite article.
sentiment: Feeling; emotion; sentiment; sense; perception.
pour: For; in order to; toward; to.
le: The; him; it; definite article masculine.
vieux: Old; ancient; aged; longtime; long-standing.
faute: Lack; want; fault; failing; for want of.
une: A; an; one; feminine indefinite article.
meilleure: Better; best; superior; more suitable feminine.
expression: Expression; way of speaking; phrase; term.
dois: Must; have to; owe; should do.
me: Me; myself; to me; reflexive pronoun.
contenter: Satisfy; content; make happy; settle for.
appeler: Call; name; appeal; summon; telephone.
affection: Affection; fondness; love; attachment; liking.
Ce: This; that; it; demonstrative pronoun.
est: Is; third person singular of être.
probablement: Probably; likely; in all probability; apparently.
aux: To the; at the; plural preposition article.
racines: Roots; origins; sources; fundamental bases; radixes.
profondes: Deep; profound; intense; far-reaching; abysmal feminine.
anciennes: Old; ancient; former; previous; erstwhile feminine.
ma: My; possessive adjective feminine singular form.
famille: Family; relatives; kinfolk; household; descent group.
plantées: Planted; set; established; fixed; positioned feminine.
dans: In; into; within; inside; during.
sol: Soil; ground; earth; land; floor.
Il: He; it; third person singular pronoun.
maintenant: Now; at present; currently; these days.
près: Near; close; beside; approximately; about.
de: Of; from; about; by; made of.
deux: Two; both; a couple; pair of.
siècles: Centuries; periods of one hundred years.
quart: Quarter; fourth; quart; one fourth part.
premier: First; primary; chief; main; earliest.
ancien: Old; ancient; former; previous; erstwhile masculine.
émigrant: Emigrant; one who leaves country; settler.
portant: Bearing; carrying; wearing; enduring; holding masculine.
mon: My; possessive adjective masculine singular form.
nom: Name; noun; title; appellation; denomination.
fit: Made; did; caused; produced; performed.
son: His; her; its; sound; possessive adjective.
apparition: Appearance; emergence; coming into view; manifestation.
cette: This; that; demonstrative adjective feminine singular.
sauvage: Wild; savage; untamed; fierce; uncultivated.
forêts: Forests; woods; woodlands; large wooded areas.
qui: Who; which; that; what; whom.
depuis: Since; from; for; ever since; ago.
devenue: Become; turned into; grown; come to be.
ville: City; town; urban area; municipality.
ici: Here; in this place; at this spot.
ses: His; her; its; possessive adjective plural form.
descendants: Descendants; offspring; children; successors; heirs.
sont: Are; third person plural of être.
nés: Born; came into being; originated masculine.
morts: Died; dead; deceased; perished masculine plural.
ont: Have; third person plural auxiliary verb.
mêlé: Mixed; mingled; blended; intertwined; combined.
leur: Their; to them; third person possessive.
substance: Substance; matter; material; essence; content.
terrestre: Terrestrial; earthly; land-based; of the earth.

← Previous Next →

Unlock audio playback, vocabulary games, and reading progress tracking.

Create free account →