Thus Spake Zarathustra: A Book for All and None — Page 9
Another ideal runs on before us, a strange, tempting ideal full of danger, to which we should not like to persuade any one, because we do not so readily acknowledge any one's RIGHT THERETO: the ideal of a spirit who plays naively (that is to say involuntarily and from overflowing abundance and power) with everything that has hitherto been called holy, good, intangible, or divine; to whom the loftiest conception which the people have reasonably made their measure of value, would already practically imply danger, ruin, abasement, or at least relaxation, blindness, or temporary self-forgetfulness; the ideal of a humanly superhuman welfare and benevolence, which will often enough appear INHUMAN, for example, when put alongside of all past seriousness on earth, and alongside of all past solemnities in bearing, word, tone, look, morality, and pursuit, as their truest involuntary parody—and WITH which, nevertheless, perhaps THE GREAT SERIOUSNESS only commences, when the proper interrogative mark is set up, the fate of the soul changes, the hour-hand moves, and tragedy begins..."
Un autre idéal court devant nous, un idéal étrange et tentateur, plein de danger, auquel nous n'aimerions pas persuader quiconque, parce que nous n'en reconnaissons pas si aisément le DROIT à personne : l'idéal d'un esprit qui joue naïvement (c'est-à-dire involontairement et par surabondance et puissance débordantes) avec tout ce qui a jusqu'ici été appelé saint, bon, intangible ou divin ; pour qui la conception la plus haute que le peuple a raisonnablement faite de sa mesure de valeur impliquerait déjà pratiquement danger, ruine, avilissement, ou du moins relâchement, aveuglement, ou oubli temporaire de soi-même ; l'idéal d'un bien-être et d'une bienveillance humainement surhumains, qui paraîtront souvent assez INHUMAINS, par exemple, placés à côté de tout le sérieux passé sur la terre, et à côté de toutes les solennités passées dans le maintien, la parole, le ton, le regard, la morale et la conduite, comme leur plus vraie parodie involontaire — et AVEC lequel, néanmoins, peut-être LE GRAND SÉRIEUX commence seulement, quand le véritable point d'interrogation est posé, que le destin de l'âme change, que l'aiguille des heures se meut, et que la tragédie commence…"
Although the figure of Zarathustra and a large number of the leading thoughts in this work had appeared much earlier in the dreams and writings of the author, "Thus Spake Zarathustra" did not actually come into being until the month of August 1881 in Sils Maria; and it was the idea of the Eternal Recurrence of all things which finally induced my brother to set forth his new views in poetic language.
Bien que la figure de Zarathoustra et un grand nombre des pensées directrices de cet ouvrage fussent apparues bien plus tôt dans les rêves et les écrits de l'auteur, « Ainsi parlait Zarathoustra » ne vit réellement le jour qu'au mois d'août 1881 à Sils-Maria ; et ce fut l'idée de l'Éternel Retour de toutes choses qui décida finalement mon frère à exposer ses nouvelles conceptions dans un langage poétique.
Vocabulary
- Un
- Article meaning 'a' or 'one'
- autre
- Meaning 'other' or 'another'
- idéal
- An ideal or perfect standard to aspire to
- court
- Short in length or duration
- devant
- In front of, before something
- nous
- First person plural pronoun meaning 'we' or 'us'
- un
- Indefinite article meaning 'a' or 'one'
- étrange
- Strange, unusual, or foreign in character
- et
- Conjunction meaning 'and'
- tentateur
- Tempting or seductive; one who tempts
- plein
- Full of something; complete or filled
- de
- Preposition meaning 'of' or 'from'
- danger
- A situation involving risk or peril
- auquel
- Relative pronoun meaning 'to which' or 'to whom'
- n'
- Negation particle used before vowels
- aimerions
- Conditional form of 'aimer'; would like
- pas
- Negation word meaning 'not'
- persuader
- To convince or persuade someone of something
- quiconque
- Whoever or anyone who does something
- parce
- Part of 'parce que', meaning 'because'
- que
- Conjunction meaning 'that' or 'which'
- en
- Preposition meaning 'in' or 'by'
- reconnaissons
- We recognize or acknowledge something
- si
- Conjunction meaning 'if' or 'so'
- aisément
- Easily, without difficulty or effort
- le
- Definite article meaning 'the' (masculine)
- DROIT
- Right, entitlement, or privilege granted legally
- à
- Preposition meaning 'to', 'at', or 'for'
- personne
- A person; or in negation, nobody
- l'
- Contracted definite article before a vowel
- d'
- Contracted preposition 'de' before a vowel
- esprit
- Mind, spirit, or wit of a person
- qui
- Relative pronoun meaning 'who' or 'which'
- joue
- Plays; third person singular of 'jouer'
- naïvement
- Naively, in an innocent or simple manner
- c'
- Contracted form of 'ce', meaning 'it' or 'this'
- est-à-dire
- That is to say; used for clarification
- involontairement
- Involuntarily, without intention or conscious will
- par
- Preposition meaning 'by', 'through', or 'per'
- surabondance
- Superabundance, excess beyond what is needed
- puissance
- Power, strength, or might of force
- débordantes
- Overflowing, brimming over with excess energy
- avec
- Preposition meaning 'with'
- tout
- All, everything, or entirely
- ce
- Demonstrative pronoun meaning 'this' or 'that'
- a
- Third person singular of 'avoir'; has
- jusqu'
- Preposition meaning 'until' or 'up to'
- ici
- Adverb meaning 'here'
- appelé
- Called or named; past participle of 'appeler'
- saint
- Holy, sacred, or saintly in religious sense
- bon
- Good, kind, or morally virtuous
- intangible
- Intangible, cannot be touched or grasped physically
- ou
- Conjunction meaning 'or'
- divin
- Divine, relating to or coming from God
- pour
- Preposition meaning 'for' or 'in order to'
- la
- Definite article meaning 'the' (feminine)
- conception
- Conception, idea, or way of understanding something
- plus
- More; used for comparatives or negation
- haute
- High, tall, or elevated in position
- peuple
- People, nation, or population group
- raisonnablement
- Reasonably, in a rational and sensible manner
- faite
- Made or done; feminine past participle of 'faire'
- sa
- Possessive adjective meaning 'his', 'her', or 'its'
- mesure
- Measure, extent, or degree of something
- valeur
- Value, worth, or importance of something
- impliquerait
- Would imply or entail; conditional of 'impliquer'
- déjà
- Already, by this time or previously
- pratiquement
- Practically, almost, or in a practical sense
- ruine
- Ruin, destruction, or state of collapse
- avilissement
- Degradation, debasement, or humiliation of character
- du
- Contracted article meaning 'of the' (masculine)
- moins
- Less; used in comparisons or expressions
- relâchement
- Relaxation, loosening, or slackening of discipline
- aveuglement
- Blindness, especially moral or intellectual blindness
- oubli
- Forgetting, oblivion, or state of being forgotten
- temporaire
- Temporary, lasting only for a limited time
- soi-même
- Oneself; reflexive expression emphasizing personal identity
- bien-être
- Well-being, comfort, or state of happiness
- une
- Indefinite article meaning 'a' or 'one' (feminine)
- bienveillance
- Benevolence, kindness, or goodwill toward others
- humainement
- Humanly, in a way befitting human beings
- surhumains
- Superhuman, beyond ordinary human capacity or nature
- paraîtront
- Will appear or seem; future of 'paraître'
- souvent
- Often, frequently occurring in time
- assez
- Enough, sufficiently, or rather
- INHUMAINS
- Inhuman, cruel, or lacking human compassion
- exemple
- Example, instance used to illustrate a point
- placés
- Placed or positioned; past participle of 'placer'
- côté
- Side; next to or beside something
- sérieux
- Serious, grave, or of great importance
- passé
- Past; something that has already occurred
- sur
- Preposition meaning 'on' or 'upon'
- terre
- Earth, ground, or land
- toutes
- All, every; feminine plural of 'tout'
- les
- Definite article meaning 'the' (plural)
- solennités
- Solemnities, formal ceremonies of great importance
- passées
- Past, gone by; feminine plural past participle
- dans
- Preposition meaning 'in' or 'within'
- maintien
- Bearing, posture, or maintenance of conduct
- parole
- Word, speech, or spoken language
- ton
- Tone, manner of speaking, or your (informal)
- regard
- Gaze, look, or manner of looking
- morale
- Morality, ethics, or moral principles
- conduite
- Conduct, behavior, or way of acting
- comme
- As, like, or in the manner of
- leur
- Their; third person plural possessive adjective
- vraie
- True, real, or genuine (feminine form)
- parodie
- Parody, a comic imitation of something serious
- involontaire
- Involuntary, done without intention or conscious will
- AVEC
- Preposition meaning 'with' (emphasized form)
- lequel
- Relative pronoun meaning 'which' or 'whom'
- néanmoins
- Nevertheless, despite that, or even so
- peut-être
- Perhaps, maybe, or possibly
- LE
- Definite article 'the' (masculine, emphasized)
- GRAND
- Great, big, or of great significance
- SÉRIEUX
- Seriousness, gravity, or earnestness (emphasized)
- commence
- Begins; third person singular of 'commencer'
- seulement
- Only, merely, or just
- quand
- When; conjunction or adverb of time
- véritable
- True, genuine, or real in nature
- point
- Point, dot, or specific matter at issue
- interrogation
- Question, interrogation, or act of questioning
- est
- Is; third person singular of 'être'
- posé
- Posed or placed; past participle of 'poser'
- destin
- Destiny, fate, or predetermined course of life
- âme
- Soul, spirit, or inner essence of person
- change
- Changes; third person singular of 'changer'
- aiguille
- Needle or hand of a clock or watch
- des
- Partitive or plural article meaning 'of the'
- heures
- Hours; units of time on a clock
- se
- Reflexive pronoun meaning 'oneself' or 'itself'
- meut
- Moves; third person singular of 'mouvoir'
- tragédie
- Tragedy, a serious dramatic event or work
- commence…
- Begins; with ellipsis indicating continuation or suspense
- Bien
- Well, good, or indeed; adverb of affirmation
- figure
- Figure, character, or representation of a person
- grand
- Great, large, or important in significance
- nombre
- Number or quantity of things
- pensées
- Thoughts, ideas, or reflections
- directrices
- Guiding or directing; feminine plural of 'directeur'
- cet
- Demonstrative adjective meaning 'this' (before vowel)
- ouvrage
- Work, literary piece, or written publication
- fussent
- Were; subjunctive imperfect of 'être'
- apparues
- Appeared; feminine past participle of 'apparaître'
- tôt
- Early or soon in time
- rêves
- Dreams, visions during sleep or aspirations
- écrits
- Writings; plural noun or past participle of 'écrire'
- auteur
- Author, writer, or creator of a work
- Ainsi
- Thus, so, or in this way
- parlait
- Spoke; imperfect tense of 'parler'
- ne
- Negation particle used with 'pas' or alone
- vit
- Saw or lived; past historic of 'voir' or 'vivre'
- réellement
- Really, truly, or in a real sense
- jour
- Day or daylight; also 'see the light'
- qu'
- Contracted form of 'que' before a vowel
- au
- Contracted article meaning 'at the' or 'to the'
- mois
- Month; a unit of calendar time
- août
- August, the eighth month of the year
- fut
- Was; past historic third person singular of 'être'
- idée
- Idea, thought, or concept
- Éternel
- Eternal, everlasting, without beginning or end
- Retour
- Return; coming back to a previous state
- choses
- Things, objects, or matters in general
- décida
- Decided; past historic of 'décider'
- finalement
- Finally, ultimately, or in the end
- mon
- My; first person singular possessive adjective
- frère
- Brother, male sibling
- exposer
- To expose, present, or set out ideas
- ses
- His, her, its; plural possessive adjective
- nouvelles
- New (feminine plural); also short stories
- conceptions
- Conceptions, ideas, or ways of understanding things
- langage
- Language, speech, or manner of expression
- poétique
- Poetic, relating to or characteristic of poetry
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