The Souls of Black Folk — Page 11
Here at last seemed to have been discovered the mountain path to Canaan; longer than the highway of Emancipation and law, steep and rugged, but straight, leading to heights high enough to overlook life.
Ici semblait enfin avoir été découvert le chemin de montagne vers Canaan ; plus long que la grande route de l'Émancipation et de la loi, escarpé et accidenté, mais droit, menant à des hauteurs assez élevées pour dominer la vie.
Up the new path the advance guard toiled, slowly, heavily, doggedly; only those who have watched and guided the faltering feet, the misty minds, the dull understandings, of the dark pupils of these schools know how faithfully, how piteously, this people strove to learn.
Sur le nouveau chemin, l'avant-garde peina, lentement, lourdement, obstinément ; seuls ceux qui ont observé et guidé les pas chancelants, les esprits brumeux, les entendements obtus des sombres élèves de ces écoles savent avec quelle fidélité, avec quelle pitié, ce peuple s'efforça d'apprendre.
It was weary work.
C'était un travail épuisant.
The cold statistician wrote down the inches of progress here and there, noted also where here and there a foot had slipped or some one had fallen.
Le froid statisticien nota les pouces de progrès ici et là, remarquant aussi çà et là où un pied avait glissé ou quelqu'un était tombé.
To the tired climbers, the horizon was ever dark, the mists were often cold, the Canaan was always dim and far away.
Pour les grimpeurs fatigués, l'horizon était toujours sombre, les brumes étaient souvent froides, et Canaan était toujours lointain et obscur.
If, however, the vistas disclosed as yet no goal, no resting-place, little but flattery and criticism, the journey at least gave leisure for reflection and self-examination; it changed the child of Emancipation to the youth with dawning self-consciousness, self-realization, self-respect.
Si, cependant, les perspectives ne révélaient encore aucun but, aucun lieu de repos, peu de choses hormis la flatterie et la critique, le voyage offrait au moins le loisir de la réflexion et de l'examen de soi ; il transforma l'enfant de l'Émancipation en un jeune homme animé d'une conscience de soi naissante, d'une réalisation de soi, d'un respect de soi.
In those sombre forests of his striving his own soul rose before him, and he saw himself,—darkly as through a veil; and yet he saw in himself some faint revelation of his power, of his mission.
Dans ces forêts sombres de ses efforts, sa propre âme s'éleva devant lui, et il se vit — obscurément, comme à travers un voile ; et pourtant il perçut en lui-même une faible révélation de son pouvoir, de sa mission.
He began to have a dim feeling that, to attain his place in the world, he must be himself, and not another.
Il commença à éprouver le vague sentiment que, pour atteindre sa place dans le monde, il devait être lui-même, et non un autre.
Vocabulary
- Ici
- ee-see — Here; in this place
- semblait
- sahm-bleh — Seemed; appeared to be (imperfect tense)
- enfin
- ahn-fan — Finally; at last; after a long time
- avoir
- ah-vwar — To have; auxiliary verb for compound tenses
- été
- ay-tay — Been; past participle of être (to be)
- découvert
- day-koo-vair — Discovered; found for the first time
- chemin
- shuh-man — Path; road; way to a destination
- montagne
- mohn-tahn-yuh — Mountain; large natural elevation of earth
- vers
- vair — Toward; in the direction of something
- plus
- plew — More; longer; used in comparisons
- long
- lohn — Long; extended in length or duration
- grande
- grahnd — Great; large; grand in size or importance
- route
- root — Road; main thoroughfare for travel
- Émancipation
- ay-mahn-see-pah-syohn — Emancipation; liberation from bondage or restriction
- loi
- lwah — Law; legal rule or statute
- escarpé
- es-kar-pay — Steep; having a sharp, abrupt incline
- accidenté
- ak-see-dahn-tay — Rugged; uneven; having rough, irregular terrain
- droit
- drwah — Straight; direct; not curved or winding
- menant
- muh-nahn — Leading; guiding toward a destination
- hauteurs
- oh-tuhr — Heights; elevated places or high ground
- assez
- ah-say — Enough; sufficiently; fairly; rather
- élevées
- ay-luh-vay — High; elevated; raised above a base level
- dominer
- doh-mee-nay — To dominate; to overlook; to rise above
- vie
- vee — Life; living existence; one's lifetime
- nouveau
- noo-voh — New; recently created or appearing
- avant-garde
- ah-vahn-gard — Vanguard; those at the forefront of movement
- peina
- pay-nah — Struggled; labored with difficulty (past tense)
- lentement
- lahnt-mahn — Slowly; at a slow pace or speed
- lourdement
- loor-duh-mahn — Heavily; with great weight or burden
- obstinément
- ob-stee-nay-mahn — Stubbornly; persistently despite obstacles
- seuls
- suhl — Only; alone; by themselves without others
- ceux
- suh — Those; the ones; demonstrative pronoun
- observé
- ob-sair-vay — Observed; watched carefully; noted closely
- guidé
- ghee-day — Guided; led; directed along a path
- pas
- pah — Steps; footsteps; also negation particle
- chancelants
- shahn-suh-lahn — Faltering; unsteady; wavering in movement
- esprits
- es-pree — Minds; spirits; intellectual faculties
- brumeux
- brew-muh — Foggy; misty; hazy; unclear in thought
- entendements
- ahn-tahnd-mahn — Understandings; intellects; capacities for comprehension
- obtus
- ob-tew — Dull; obtuse; slow to understand or perceive
- sombres
- sohm-bruh — Dark; gloomy; dim in light or mood
- élèves
- ay-lehv — Students; pupils in a school or class
- écoles
- ay-kol — Schools; institutions for learning and education
- savent
- sahv — Know; third person plural of savoir
- quelle
- kel — What; which; interrogative or exclamative adjective
- fidélité
- fee-day-lee-tay — Faithfulness; loyalty; fidelity to a cause
- pitié
- pee-tyay — Pity; compassion; sympathy for suffering
- peuple
- puh-pluh — People; a nation or group sharing identity
- efforça
- ay-for-sah — Strove; made great effort to achieve something
- apprendre
- ah-prahn-druh — To learn; to acquire knowledge or skills
- était
- ay-teh — Was; imperfect tense of être (to be)
- travail
- trah-vah-yuh — Work; labor; task requiring effort
- épuisant
- ay-pwee-zahn — Exhausting; draining of all energy or strength
- froid
- frwah — Cold; lacking warmth; also emotionally detached
- statisticien
- stah-tees-tee-syahn — Statistician; one who collects and analyzes data
- nota
- noh-tah — Noted; recorded; observed formally (past tense)
- pouces
- poos — Inches; also thumbs; unit of measurement
- progrès
- proh-greh — Progress; advancement toward a goal
- ici
- ee-see — Here; in this place or location
- là
- lah — There; in that place; at that point
- remarquant
- ruh-mar-kahn — Noting; remarking; observing something notable
- aussi
- oh-see — Also; too; as well; likewise
- çà
- sah — Here and there; around; an old French form
- où
- oo — Where; at which place or location
- pied
- pyay — Foot; lower extremity used for walking
- avait
- ah-veh — Had; imperfect tense of avoir (to have)
- glissé
- glee-say — Slipped; slid; lost footing on a surface
- quelqu'
- kel-kuh — Someone; anybody; an unspecified person
- tombé
- tohm-bay — Fallen; having fallen down from a height
- grimpeurs
- gram-puhr — Climbers; those who climb mountains or heights
- fatigués
- fah-tee-gay — Tired; weary; exhausted from effort
- horizon
- oh-ree-zohn — Horizon; line where earth meets the sky
- toujours
- too-zhoor — Always; still; ever; continuously
- sombre
- sohm-bruh — Dark; gloomy; overcast or dismal
- brumes
- brewm — Mists; fogs; hazy atmospheric conditions
- étaient
- ay-teh — Were; imperfect plural of être (to be)
- souvent
- soo-vahn — Often; frequently; many times
- froides
- frwahd — Cold; chilly; lacking warmth (feminine plural)
- lointain
- lwan-tan — Distant; faraway; remote in space or time
- obscur
- ob-skewr — Obscure; dark; unclear; hard to understand
- Si
- see — If; whether; conditional conjunction
- cependant
- suh-pahn-dahn — However; nevertheless; yet; despite this
- perspectives
- pehr-spek-teev — Perspectives; views; outlooks on a situation
- révélaient
- ray-vay-leh — Revealed; disclosed; made known (imperfect tense)
- encore
- ahn-kor — Still; yet; again; even now
- aucun
- oh-kan — No; none; not any; negation of quantity
- but
- bew — Goal; aim; purpose; objective to reach
- lieu
- lyuh — Place; location; spot; site
- repos
- ruh-poh — Rest; repose; relaxation from effort
- peu
- puh — Few; little; not much or many
- choses
- shohz — Things; objects; matters; affairs
- hormis
- or-mee — Except; apart from; other than
- flatterie
- flah-tree — Flattery; excessive or insincere praise
- critique
- kree-teek — Criticism; judgment; evaluative commentary
- voyage
- vwah-yazh — Journey; trip; travel from place to place
- offrait
- oh-freh — Offered; provided; gave (imperfect tense)
- moins
- mwan — Less; at least; fewer in degree or number
- loisir
- lwah-zeer — Leisure; free time; opportunity for reflection
- réflexion
- ray-flek-syohn — Reflection; thoughtful consideration of something
- examen
- eg-zah-man — Examination; inspection; careful scrutiny
- soi
- swah — Oneself; the self; reflexive emphatic pronoun
- transforma
- trahn-sfor-mah — Transformed; changed completely (past tense)
- enfant
- ahn-fahn — Child; young person not yet grown up
- jeune
- zhun — Young; youthful; at an early stage of life
- homme
- om — Man; adult male; human being
- animé
- ah-nee-may — Animated; driven; filled with energy or spirit
- conscience
- kohn-syahns — Conscience; awareness; moral sense of right
- naissante
- neh-sahnt — Nascent; emerging; newly forming or arising
- réalisation
- ray-ah-lee-zah-syohn — Realization; awareness; achievement of understanding
- respect
- ruh-spek — Respect; esteem; regard for someone's worth
- forêts
- for-eh — Forests; large areas densely covered with trees
- efforts
- ay-for — Efforts; attempts; exertions toward a goal
- propre
- proh-pruh — Own; one's own; belonging to oneself
- âme
- ahm — Soul; spirit; inner essence of a person
- éleva
- ay-luh-vah — Rose; lifted; elevated itself (past tense)
- devant
- duh-vahn — Before; in front of; ahead of someone
- vit
- vee — Saw; third person singular past of voir
- obscurément
- ob-skew-ray-mahn — Obscurely; dimly; in an unclear or vague way
- travers
- trah-vair — Through; across; via; by means of
- voile
- vwahl — Veil; thin covering that obscures vision
- pourtant
- poor-tahn — Yet; still; however; nevertheless
- perçut
- pehr-sew — Perceived; discerned; became aware (past tense)
- lui-même
- lwee-mem — Himself; the person in question personally
- faible
- feh-bluh — Weak; faint; lacking strength or intensity
- révélation
- ray-vay-lah-syohn — Revelation; a surprising or enlightening disclosure
- pouvoir
- poo-vwar — Power; ability; capacity to do something
- mission
- mee-syohn — Mission; purpose; calling one is meant to fulfill
- commença
- koh-mahn-sah — Began; started; initiated an action (past tense)
- éprouver
- ay-proo-vay — To feel; to experience; to undergo an emotion
- vague
- vahg — Vague; indistinct; not clearly defined or felt
- sentiment
- sahn-tee-mahn — Feeling; sentiment; emotional awareness or sense
- atteindre
- ah-tan-druh — To reach; to attain; to achieve a goal
- place
- plahs — Place; position; spot; one's role in society
- monde
- mohnd — World; the earth; society; humanity
- devait
- duh-veh — Had to; was supposed to (imperfect of devoir)
- être
- eh-truh — To be; fundamental verb of existence or identity
- non
- nohn — No; not; negation or refusal
- autre
- oh-truh — Other; another; different from what is mentioned
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