The Thousand and One Nights, Vol. I.: Commonly Called the Arabian Nights' Entertainments — Page 3
It is not merely a scholar's edition, though no oriental student can afford to be without it; but beyond this narrow circle it has ever appealed to the wide audience that cares to know the famous books of the world in their most perfect and faithful reflections.
Ce n'est pas simplement une édition savante, bien qu'aucun étudiant orientaliste ne puisse se permettre de s'en passer ; mais au-delà de ce cercle étroit, elle a toujours su séduire le vaste public désireux de connaître les livres célèbres du monde dans leurs reflets les plus parfaits et les plus fidèles.
The actual moment is an opportune one for the reappearance of the work.
Le moment actuel est opportun pour la réapparition de cet ouvrage.
Egypt just now holds a foremost place in the eyes of the world, and it is of Egypt that the _Thousand and One Nights_ have most to tell.
L'Égypte occupe en ce moment une place de premier rang aux yeux du monde, et c'est de l'Égypte que les _Mille et Une Nuits_ ont le plus à dire.
Indian or Persian as many of the tales are in their origin, their setting is almost purely Egyptian; and though the place may be nominally Baghdád or India, or even furthest China, it is in mediæval Cairo, in the days of the Memlooks, that the scene of the Arabian Nights is really laid.
Bien que nombre de ces contes soient d'origine indienne ou persane, leur cadre est presque purement égyptien ; et bien que le lieu soit nominalement Bagdad ou l'Inde, ou même la Chine la plus lointaine, c'est dans le Caire médiéval, à l'époque des Mamelouks, que se déroule véritablement la scène des Nuits arabes.
The people described are not Hindoos or Chinese, but Arabs and Egyptians as they lived and moved in the fifteenth century, when some of the beautiful mosques and tombs, that still make Cairo the delight of artists, were being built, and the devastating hand of the Ottoman Turk had not yet been laid on the land of the Pharaohs.
Les peuples décrits ne sont pas des Hindous ou des Chinois, mais des Arabes et des Égyptiens tels qu'ils vivaient et évoluaient au quinzième siècle, lorsque certaines des belles mosquées et des tombeaux qui font encore aujourd'hui de Cairo la joie des artistes étaient en cours de construction, et que la main dévastatrice du Turc ottoman n'avait pas encore été posée sur la terre des Pharaons.
For a minute picture of Arabian society as it was in the Middle Ages, the _Thousand and One Nights_ have no rival, and it is Mr.
Pour un tableau minutieux de la société arabe telle qu'elle était au Moyen Âge, les _Mille et Une Nuits_ n'ont pas de rival, et c'est M.
Vocabulary
- Ce
- Demonstrative pronoun or adjective meaning 'this' or 'it'
- n'
- Contracted negative particle used before vowels
- est
- Third person singular of 'être', meaning 'is'
- pas
- Negative particle used with 'ne' to negate verbs
- simplement
- Adverb meaning 'simply' or 'merely'
- une
- Feminine indefinite article meaning 'a' or 'an'
- édition
- A published version or print run of a book
- savante
- Scholarly or learned, referring to academic work
- bien
- Adverb meaning 'well' or 'indeed'; also 'good'
- qu'
- Contracted conjunction meaning 'that' or 'which'
- aucun
- Indefinite adjective meaning 'no' or 'not any'
- étudiant
- A student enrolled in academic studies
- orientaliste
- A scholar specializing in Oriental languages and cultures
- ne
- Negative particle used with 'pas' or 'aucun'
- puisse
- Subjunctive form of 'pouvoir', meaning 'can' or 'may'
- se
- Reflexive pronoun meaning 'oneself' or 'himself/herself'
- permettre
- To allow or permit something to happen
- de
- Preposition meaning 'of', 'from', or 'to'
- s'
- Contracted reflexive pronoun used before vowels
- en
- Pronoun or preposition meaning 'in', 'of it', 'some'
- passer
- To pass or, reflexively, to do without something
- mais
- Coordinating conjunction meaning 'but'
- au-delà
- Preposition or adverb meaning 'beyond' a certain point
- ce
- Demonstrative adjective meaning 'this' or 'that'
- cercle
- A circle or a limited group of people
- étroit
- Narrow or restricted in scope or size
- elle
- Third person feminine singular pronoun meaning 'she' or 'it'
- a
- Third person singular of 'avoir', meaning 'has'
- toujours
- Adverb meaning 'always' or 'still'
- su
- Past participle of 'savoir', meaning 'known' or 'managed'
- séduire
- To charm, attract, or captivate an audience
- le
- Masculine definite article meaning 'the'
- vaste
- Adjective meaning 'vast', 'wide', or 'large'
- public
- The general public or a broad audience
- désireux
- Adjective meaning 'desirous' or 'eager' to do something
- connaître
- To know or be acquainted with someone or something
- les
- Plural definite article meaning 'the'
- livres
- Books, or alternatively the unit of currency 'pounds'
- célèbres
- Adjective meaning 'famous' or 'celebrated'
- du
- Contracted article meaning 'of the' (masculine singular)
- monde
- The world, or people in general
- dans
- Preposition meaning 'in' or 'inside'
- leurs
- Plural possessive adjective meaning 'their'
- reflets
- Reflections or representations of something
- plus
- Adverb meaning 'more' or 'most' in comparisons
- parfaits
- Adjective meaning 'perfect' or 'flawless'
- et
- Conjunction meaning 'and'
- fidèles
- Adjective meaning 'faithful' or 'accurate'
- Le
- Masculine definite article meaning 'the'
- moment
- A moment or point in time
- actuel
- Adjective meaning 'current' or 'present'
- opportun
- Adjective meaning 'opportune' or 'timely'
- pour
- Preposition meaning 'for' or 'in order to'
- la
- Feminine definite article meaning 'the'
- réapparition
- A reappearance or return of something previously absent
- cet
- Demonstrative adjective meaning 'this' before a vowel
- ouvrage
- A work, especially a book or literary publication
- L'
- Contracted definite article meaning 'the' before vowels
- Égypte
- Egypt, a country in northeastern Africa
- occupe
- Third person singular of 'occuper', meaning 'occupies'
- place
- A place, position, or rank in a sequence
- premier
- Adjective meaning 'first' or 'foremost' in rank
- rang
- A rank, row, or standing among others
- aux
- Contracted article meaning 'to the' or 'at the' (plural)
- yeux
- Plural of 'œil', meaning 'eyes'
- c'
- Contracted demonstrative pronoun 'ce' before a vowel
- l'
- Contracted definite article or pronoun before a vowel
- que
- Conjunction or relative pronoun meaning 'that' or 'which'
- _Mille
- 'Thousand', part of the title 'One Thousand and One Nights'
- Une
- Feminine indefinite article meaning 'one' or 'a'
- Nuits_
- 'Nights', part of the famous Arabian Nights title
- ont
- Third person plural of 'avoir', meaning 'have'
- à
- Preposition meaning 'to', 'at', or 'in'
- dire
- To say or tell something to someone
- Bien
- Adverb meaning 'well' or 'although' in concessive clauses
- nombre
- A number or quantity of people or things
- ces
- Plural demonstrative adjective meaning 'these' or 'those'
- contes
- Tales or short stories, often traditional or folk narratives
- soient
- Subjunctive form of 'être', meaning 'are' or 'may be'
- d'
- Contracted preposition meaning 'of' or 'from'
- origine
- Origin or source from which something comes
- indienne
- Feminine adjective meaning 'Indian', relating to India
- ou
- Conjunction meaning 'or'
- persane
- Feminine adjective meaning 'Persian', relating to Persia
- leur
- Possessive adjective or pronoun meaning 'their' or 'to them'
- cadre
- A frame, setting, or context for events
- presque
- Adverb meaning 'almost' or 'nearly'
- purement
- Adverb meaning 'purely' or 'entirely'
- égyptien
- Adjective or noun meaning 'Egyptian', relating to Egypt
- lieu
- A place or location; also 'instead' in 'au lieu de'
- soit
- Subjunctive of 'être', meaning 'be' or 'whether'
- nominalement
- Adverb meaning 'nominally' or 'in name only'
- Inde
- India, a country in South Asia
- même
- Adjective or adverb meaning 'same', 'even', or 'itself'
- Chine
- China, a country in East Asia
- lointaine
- Feminine adjective meaning 'distant' or 'far-off'
- médiéval
- Adjective meaning 'medieval', relating to the Middle Ages
- époque
- An era, period, or epoch in history
- des
- Plural article meaning 'of the' or 'some'
- déroule
- Third person singular of 'dérouler', meaning 'unfolds'
- véritablement
- Adverb meaning 'truly' or 'genuinely'
- scène
- A scene or setting where events take place
- Nuits
- Nights, referring to nocturnal periods or the famous tales
- arabes
- Adjective meaning 'Arab' or 'Arabic', relating to Arab culture
- Les
- Plural definite article meaning 'the'
- peuples
- Peoples or nations, groups sharing culture or heritage
- décrits
- Past participle of 'décrire', meaning 'described'
- sont
- Third person plural of 'être', meaning 'are'
- Chinois
- Chinese people or the Chinese language
- Arabes
- Arabs, people of Arab origin or culture
- Égyptiens
- Egyptians, people from or relating to Egypt
- tels
- Adjective meaning 'such' or 'as they were'
- ils
- Third person plural masculine pronoun meaning 'they'
- vivaient
- Imperfect tense of 'vivre', meaning 'were living'
- évoluaient
- Imperfect tense of 'évoluer', meaning 'were evolving'
- au
- Contracted article meaning 'at the' or 'to the' (masculine)
- quinzième
- Ordinal adjective meaning 'fifteenth'
- siècle
- A century or a hundred-year period
- lorsque
- Conjunction meaning 'when' or 'at the time that'
- certaines
- Feminine plural adjective meaning 'certain' or 'some'
- belles
- Feminine plural adjective meaning 'beautiful' or 'lovely'
- mosquées
- Mosques, Muslim places of worship
- tombeaux
- Tombs or elaborate burial monuments
- qui
- Relative pronoun meaning 'who', 'which', or 'that'
- font
- Third person plural of 'faire', meaning 'make' or 'do'
- encore
- Adverb meaning 'still', 'yet', or 'again'
- aujourd'
- Part of 'aujourd'hui', meaning 'today' or 'nowadays'
- joie
- Joy or delight, a feeling of great happiness
- artistes
- Artists, people who create works of art
- étaient
- Imperfect tense of 'être', meaning 'were'
- cours
- Course or progress; 'en cours' means 'in progress'
- construction
- The process of building or constructing something
- main
- A hand; also used in phrases like 'main dévastatrice'
- dévastatrice
- Feminine adjective meaning 'devastating' or 'destructive'
- Turc
- A Turk or Turkish person; relating to Turkey
- avait
- Third person singular imperfect of 'avoir', meaning 'had'
- été
- Past participle of 'être', meaning 'been'; also 'summer'
- posée
- Past participle of 'poser', meaning 'placed' or 'laid'
- sur
- Preposition meaning 'on' or 'upon'
- terre
- Earth, land, or ground
- Pour
- Preposition meaning 'for', 'in order to', or 'as for'
- un
- Masculine indefinite article meaning 'a' or 'one'
- tableau
- A picture, painting, or vivid description of a scene
- minutieux
- Adjective meaning 'meticulous' or 'detailed'
- société
- Society, a community or organized group of people
- arabe
- Adjective or noun meaning 'Arab' or 'Arabic'
- telle
- Feminine adjective meaning 'such' as it was
- Moyen
- Middle, as in 'Moyen Âge' meaning the Middle Ages
- Âge
- Age or era; 'Moyen Âge' refers to the Middle Ages
- rival
- A rival or competitor challenging another's position
- M
- Abbreviation for 'Monsieur', meaning 'Mister' or 'Mr.'
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