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Thus Spake Zarathustra: A Book for All and None — Page 5

English → Fr Preface Level 9/10

He assumes that Christianity, as a product of the resentment of the botched and the weak, has put in ban all that is beautiful, strong, proud, and powerful, in fact all the qualities resulting from strength, and that, in consequence, all forces which tend to promote or elevate life have been seriously undermined.

Il suppose que le christianisme, en tant que produit du ressentiment des ratés et des faibles, a mis au ban tout ce qui est beau, fort, fier et puissant, en fait toutes les qualités découlant de la force, et que, par conséquent, toutes les forces qui tendent à promouvoir ou à élever la vie ont été sérieusement sapées.

Now, however, a new table of valuations must be placed over mankind—namely, that of the strong, mighty, and magnificent man, overflowing with life and elevated to his zenith—the Superman, who is now put before us with overpowering passion as the aim of our life, hope, and will.

Désormais, cependant, une nouvelle table de valeurs doit être placée au-dessus de l'humanité — à savoir celle de l'homme fort, puissant et magnifique, débordant de vie et élevé à son zénith — le Surhomme, qui nous est maintenant présenté avec une passion irrésistible comme le but de notre vie, de notre espoir et de notre volonté.

And just as the old system of valuing, which only extolled the qualities favourable to the weak, the suffering, and the oppressed, has succeeded in producing a weak, suffering, and "modern" race, so this new and reversed system of valuing ought to rear a healthy, strong, lively, and courageous type, which would be a glory to life itself.

Et tout comme l'ancien système de valeurs, qui n'exaltait que les qualités favorables aux faibles, aux souffrants et aux opprimés, a réussi à produire une race faible, souffrante et « moderne », ce nouveau système de valeurs inversé devrait élever un type sain, fort, vif et courageux, qui serait une gloire pour la vie elle-même.

Stated briefly, the leading principle of this new system of valuing would be: "All that proceeds from power is good, all that springs from weakness is bad."

Formulé brièvement, le principe directeur de ce nouveau système de valeurs serait : « Tout ce qui procède de la puissance est bon, tout ce qui naît de la faiblesse est mauvais. »

This type must not be regarded as a fanciful figure: it is not a nebulous hope which is to be realised at some indefinitely remote period, thousands of years hence; nor is it a new species (in the Darwinian sense) of which we can know nothing, and which it would therefore be somewhat absurd to strive after.

Ce type ne doit pas être considéré comme une figure fantaisiste : ce n'est pas un espoir nébuleux devant se réaliser à quelque époque indéfiniment lointaine, dans des milliers d'années ; ce n'est pas non plus une nouvelle espèce (au sens darwinien) dont nous ne pourrions rien savoir, et qu'il serait donc quelque peu absurde de chercher à atteindre.

Vocabulary

suppose
suh-pohz — Assumes or presupposes something to be true.
christianisme
krees-tyah-neesm — The religion based on the teachings of Jesus Christ.
tant
tahn — Used in 'en tant que' meaning 'as' or 'in the capacity of.'
produit
proh-dwee — Product or result; something produced by a process.
ressentiment
ruh-sahn-tee-mahn — Deep-seated bitterness or resentment toward others.
ratés
rah-tay — Failures or losers; people who have not succeeded in life.
faibles
fehbl — Weak individuals; lacking strength or power.
mis
mee — Past participle of 'mettre,' meaning 'put' or 'placed.'
ban
bahn — Banishment or exclusion; 'mettre au ban' means to ostracize.
tout
too — All, everything, or every; indicates totality.
beau
boh — Beautiful or handsome; aesthetically pleasing.
fort
fohr — Strong or powerful; having great physical or moral strength.
fier
fyehr — Proud; having a sense of dignity and self-respect.
puissant
pwee-sahn — Powerful or mighty; possessing great strength or authority.
qualités
kah-lee-tay — Qualities or virtues; positive characteristics of a person or thing.
découlant
day-koo-lahn — Flowing from or resulting; deriving as a consequence.
force
fohrs — Strength or power; the capacity to exert influence or effort.
conséquent
kohn-say-kahn — Consequent; following as a result; used in 'par conséquent' meaning 'therefore.'
forces
fohrs — Plural of 'force'; strengths or powers.
tendent
tahnd — Third person plural of 'tendre,' meaning 'tend' or 'incline toward.'
promouvoir
proh-moo-vwahr — To promote or advance something or someone.
élever
ay-luh-vay — To raise, elevate, or bring up to a higher level.
vie
vee — Life; the state of being alive or one's existence.
sérieusement
say-ryuhz-mahn — Seriously; in a grave or significant manner.
sapées
sah-pay — Undermined or weakened; eroded gradually from below.
Désormais
day-zohr-meh — Henceforth or from now on; indicating a new situation going forward.
cependant
suh-pahn-dahn — However or nevertheless; introducing a contrasting statement.
nouvelle
noo-vehl — New or novel; feminine form of 'nouveau.'
table
tahbl — Table; also used metaphorically for a set of values or laws.
valeurs
vah-luhr — Values; principles or standards considered important in life.
doit
dwah — Third person singular of 'devoir,' meaning 'must' or 'has to.'
être
ehtr — To be; the fundamental verb of existence or identity.
placée
plah-say — Placed or positioned; feminine past participle of 'placer.'
au-dessus
oh-duh-sew — Above or over; at a higher position than something else.
humanité
ew-mah-nee-tay — Humanity; all human beings collectively; human nature.
savoir
sah-vwahr — To know; also used as 'à savoir' meaning 'namely' or 'that is.'
celle
sehl — Demonstrative pronoun meaning 'that one' or 'the one' (feminine).
homme
ohm — Man; an adult male human being.
magnifique
mah-nyee-feek — Magnificent or splendid; impressively grand or beautiful.
débordant
day-bohr-dahn — Overflowing or brimming; abundantly full of energy or emotion.
élevé
ay-luh-vay — Elevated or high; raised to a superior level.
zénith
zay-neet — Zenith; the highest point or peak of something.
Surhomme
sewr-ohm — Superman or Overman; Nietzsche's ideal of a superior human being.
maintenant
man-tuh-nahn — Now; at the present time or moment.
présenté
pray-zahn-tay — Presented or introduced; shown or offered to an audience.
passion
pah-syohn — Passion; intense enthusiasm or strong emotion toward something.
irrésistible
ee-ray-zees-teebl — Irresistible; impossible to resist or refuse.
but
bewt — Goal or aim; the purpose or objective one seeks to achieve.
espoir
ehs-pwahr — Hope; a feeling of expectation and desire for a positive outcome.
volonté
voh-lohn-tay — Will or willpower; the faculty of conscious choice and decision.
ancien
ahn-syahn — Old or former; existing for a long time or in the past.
système
sees-tehm — System; an organized set of principles or methods.
exaltait
ehg-zahl-teh — Exalted or glorified; praised highly (imperfect tense).
favorables
fah-voh-rahbl — Favorable; advantageous or supportive conditions or qualities.
souffrants
soo-frahn — Suffering individuals; those experiencing pain or hardship.
opprimés
oh-pree-may — Oppressed people; those subjected to unjust treatment or control.
réussi
ray-ew-see — Succeeded or managed to do; past participle of 'réussir.'
produire
proh-dweer — To produce or generate; to bring something into existence.
race
rahs — Race or breed; a group sharing common ancestry or characteristics.
faible
fehbl — Weak; lacking strength, power, or vigor.
souffrante
soo-frahnt — Suffering; experiencing pain, distress, or hardship (feminine).
moderne
moh-dehrn — Modern; relating to the present or recent times.
nouveau
noo-voh — New; recently created or different from before (masculine).
inversé
an-vehr-say — Reversed or inverted; turned around to the opposite direction.
devrait
duh-vreh — Should or ought to; conditional form of 'devoir.'
type
teep — Type or kind; a category of person or thing with shared traits.
sain
san — Healthy or wholesome; in good physical or moral condition.
vif
veef — Lively or vivid; full of energy and quick in movement or thought.
courageux
koo-rah-zhuh — Courageous or brave; showing readiness to face danger or difficulty.
serait
suh-reh — Would be; conditional form of 'être.'
gloire
glwahr — Glory or fame; great honor and admiration from others.
elle-même
ehl-mehm — Herself or itself; reflexive pronoun emphasizing the subject.
Formulé
fohr-mew-lay — Formulated or expressed; stated clearly in a specific form.
brièvement
bryehv-mahn — Briefly; in a concise or short manner.
principe
pran-seep — Principle; a fundamental rule or belief guiding behavior.
directeur
dee-rehk-tuhr — Guiding or directing; a guiding principle or director.
Tout
too — Everything or all; indicating complete totality.
procède
proh-sehd — Proceeds or derives from; comes forth from a source.
puissance
pwee-sahns — Power or might; the capacity to exert great force or authority.
bon
bohn — Good; having positive qualities or moral virtue.
naît
neh — Is born or arises; originates from a particular source.
faiblesse
feh-blehs — Weakness; lack of strength, power, or resilience.
mauvais
moh-veh — Bad or evil; of poor quality or morally wrong.
considéré
kohn-see-day-ray — Considered or regarded; thought of in a particular way.
figure
fee-gewr — Figure or character; an imagined or real person or concept.
fantaisiste
fahn-teh-zeest — Fanciful or whimsical; unrealistically imaginative or fantastic.
nébuleux
nay-bew-luh — Nebulous or vague; unclear and lacking definite form.
devant
duh-vahn — Before or in front of; ahead in space or time.
réaliser
ray-ah-lee-zay — To realize or achieve; to make something actual or concrete.
quelque
kehl-kuh — Some or a few; an indefinite small quantity or number.
époque
ay-pohk — Epoch or era; a distinct period of time in history.
indéfiniment
an-day-fee-nee-mahn — Indefinitely; without a defined end or limit in time.
lointaine
lwan-tehn — Distant or far off; remote in space or time (feminine).
milliers
mee-lyay — Thousands; large numbers in the thousands.
années
ah-nay — Years; periods of twelve months.
espèce
ehs-pehs — Species or kind; a category of beings sharing common traits.
sens
sahns — Sense or meaning; the significance or direction of something.
darwinien
dahr-vee-nyahn — Darwinian; relating to Darwin's theory of natural selection.
dont
dohn — Relative pronoun meaning 'of which,' 'whose,' or 'from which.'
pourrions
poo-ryohn — Could; first person plural conditional of 'pouvoir.'
rien
ryahn — Nothing; not anything; used in negative constructions.
donc
dohnk — Therefore or so; indicating a logical conclusion or result.
peu
puh — Little or few; a small amount or degree of something.
absurde
ahb-sewrd — Absurd; wildly unreasonable or illogical.
chercher
shehr-shay — To search or look for; to try to find something.
atteindre
ah-tandr — To reach or attain; to achieve a goal or arrive at a destination.
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