The Souls of Black Folk — Page 8
The would-be black savant was confronted by the paradox that the knowledge his people needed was a twice-told tale to his white neighbors, while the knowledge which would teach the white world was Greek to his own flesh and blood.
L'aspirant savant noir se heurtait au paradoxe que le savoir dont son peuple avait besoin était une histoire rebattue pour ses voisins blancs, tandis que le savoir qui aurait instruit le monde blanc était du grec pour sa propre chair et son propre sang.
The innate love of harmony and beauty that set the ruder souls of his people a-dancing and a-singing raised but confusion and doubt in the soul of the black artist; for the beauty revealed to him was the soul-beauty of a race which his larger audience despised, and he could not articulate the message of another people.
L'amour inné de l'harmonie et de la beauté qui poussait les âmes les plus frustes de son peuple à danser et à chanter ne suscitait que confusion et doute dans l'âme de l'artiste noir ; car la beauté qui lui était révélée était la beauté de l'âme d'une race que son public le plus large méprisait, et il ne pouvait exprimer le message d'un autre peuple.
This waste of double aims, this seeking to satisfy two unreconciled ideals, has wrought sad havoc with the courage and faith and deeds of ten thousand thousand people,—has sent them often wooing false gods and invoking false means of salvation, and at times has even seemed about to make them ashamed of themselves.
Ce gaspillage de doubles aspirations, cette quête visant à satisfaire deux idéaux irréconciliables, a causé de tristes ravages dans le courage, la foi et les actes de dizaines de millions de personnes — les poussant souvent à courtiser de faux dieux et à invoquer de faux moyens de salut, et ayant parfois même semblé sur le point de les faire rougir d'eux-mêmes.
Away back in the days of bondage they thought to see in one divine event the end of all doubt and disappointment; few men ever worshipped Freedom with half such unquestioning faith as did the American Negro for two centuries.
Bien loin en arrière, aux jours de l'esclavage, ils croyaient voir dans un seul événement divin la fin de tout doute et de toute déception ; peu d'hommes ont jamais adoré la Liberté avec une foi aussi inconditionnelle que le fit le Noir américain pendant deux siècles.
To him, so far as he thought and dreamed, slavery was indeed the sum of all villainies, the cause of all sorrow, the root of all prejudice; Emancipation was the key to a promised land of sweeter beauty than ever stretched before the eyes of wearied Israelites.
Pour lui, pour autant qu'il pensât et rêvât, l'esclavage était bien la somme de toutes les infamies, la cause de toutes les peines, la racine de tous les préjugés ; l'Émancipation était la clé d'une terre promise d'une beauté plus douce que celle qui s'était jamais étendue devant les yeux des Israélites épuisés.
Vocabulary
- aspirant
- Person who desires or aspires to achieve something
- savant
- A learned or knowledgeable person; scholar
- noir
- Black; dark color or mood
- se
- Reflexive pronoun; oneself
- heurtait
- Collided with; clashed against
- au
- To the; at the (contraction of à+le)
- paradoxe
- Contradiction; statement that seems self-contradictory
- que
- That; which; what (relative/subordinate conjunction)
- le
- The (masculine singular definite article)
- savoir
- To know; knowledge
- dont
- Of which; whose (relative pronoun)
- son
- His; her; its (possessive adjective)
- peuple
- People; nation; population
- avait
- Had (past tense of avoir)
- besoin
- Need; requirement
- était
- Was (past tense of être)
- une
- A; an (feminine singular indefinite article)
- histoire
- Story; history; narrative
- pour
- For; in order to
- ses
- His; her; its (plural possessive adjective)
- voisins
- Neighbors; adjacent people or things
- blancs
- White; blank (plural masculine)
- tandis
- While; whereas (conjunction)
- qui
- Who; which; that (relative pronoun)
- aurait
- Would have (conditional of avoir)
- instruit
- Educated; informed; taught
- monde
- World; people; society
- blanc
- White; blank
- du
- Of the; from the (contraction of de+le)
- grec
- Greek; person from Greece
- sa
- His; her; its (feminine singular possessive)
- propre
- Own; clean; proper
- chair
- Flesh; meat; body
- et
- And (conjunction)
- sang
- Blood
- amour
- Love; affection
- inné
- Innate; inborn; natural
- de
- Of; from; by
- harmonie
- Harmony; agreement; balance
- la
- The (feminine singular definite article)
- beauté
- Beauty; aesthetic quality
- poussait
- Pushed; drove; urged
- les
- The (plural definite article)
- âmes
- Souls; spirits
- plus
- More; most; plus
- danser
- To dance
- chanter
- To sing
- ne
- Not; no (negation particle)
- suscitait
- Aroused; caused; provoked
- confusion
- Confusion; disorder; bewilderment
- doute
- Doubt; uncertainty
- dans
- In; inside; within
- âme
- Soul; spirit; mind
- artiste
- Artist; performer
- car
- Because; for (conjunction)
- lui
- Him; her; to him/her (pronoun)
- révélée
- Revealed; disclosed; made known
- race
- Race; breed; lineage
- public
- Public; audience; general people
- large
- Large; wide; broad
- méprisait
- Despised; scorned; looked down upon
- il
- He; it (masculine singular pronoun)
- pouvait
- Could; was able to
- exprimer
- To express; to convey
- message
- Message; communication; meaning
- un
- A; an (masculine singular article)
- autre
- Other; another; different
- Ce
- This; that (demonstrative adjective)
- gaspillage
- Waste; squandering; wasteful use
- doubles
- Double; twofold; dual (plural)
- aspirations
- Aspirations; desires; ambitions
- cette
- This; that (feminine singular demonstrative)
- quête
- Quest; search; pursuit
- visant
- Aiming; targeting; seeking to
- satisfaire
- To satisfy; to fulfill; to please
- deux
- Two; pair; dual
- idéaux
- Ideals; perfect standards; principles
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