The Souls of Black Folk — Page 7
This, then, is the end of his striving: to be a co-worker in the kingdom of culture, to escape both death and isolation, to husband and use his best powers and his latent genius.
Telle est donc la fin de ses efforts : être un collaborateur dans le royaume de la culture, échapper à la fois à la mort et à l'isolement, ménager et utiliser ses meilleures facultés et son génie latent.
These powers of body and mind have in the past been strangely wasted, dispersed, or forgotten.
Ces forces du corps et de l'esprit ont, dans le passé, été étrangement gaspillées, dispersées ou oubliées.
The shadow of a mighty Negro past flits through the tale of Ethiopia the Shadowy and of Egypt the Sphinx.
L'ombre d'un puissant passé noir plane sur le récit de l'Éthiopie l'Ombreuse et de l'Égypte le Sphinx.
Through history, the powers of single black men flash here and there like falling stars, and die sometimes before the world has rightly gauged their brightness.
À travers l'histoire, les facultés d'hommes noirs isolés surgissent ici et là comme des étoiles filantes, et s'éteignent parfois avant que le monde ait pu mesurer à sa juste valeur leur éclat.
Here in America, in the few days since Emancipation, the black man's turning hither and thither in hesitant and doubtful striving has often made his very strength to lose effectiveness, to seem like absence of power, like weakness.
Ici en Amérique, dans le peu de temps écoulé depuis l'Émancipation, les tâtonnements de l'homme noir dans ses efforts hésitants et incertains ont souvent fait paraître sa propre force inefficace, semblable à une absence de puissance, à une faiblesse.
And yet it is not weakness,—it is the contradiction of double aims.
Et pourtant ce n'est pas de la faiblesse, — c'est la contradiction de buts doubles.
The double-aimed struggle of the black artisan—on the one hand to escape white contempt for a nation of mere hewers of wood and drawers of water, and on the other hand to plough and nail and dig for a poverty-stricken horde—could only result in making him a poor craftsman, for he had but half a heart in either cause.
Le combat doublement orienté de l'artisan noir — d'un côté échapper au mépris des Blancs envers une nation de simples fendeurs de bois et de porteurs d'eau, et de l'autre labourer, clouer et creuser pour une horde frappée par la pauvreté — ne pouvait qu'aboutir à faire de lui un piètre artisan, car il n'avait qu'un demi-cœur dans l'une ou l'autre cause.
By the poverty and ignorance of his people, the Negro minister or doctor was tempted toward quackery and demagogy; and by the criticism of the other world, toward ideals that made him ashamed of his lowly tasks.
Par la pauvreté et l'ignorance de son peuple, le pasteur ou le médecin noir était tenté par le charlatanisme et la démagogie ; et par la critique de l'autre monde, vers des idéaux qui lui faisaient honte de ses humbles tâches.
Vocabulary
- Telle
- Such; in this manner or way
- est
- Is; third person singular of être
- donc
- Therefore; consequently; thus
- la
- The; feminine singular definite article
- fin
- End; conclusion; purpose or goal
- de
- Of; from; indicates possession or origin
- ses
- His; her; its; possessive adjective plural
- efforts
- Efforts; attempts; exertions to achieve something
- être
- To be; fundamental auxiliary and main verb
- un
- A; an; masculine singular indefinite article
- collaborateur
- Collaborator; colleague; person working together
- dans
- In; within; inside; during a time
- le
- The; masculine singular definite article
- royaume
- Kingdom; realm; domain ruled by monarch
- culture
- Culture; cultivation; arts and intellectual achievements
- échapper
- To escape; to evade; to avoid
- fois
- Time; occasion; multiplied by in math
- mort
- Death; dead; deceased person or state
- et
- And; used to connect words or phrases
- isolement
- Isolation; solitude; state of being alone
- ménager
- To manage; to economize; to arrange carefully
- utiliser
- To use; to employ; to make use of
- meilleures
- Best; finest; superior in quality or ability
- facultés
- Faculties; abilities; powers of mind or body
- son
- His; her; its; possessive adjective singular
- génie
- Genius; exceptional talent or intellectual ability
- latent
- Latent; hidden; not obvious but present
- Ces
- These; those; plural demonstrative adjective
- forces
- Forces; strengths; power or military troops
- du
- Of the; from the; contraction of de+le
- corps
- Body; physical form; main section or group
- esprit
- Mind; spirit; intellectual or mental ability
- ont
- Have; third person plural of avoir
- passé
- Past; gone by; past tense or history
- été
- Summer; been; past participle of être
- étrangement
- Strangely; oddly; in a strange manner
- ou
- Or; used to present alternatives or choices
- oubliées
- Forgotten; neglected; no longer remembered
- ombre
- Shadow; shade; dark area or image
- puissant
- Powerful; mighty; having great strength or force
- noir
- Black; dark; the color black
- sur
- On; upon; over; on top of something
- récit
- Narrative; account; story or tale told
- travers
- Through; across; by way of; throughout
- histoire
- History; story; account of past events
- les
- The; plural definite article for any gender
- hommes
- Men; human males; mankind or humanity
- noirs
- Black; dark; of African descent persons
- isolés
- Isolated; separated; alone or cut off
- ici
- Here; in this place; at this location
- là
- There; in that place; at that location
- comme
- Like; as; in the manner of something
- des
- Some; of the; plural indefinite article
- étoiles
- Stars; celestial bodies that shine in night
- éteignent
- Extinguish; put out; turn off lights
- parfois
- Sometimes; occasionally; at times or intervals
- avant
- Before; prior to; in front of something
- que
- That; which; whom; conjunction introducing clause
- monde
- World; people; society or group of persons
- ait
- Has; may have; subjunctive of avoir
- pu
- Could; was able; past participle of pouvoir
- mesurer
- To measure; to assess; to evaluate carefully
- sa
- His; her; its; possessive adjective feminine
- juste
- Just; fair; correct; righteous or proper
- valeur
- Value; worth; merit or importance of thing
- leur
- Their; to them; possessive or indirect pronoun
- éclat
- Brilliance; splendor; gleam or radiance
- Ici
- Here; in this place; at this location
- en
- In; on; at; pronoun replacing previously mentioned
- Amérique
- America; continent in Western Hemisphere
- peu
- Few; little; small in quantity or amount
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