The Thousand and One Nights, Vol. I.: Commonly Called the Arabian Nights' Entertainments — Page 9
Since the downfall of the Arab Empire of Baghdád, Cairo has been the chief of Arabian cities: its Memlook Sulṭáns, introduced into Egypt in their youth, naturally adopted, to a great degree, the manners of its native inhabitants, which the 'Osmánlee Turks in later days have but little altered.
Depuis la chute de l'Empire arabe de Baghdád, Le Caire a été la principale des villes arabes : ses sultans Memlooks, introduits en Égypte dans leur jeunesse, adoptèrent naturellement, dans une large mesure, les mœurs de ses habitants natifs, que les Turcs Osmanlis des temps ultérieurs n'ont que peu modifiées.
Cairo is the city in which Arabian manners now exist in the most refined state; and such I believe to have been the case when the present work was composed."
Le Caire est la ville dans laquelle les mœurs arabes existent aujourd'hui à l'état le plus raffiné ; et je crois qu'il en était ainsi lorsque le présent ouvrage fut composé. »
Mr. Lane's first two visits to Egypt were made when, for the last time, Arab manners and customs as they existed in the age of the Arabian Nights could be studied; and his translation was written very shortly after his second return to England.
Les deux premiers séjours de M. Lane en Égypte eurent lieu à l'époque où, pour la dernière fois, il était encore possible d'étudier les mœurs et coutumes arabes telles qu'elles existaient à l'âge des Mille et Une Nuits ; et sa traduction fut rédigée très peu de temps après son second retour en Angleterre.
Though some of the tales may be Indian or Persian in origin, in their present state they exhibit a picture of the manners, modes of thought, and language, of the court and times of the Memlook Sulṭáns of Egypt, which nearly resembled in these points those of the Khaleefehs of Baghdád, or the great Arab Empire.
Bien que certains des contes puissent être d'origine indienne ou persane, dans leur état actuel ils offrent un tableau des mœurs, des modes de pensée et de la langue de la cour et de l'époque des sultans Memlooks d'Égypte, qui ressemblaient fort, sur ces points, à ceux des Khalifes de Baghdád, ou du grand Empire arabe.
De Sacy and Von Hammer, the two celebrated orientalists who differed widely in opinion as to the origin of the book, agreed that the tales in which the Khaleefeh Hároon Er-Rasheed is introduced (the best, with few exceptions, in the collection) are Egyptian in character.
De Sacy et Von Hammer, les deux célèbres orientalistes qui divergeaient grandement d'opinion quant à l'origine du livre, s'accordaient à dire que les contes dans lesquels le Khalife Hároon Er-Rasheed est introduit (les meilleurs, à quelques exceptions près, de la collection) sont de caractère égyptien.
But since the "Modern Egyptians" were described by Mr.
Mais depuis que les « Égyptiens modernes » furent décrits par M.
Vocabulary
- Depuis
- Since or from a point in time
- la
- Definite article, feminine singular: the
- chute
- Fall, collapse, or downfall of something
- de
- Preposition meaning of, from, or about
- l'
- Contracted definite article before vowel sound
- Empire
- Empire, a large political dominion or realm
- arabe
- Arabic or Arab, relating to Arab culture
- Le Caire
- Cairo, the capital city of Egypt
- a
- Has, third-person singular of avoir
- été
- Been, past participle of être (to be)
- principale
- Principal, main, or most important feminine adjective
- des
- Of the, or some; plural partitive article
- villes
- Cities or towns, plural of ville
- arabes
- Arab or Arabic, plural adjective or noun
- ses
- Its or his/her, third-person plural possessive
- introduits
- Introduced, brought in, past participle masculine plural
- en
- In or to, preposition of place or manner
- Égypte
- Egypt, country in northeastern Africa
- dans
- In or inside, preposition indicating location
- leur
- Their, third-person plural possessive adjective
- jeunesse
- Youth, the early period of one's life
- adoptèrent
- Adopted, past simple of adopter, third-person plural
- naturellement
- Naturally, in a natural or expected manner
- une
- A or an, feminine indefinite article
- large
- Wide, broad, or extensive in scope
- mesure
- Measure, extent, or degree of something
- les
- The, definite article plural form
- mœurs
- Customs, morals, or social habits of people
- habitants
- Inhabitants, people who live in a place
- natifs
- Native, born in or originating from a place
- que
- That, which, or whom; conjunction or pronoun
- temps
- Time or weather; general temporal reference
- ultérieurs
- Later, subsequent, occurring after something else
- n'
- Contracted negation particle ne before vowel
- ont
- Have, third-person plural of avoir
- peu
- Little, few, or not much in quantity
- modifiées
- Modified, changed, altered feminine plural past participle
- est
- Is, third-person singular of être (to be)
- ville
- City or town, an urban settlement
- laquelle
- Which, feminine relative or interrogative pronoun
- existent
- Exist, third-person plural present of exister
- aujourd'hui
- Today, at the present time or day
- à
- To, at, or in; common French preposition
- état
- State or condition of something or someone
- le
- The, masculine singular definite article
- plus
- More or most, used in comparisons
- raffiné
- Refined, sophisticated, or polished in manner
- et
- And, coordinating conjunction linking words or clauses
- je
- I, first-person singular subject pronoun
- crois
- Believe or think, first-person singular of croire
- qu'
- That, contracted conjunction before vowel sound
- il
- He or it, masculine third-person singular pronoun
- était
- Was, imperfect tense of être, third-person singular
- ainsi
- Thus, so, or in this manner
- lorsque
- When, at the time that something occurred
- présent
- Present, current, or the current moment in time
- ouvrage
- Work or book, a literary or artistic creation
- fut
- Was, simple past of être, third-person singular
- composé
- Composed or written, past participle of composer
- Les
- The, plural definite article for all genders
- deux
- Two, the number 2
- premiers
- First, masculine plural ordinal adjective
- séjours
- Stays or visits, periods spent in a place
- M.
- Monsieur, French title of address for a man
- eurent
- Had, simple past of avoir, third-person plural
- lieu
- Place or took place; location or occurrence
- époque
- Era, epoch, or period of historical time
- où
- Where or when, relative or interrogative adverb
- pour
- For, in order to; preposition of purpose
- dernière
- Last or final, feminine adjective indicating order
- fois
- Time or instance, as in one occurrence
- encore
- Still, yet, or again; temporal or emphatic adverb
- possible
- Possible, able to be done or achieved
- d'
- Of or from, contracted preposition before vowel
- étudier
- To study or examine something carefully
- coutumes
- Customs or traditions, habitual cultural practices
- telles
- Such, feminine plural adjective indicating similarity
- elles
- They or them, feminine third-person plural pronoun
- existaient
- Existed, imperfect of exister, third-person plural
- âge
- Age or era, a period of time or life stage
- Mille
- Thousand, the number 1000
- Une
- One, feminine form of the numeral one
- Nuits
- Nights, plural of nuit; reference to Arabian Nights
- sa
- His or her, feminine singular possessive adjective
- traduction
- Translation, the act of rendering text in another language
- rédigée
- Written or drafted, feminine past participle of rédiger
- très
- Very, intensifier adverb modifying adjectives or adverbs
- après
- After, following in time or order
- son
- His, her, or its, masculine singular possessive adjective
- second
- Second, the ordinal number two in a sequence
- retour
- Return, the act of going or coming back
- Angleterre
- England, a country in the United Kingdom
- Bien
- Although or well; conjunction or adverb of concession
- certains
- Certain or some, masculine plural indefinite adjective
- contes
- Tales or stories, short fictional narratives
- puissent
- May or might, subjunctive of pouvoir, plural
- être
- To be, fundamental French infinitive verb
- origine
- Origin, source, or beginning of something
- indienne
- Indian, feminine adjective relating to India
- ou
- Or, coordinating disjunctive conjunction
- persane
- Persian, feminine adjective relating to Persia
- actuel
- Current or present-day, referring to the present state
- ils
- They, masculine third-person plural subject pronoun
- offrent
- Offer or present, third-person plural of offrir
- un
- A or one, masculine indefinite article
- tableau
- Picture, tableau, or vivid representation of something
- modes
- Modes, manners, or fashions of doing something
- pensée
- Thought or thinking, the act of reasoning
- langue
- Language or tongue, a system of communication
- cour
- Court, a royal or noble household and entourage
- qui
- Who, which, or that; relative or interrogative pronoun
- ressemblaient
- Resembled, imperfect of ressembler, third-person plural
- fort
- Strongly, very much; adverb intensifying a verb
- sur
- On or upon, preposition indicating position
- ces
- These or those, plural demonstrative adjective
- points
- Points or aspects, particular matters under consideration
- ceux
- Those, masculine plural demonstrative pronoun
- du
- Of the, masculine singular contracted article
- grand
- Great or large, masculine adjective of size or importance
- célèbres
- Famous or celebrated, plural adjective of renown
- divergeaient
- Diverged or differed, imperfect of diverger, plural
- grandement
- Greatly or considerably, adverb of large degree
- opinion
- Opinion, a personal view or judgment on something
- quant
- As for or regarding; used in quant à
- livre
- Book, a written or printed literary work
- s'
- Reflexive pronoun se contracted before vowel sound
- accordaient
- Agreed, imperfect of s'accorder, third-person plural
- dire
- To say or to tell, an infinitive verb
- lesquels
- Which ones, masculine plural relative pronoun
- introduit
- Introduced, past participle of introduire, singular
- meilleurs
- Best or better, masculine plural superlative adjective
- quelques
- Some or a few, indefinite plural adjective
- exceptions
- Exceptions, cases excluded from a general rule
- près
- Near or close; also used in à peu près
- collection
- Collection, a gathered set of items or works
- sont
- Are, third-person plural of être (to be)
- caractère
- Character or nature, the distinctive quality of something
- égyptien
- Egyptian, masculine adjective relating to Egypt
- Mais
- But, a coordinating conjunction of opposition
- depuis
- Since or for, indicating duration or starting point
- Égyptiens
- Egyptians, people from or of Egypt
- modernes
- Modern, relating to the present or recent times
- furent
- Were, simple past of être, third-person plural
- décrits
- Described, masculine plural past participle of décrire
- par
- By or through, preposition indicating agent or means
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