The Thousand and One Nights, Vol. I.: Commonly Called the Arabian Nights' Entertainments — Page 8
His acquaintance with Arab manners and customs was insufficient to preserve him always from errors of the grossest description, and by the _style_ of his version he has given to the whole a false character, thus sacrificing, in a great measure, what is most valuable in the original work,--I mean its minute accuracy with respect to those peculiarities which distinguish the Arabs from every other nation, not only of the West, but also of the East.
Sa connaissance des mœurs et coutumes arabes était insuffisante pour le préserver toujours des erreurs les plus grossières, et par le _style_ de sa version il a donné à l'ensemble un caractère faux, sacrifiant ainsi, dans une large mesure, ce qui est le plus précieux dans l'œuvre originale, — je veux dire son exactitude minutieuse à l'égard de ces particularités qui distinguent les Arabes de toute autre nation, non seulement de l'Occident, mais aussi de l'Orient.
Deceived by the vague nature of Galland's version, travellers in Persia, Turkey, and India, have often fancied that the Arabian Tales describe the particular manners of the natives of those countries; but no one who has read them in the original language, having an intimate acquaintance with the Arabs, can be of this opinion: it is in Arabian countries, and especially in Egypt, that we see the people, the dresses, and the buildings, which it describes in almost every case, even when the scene is laid in Persia, in India, or in China.
Trompés par la nature vague de la version de Galland, les voyageurs en Perse, en Turquie et en Inde ont souvent cru que les Contes arabes décrivent les mœurs particulières des habitants de ces pays ; mais nul qui les a lus dans la langue originale, ayant une connaissance intime des Arabes, ne peut être de cet avis : c'est dans les pays arabes, et surtout en Égypte, que l'on voit les gens, les vêtements et les édifices que l'ouvrage décrit dans presque tous les cas, même lorsque la scène se passe en Perse, en Inde ou en Chine.
"Convinced of the truth of this assertion, I consider myself possessed of the chief qualifications for the proper accomplishment of my present undertaking, from my having lived several years in Cairo, associating almost exclusively with Arabs, speaking their language, conforming to their general habits with the most scrupulous exactitude, and received into their society on terms of perfect equality.
« Convaincu de la vérité de cette affirmation, je me considère comme possédant les principales qualifications nécessaires à la bonne réalisation de mon entreprise présente, du fait d'avoir vécu plusieurs années au Caire, fréquentant presque exclusivement des Arabes, parlant leur langue, me conformant à leurs habitudes générales avec la plus scrupuleuse exactitude, et admis dans leur société sur un pied de parfaite égalité.
Vocabulary
- Sa
- His, her (possessive adjective)
- connaissance
- Knowledge, acquaintance, familiarity
- des
- Of the, some (partitive article)
- mœurs
- Customs, morals, manners of a people
- et
- And (conjunction)
- coutumes
- Customs, traditions, habits
- arabes
- Arab, Arabic (adjective)
- était
- Was (past tense of être)
- insuffisante
- Insufficient, inadequate, not enough
- pour
- For, in order to (preposition)
- le
- The, him (definite article, object pronoun)
- préserver
- To preserve, protect, keep safe
- toujours
- Always, still, forever (adverb)
- erreurs
- Errors, mistakes (plural noun)
- les
- The (plural definite article)
- plus
- More, most (adverb, adjective)
- par
- By, through (preposition)
- style
- Style, manner of writing or speaking
- de
- Of, from (preposition)
- sa
- His, her (possessive adjective)
- version
- Version, translation, account (noun)
- il
- He, it (subject pronoun)
- donné
- Given, provided (past participle)
- ensemble
- Together, whole, set (adverb, noun)
- un
- A, an (indefinite article)
- caractère
- Character, nature, personality (noun)
- faux
- False, fake, wrong (adjective)
- ainsi
- Thus, so, in this way (adverb)
- dans
- In, inside, within (preposition)
- une
- A, an (indefinite feminine article)
- large
- Large, wide, broad (adjective)
- mesure
- Measure, extent, proportion (noun)
- ce
- This, that, it (demonstrative pronoun)
- qui
- Who, which, that (relative pronoun)
- est
- Is (present tense of être)
- précieux
- Precious, valuable, cherished (adjective)
- œuvre
- Work, masterpiece, creation (noun)
- originale
- Original, novel, unique (adjective)
- je
- I (subject pronoun)
- veux
- Want, wish (present tense of vouloir)
- dire
- To say, tell, speak (infinitive verb)
- son
- His, her, its (possessive adjective)
- égard
- Regard, respect, consideration (noun)
- ces
- These, those (demonstrative adjective)
- distinguent
- Distinguish, set apart (verb)
- Arabes
- Arabs (proper noun plural)
- toute
- Every, all, entire (adjective)
- autre
- Other, another, different (adjective)
- nation
- Nation, country, people (noun)
- non
- No, not (adverb)
- seulement
- Only, solely, merely (adverb)
- Occident
- West, Occident, Western world (noun)
- mais
- But (conjunction)
- aussi
- Also, too, as well (adverb)
- Orient
- East, Orient, Eastern world (noun)
- Trompés
- Deceived, misled, fooled (past participle)
- la
- The, her (definite feminine article)
- nature
- Nature, character, essence (noun)
- vague
- Vague, unclear, indefinite (adjective)
- voyageurs
- Travelers, voyagers (plural noun)
- en
- In, on, some (preposition, pronoun)
- Turquie
- Turkey (proper noun)
- Inde
- India (proper noun)
- ont
- Have (present tense of avoir)
- souvent
- Often, frequently (adverb)
- cru
- Believed, thought (past participle of croire)
- que
- That, which, what (conjunction, relative pronoun)
- Contes
- Tales, stories (plural noun)
- décrivent
- Describe, depict (present tense of décrire)
- particulières
- Particular, specific, peculiar (adjective)
- habitants
- Inhabitants, residents, dwellers (plural noun)
- pays
- Country, region, land (noun)
- nul
- No, none, null, worthless (adjective)
Unlock audio playback, vocabulary games, and reading progress tracking.
Create free account →