The Works of Edgar Allan Poe — Volume 2 — Page 2
's saying that he had called to consult us, or rather to ask the opinion of my friend, about some official business which had occasioned a great deal of trouble.
en disant qu'il était venu nous consulter, ou plutôt demander l'avis de mon ami, au sujet de certaines affaires officielles qui lui avaient causé beaucoup de tracas.
"If it is any point requiring reflection," observed Dupin, as he forebore to enkindle the wick, "we shall examine it to better purpose in the dark."
« Si c'est une question qui demande réflexion, » observa Dupin, s'abstenant d'allumer la mèche, « nous l'examinerons à meilleur escient dans l'obscurité. »
"That is another of your odd notions," said the Prefect, who had a fashion of calling every thing "odd" that was beyond his comprehension, and thus lived amid an absolute legion of "oddities."
« Voilà encore une de vos idées singulières, » dit le Préfet, qui avait l'habitude de qualifier de « singulier » tout ce qui dépassait son entendement, et qui vivait ainsi au milieu d'une véritable légion de « singularités ».
"Very true," said Dupin, as he supplied his visitor with a pipe, and rolled towards him a comfortable chair.
« Très juste, » dit Dupin, en offrant à son visiteur une pipe et en faisant rouler vers lui un fauteuil confortable.
"And what is the difficulty now?" I asked. "Nothing more in the assassination way, I hope?"
« Et quelle est la difficulté cette fois ? » demandai-je. « Rien de plus du côté des assassinats, j'espère ? »
"Oh no; nothing of that nature. The fact is, the business is very simple indeed, and I make no doubt that we can manage it sufficiently well ourselves; but then I thought Dupin would like to hear the details of it, because it is so excessively odd."
« Oh non, rien de ce genre. En fait, l'affaire est vraiment très simple, et je ne doute pas que nous puissions nous en tirer suffisamment bien nous-mêmes ; mais j'ai pensé que Dupin aimerait en entendre les détails, parce que c'est si excessivement singulier. »
"Simple and odd," said Dupin.
« Simple et singulier, » dit Dupin.
"Why, yes; and not exactly that, either. The fact is, we have all been a good deal puzzled because the affair is so simple, and yet baffles us altogether."
« Eh bien, oui ; et pas exactement cela non plus. Le fait est que nous avons tous été fort perplexes parce que l'affaire est si simple, et pourtant nous échappe complètement. »
"Perhaps it is the very simplicity of the thing which puts you at fault," said my friend.
« C'est peut-être justement la simplicité de la chose qui vous met en défaut, » dit mon ami.
"What nonsense you do talk!" replied the Prefect, laughing heartily.
« Quelles sottises vous dites ! » répliqua le Préfet en riant de bon cœur.
"Perhaps the mystery is a little too plain," said Dupin.
« Le mystère est peut-être un peu trop évident, » dit Dupin.
Vocabulary
- en
- Preposition meaning 'in' or 'while' indicating manner
- disant
- Present participle of 'dire'; meaning 'saying'
- qu'
- Contraction of 'que'; conjunction meaning 'that'
- était
- Imperfect tense of 'être'; meaning 'was' or 'were'
- venu
- Past participle of 'venir'; meaning 'come' or 'arrived'
- consulter
- To consult or seek advice from someone
- plutôt
- Adverb meaning 'rather' or 'more precisely'
- demander
- To ask for or request something from someone
- avis
- Opinion, advice, or point of view on a matter
- sujet
- Subject or topic of a discussion or matter
- certaines
- Feminine plural adjective meaning 'certain' or 'specific'
- affaires
- Affairs, matters, or business dealings requiring attention
- officielles
- Adjective meaning 'official' relating to formal authority
- avaient
- Imperfect tense of 'avoir'; meaning 'had' (plural)
- causé
- Past participle of 'causer'; meaning 'caused' or 'produced'
- beaucoup
- Adverb meaning 'a lot' or 'much'
- tracas
- Trouble, worries, or bothersome problems causing stress
- demande
- Request or demand requiring a response or action
- réflexion
- Reflection or careful thought about a topic
- observa
- Past tense of 'observer'; meaning 'remarked' or 'noted'
- abstenant
- Present participle of 'abstenir'; refraining from doing something
- allumer
- To light or turn on a flame or device
- mèche
- Wick of a candle or lamp that is lit
- examinerons
- Future tense of 'examiner'; meaning 'we will examine'
- meilleur
- Adjective meaning 'better' or 'best' in quality
- escient
- Knowledge or judgment; used in phrase 'à bon escient'
- obscurité
- Darkness or the state of being without light
- Voilà
- Exclamation meaning 'there it is' or 'here we go'
- encore
- Adverb meaning 'again' or 'still' in context
- singulières
- Adjective meaning 'peculiar' or 'strange' in nature
- dit
- Past tense of 'dire'; meaning 'said'
- Préfet
- Prefect; a high-ranking French administrative or police official
- habitude
- Habit or custom practiced regularly by someone
- qualifier
- To qualify or describe something with a specific term
- singulier
- Adjective meaning 'singular,' 'odd,' or 'peculiar'
- tout
- Adjective or pronoun meaning 'all' or 'everything'
- dépassait
- Imperfect of 'dépasser'; meaning 'exceeded' or 'went beyond'
- entendement
- Understanding or intellectual comprehension of something
- vivait
- Imperfect of 'vivre'; meaning 'lived' or 'was living'
- ainsi
- Adverb meaning 'thus' or 'in this way'
- milieu
- Middle or environment; surroundings in which one lives
- véritable
- Adjective meaning 'true,' 'real,' or 'genuine'
- légion
- Legion; a large multitude or great number of things
- singularités
- Peculiarities or oddities that stand out as unusual
- juste
- Adjective or adverb meaning 'right,' 'just,' or 'exactly'
- offrant
- Present participle of 'offrir'; meaning 'offering' something
- visiteur
- Noun meaning 'visitor' or someone who comes to call
- pipe
- Pipe used for smoking tobacco
- faisant
- Present participle of 'faire'; meaning 'doing' or 'making'
- rouler
- To roll or wheel something along a surface
- vers
- Preposition meaning 'toward' or 'in the direction of'
- fauteuil
- Armchair; a comfortable upholstered chair with armrests
- confortable
- Adjective meaning 'comfortable' providing ease and comfort
- quelle
- Feminine interrogative adjective meaning 'what' or 'which'
- difficulté
- Difficulty or problem that is hard to resolve
- fois
- Time or occasion; as in 'this time'
- demandai
- First-person past tense of 'demander'; meaning 'I asked'
- Rien
- Pronoun meaning 'nothing' indicating absence of something
- plus
- Adverb meaning 'more' or 'no more' depending on context
- côté
- Side or aspect; direction toward which something faces
- assassinats
- Plural noun meaning 'murders' or 'assassinations'
- espère
- First-person present of 'espérer'; meaning 'I hope'
- rien
- Pronoun meaning 'nothing' or 'not anything'
- genre
- Genre or kind; a type or category of something
- fait
- Fact; in expression 'en fait' meaning 'in fact'
- affaire
- Matter, affair, or case requiring attention or resolution
- vraiment
- Adverb meaning 'really' or 'truly' emphasizing truth
- doute
- Doubt; uncertainty about something; 'sans doute' means certainly
- puissions
- Subjunctive of 'pouvoir'; meaning 'that we can/could'
- tirer
- To pull or draw; also to derive benefit from something
- suffisamment
- Adverb meaning 'sufficiently' or 'enough'
- mêmes
- Adjective meaning 'same'; emphasizes identity or similarity
- pensé
- Past participle of 'penser'; meaning 'thought'
- aimerait
- Conditional of 'aimer'; meaning 'would like'
- entendre
- To hear or listen to someone or something
- détails
- Details; specific particulars of a situation or event
- parce
- Part of 'parce que' meaning 'because'
- si
- Conjunction meaning 'if' or 'so' depending on context
- excessivement
- Adverb meaning 'excessively' or 'extremely' beyond normal measure
- Eh
- Interjection meaning 'well' or 'hey' expressing mild surprise
- exactement
- Adverb meaning 'exactly' or 'precisely' confirming accuracy
- cela
- Demonstrative pronoun meaning 'that' referring to something mentioned
- tous
- Masculine plural of 'tout'; meaning 'all' or 'everyone'
- été
- Past participle of 'être'; meaning 'been'
- fort
- Adverb meaning 'very' or 'greatly'; also adjective 'strong'
- perplexes
- Adjective meaning 'perplexed' or 'puzzled' by something
- pourtant
- Adverb meaning 'yet' or 'however' indicating contrast
- échappe
- Present of 'échapper'; meaning 'escapes' or 'eludes'
- complètement
- Adverb meaning 'completely' or 'entirely' without exception
- être
- Infinitive meaning 'to be'; fundamental auxiliary verb
- justement
- Adverb meaning 'precisely' or 'exactly' emphasizing a point
- simplicité
- Simplicity; the quality of being simple or uncomplicated
- chose
- Noun meaning 'thing' referring to an object or matter
- met
- Third-person singular of 'mettre'; meaning 'puts' or 'places'
- défaut
- Fault or deficiency; 'faire défaut' means to be lacking
- Quelles
- Feminine plural interrogative adjective meaning 'what' or 'which'
- sottises
- Nonsense or foolish remarks; silly or stupid things said
- dites
- Second-person plural of 'dire'; meaning 'you say'
- répliqua
- Past tense of 'répliquer'; meaning 'replied' or 'retorted'
- riant
- Present participle of 'rire'; meaning 'laughing'
- cœur
- Heart; used in 'de bon cœur' meaning 'wholeheartedly'
- mystère
- Mystery; something unexplained or secret and puzzling
- peu
- Adverb meaning 'a little' or 'slightly' in degree
- trop
- Adverb meaning 'too' or 'too much' exceeding a limit
- évident
- Adjective meaning 'evident' or 'obvious' clearly apparent
Unlock audio playback, vocabulary games, and reading progress tracking.
Create free account →