Walden, and On The Duty Of Civil Disobedience — Page 2
Others have been curious to learn what portion of my income I devoted to charitable purposes; and some, who have large families, how many poor children I maintained.
D'autres ont été curieux d'apprendre quelle partie de mes revenus je consacrais à des œuvres charitables ; et certains, qui ont de grandes familles, combien d'enfants pauvres j'entretenais.
I will therefore ask those of my readers who feel no particular interest in me to pardon me if I undertake to answer some of these questions in this book.
Je demanderai donc à ceux de mes lecteurs qui n'éprouvent aucun intérêt particulier pour moi de me pardonner si j'entreprends de répondre à quelques-unes de ces questions dans ce livre.
In most books, the _I_, or first person, is omitted; in this it will be retained; that, in respect to egotism, is the main difference.
Dans la plupart des livres, le _je_, ou première personne, est omis ; dans celui-ci, il sera conservé ; c'est là, en ce qui concerne l'égoïsme, la principale différence.
We commonly do not remember that it is, after all, always the first person that is speaking.
Nous oublions généralement que c'est, après tout, toujours la première personne qui parle.
I should not talk so much about myself if there were anybody else whom I knew as well.
Je ne parlerais pas autant de moi-même s'il y avait quelqu'un d'autre que je connaisse aussi bien.
Unfortunately, I am confined to this theme by the narrowness of my experience.
Malheureusement, je suis limité à ce sujet par l'étroitesse de mon expérience.
Moreover, I, on my side, require of every writer, first or last, a simple and sincere account of his own life, and not merely what he has heard of other men's lives; some such account as he would send to his kindred from a distant land; for if he has lived sincerely, it must have been in a distant land to me.
De plus, j'exige pour ma part de tout écrivain, tôt ou tard, un récit simple et sincère de sa propre vie, et non pas seulement ce qu'il a entendu dire de la vie des autres ; un récit tel qu'il l'enverrait à ses proches depuis une terre lointaine ; car s'il a vécu sincèrement, ce doit avoir été dans une terre lointaine pour moi.
Perhaps these pages are more particularly addressed to poor students.
Ces pages s'adressent peut-être plus particulièrement aux étudiants pauvres.
As for the rest of my readers, they will accept such portions as apply to them.
Quant au reste de mes lecteurs, ils accepteront les passages qui les concernent.
I trust that none will stretch the seams in putting on the coat, for it may do good service to him whom it fits.
J'espère que personne ne forcera les coutures en endossant le manteau, car il pourra rendre de bons services à celui à qui il va.
Vocabulary
- autres
- Other people or things; the rest
- ont
- Third person plural of 'avoir'; they have
- été
- Past participle of 'être'; been
- curieux
- Curious, eager to know something
- apprendre
- To learn or to teach something
- quelle
- Feminine form of 'which' or 'what'
- partie
- A part or portion of a whole
- mes
- Possessive adjective meaning 'my' (plural)
- revenus
- Income or revenue earned regularly
- consacrais
- Imperfect of 'consacrer'; was devoting or dedicating
- œuvres
- Works, deeds, or charitable organizations
- charitables
- Charitable; relating to charity and giving
- certains
- Some; certain people or things
- grandes
- Feminine plural of 'grand'; large or great
- familles
- Families; groups of related people
- combien
- How many or how much of something
- enfants
- Children; young boys or girls
- pauvres
- Poor people; those lacking financial resources
- entretenais
- Imperfect of 'entretenir'; was supporting or maintaining
- demanderai
- Future of 'demander'; will ask or request
- donc
- Therefore, so, or consequently
- ceux
- Demonstrative pronoun meaning 'those' (masculine)
- lecteurs
- Readers; people who read a text
- éprouvent
- Third plural of 'éprouver'; feel or experience something
- aucun
- No, none, or not any at all
- intérêt
- Interest; attention or concern for something
- particulier
- Particular, specific, or special in nature
- pardonner
- To forgive or excuse someone's actions
- entreprends
- First singular of 'entreprendre'; undertake or attempt something
- répondre
- To answer or respond to a question
- quelques
- A few; a small number of things
- unes
- Feminine plural of 'un'; some, a few
- ces
- Demonstrative adjective meaning 'these' or 'those'
- questions
- Questions; inquiries seeking information or answers
- livre
- Book; a written or printed publication
- plupart
- Most; the majority of people or things
- livres
- Books; plural of 'livre'
- première
- Feminine form of 'first'; primary or initial
- personne
- Person; an individual human being
- omis
- Past participle of 'omettre'; omitted or left out
- celui
- Demonstrative pronoun meaning 'the one' (masculine)
- sera
- Future of 'être'; will be
- conservé
- Past participle of 'conserver'; kept or preserved
- là
- Adverb meaning 'there' or 'here'
- concerne
- Third singular of 'concerner'; concerns or relates to
- égoïsme
- Egotism or selfishness; excessive focus on oneself
- principale
- Feminine of 'principal'; main or chief difference
- différence
- Difference; a distinction between two things
- oublions
- First plural of 'oublier'; we forget or overlook
- généralement
- Generally; in most cases or usually
- après
- Preposition meaning 'after' in time or order
- tout
- All, everything, or entirely; used broadly
- toujours
- Always or still; continuously happening
- parle
- Third singular of 'parler'; speaks or talks
- parlerais
- Conditional of 'parler'; would speak or talk
- autant
- As much or as many; to the same degree
- même
- Even; same; used for emphasis or similarity
- y
- Pronoun meaning 'there' or 'it' (indirect)
- avait
- Imperfect of 'avoir'; there was or had
- quelqu'
- Contraction of 'quelque'; someone or some
- autre
- Another; a different person or thing
- connaisse
- Subjunctive of 'connaître'; knows or be acquainted with
- aussi
- Also, too, or as well as something
- bien
- Well; in a good or satisfactory manner
- Malheureusement
- Unfortunately; regrettably, in an unlucky way
- limité
- Past participle of 'limiter'; limited or restricted
- sujet
- Subject or topic under discussion
- étroitesse
- Narrowness; limited scope of experience or thought
- expérience
- Experience; knowledge or skill gained over time
- plus
- More; additionally or furthermore in a sentence
- exige
- Third singular of 'exiger'; requires or demands something
- part
- Part or share; one's role or contribution
- écrivain
- Writer or author of literary works
- tôt
- Early; sooner than expected in time
- tard
- Late; after the expected or usual time
- récit
- Narrative or account of events; a story
- simple
- Simple; easy to understand or uncomplicated
- sincère
- Sincere; genuine and honest in expression
- propre
- Own; belonging specifically to oneself
- vie
- Life; one's existence or way of living
- seulement
- Only or merely; nothing more than this
- entendu
- Past participle of 'entendre'; heard or listened to
- dire
- To say or tell; to express in words
- tel
- Such; of that kind or nature
- enverrait
- Conditional of 'envoyer'; would send something to someone
- proches
- Close relatives or loved ones; those nearby
- depuis
- Since or for; indicating duration or starting point
- terre
- Land, earth, or ground; a distant place
- lointaine
- Feminine of 'lointain'; distant or far away
- car
- Conjunction meaning 'because' or 'for'
- vécu
- Past participle of 'vivre'; lived or experienced life
- sincèrement
- Sincerely; in an honest and genuine manner
- doit
- Third singular of 'devoir'; must or should
- avoir
- To have; auxiliary verb used in compound tenses
- Ces
- Demonstrative adjective meaning 'these' or 'those'
- pages
- Pages; individual sheets of a book or text
- adressent
- Third plural of 'adresser'; address or direct toward
- peut
- Third singular of 'pouvoir'; can or may
- être
- To be; fundamental verb indicating existence or state
- particulièrement
- Particularly; especially or in a specific manner
- étudiants
- Students; those enrolled in educational institutions
- Quant
- As for; regarding a specific person or thing
- reste
- The rest; what remains or others not mentioned
- accepteront
- Future of 'accepter'; will accept or agree to
- passages
- Passages; sections or excerpts from a text
- concernent
- Third plural of 'concerner'; concern or relate to
- espère
- First singular of 'espérer'; hope or expect something
- forcera
- Future of 'forcer'; will force or compel
- coutures
- Seams; stitched joins in clothing or fabric
- endossant
- Present participle of 'endosser'; putting on or donning
- manteau
- Coat or cloak; an outer garment worn outdoors
- pourra
- Future of 'pouvoir'; will be able to
- rendre
- To render, give back, or make something happen
- bons
- Masculine plural of 'bon'; good or useful
- services
- Services; helpful actions or useful contributions
- va
- Third singular of 'aller'; goes or is going
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