Walden, and On The Duty Of Civil Disobedience — Page 3
I would fain say something, not so much concerning the Chinese and Sandwich Islanders as you who read these pages, who are said to live in New England; something about your condition, especially your outward condition or circumstances in this world, in this town, what it is, whether it is necessary that it be as bad as it is, whether it cannot be improved as well as not.
Je voudrais dire quelque chose, non pas tant au sujet des Chinois et des habitants des îles Sandwich qu'à vous qui lisez ces pages, vous dont on dit que vous vivez en Nouvelle-Angleterre ; quelque chose sur votre condition, en particulier votre condition extérieure ou vos circonstances dans ce monde, dans cette ville, ce qu'elle est, s'il est nécessaire qu'elle soit aussi mauvaise qu'elle l'est, si elle ne peut pas être améliorée ou non.
I have travelled a good deal in Concord; and everywhere, in shops, and offices, and fields, the inhabitants have appeared to me to be doing penance in a thousand remarkable ways.
J'ai beaucoup voyagé à Concord ; et partout, dans les boutiques, les bureaux et les champs, les habitants m'ont semblé faire pénitence de mille façons remarquables.
What I have heard of Brahmins sitting exposed to four fires and looking in the face of the sun; or hanging suspended, with their heads downward, over flames; or looking at the heavens over their shoulders "until it becomes impossible for them to resume their natural position, while from the twist of the neck nothing but liquids can pass into the stomach;" or dwelling, chained for life, at the foot of a tree; or measuring with their bodies, like caterpillars, the breadth of vast empires; or standing on one leg on the tops of pillars,—even these forms of conscious penance are hardly more incredible and astonishing than the scenes which I daily witness.
Ce que j'ai entendu dire des brahmanes assis exposés à quatre feux et regardant le soleil en face ; ou suspendus, la tête en bas, au-dessus des flammes ; ou regardant le ciel par-dessus leurs épaules « jusqu'à ce qu'il leur devienne impossible de reprendre leur position naturelle, tandis que, du fait de la torsion du cou, rien d'autre que des liquides ne peut passer dans l'estomac » ; ou vivant, enchaînés à vie, au pied d'un arbre ; ou mesurant de leur corps, comme des chenilles, la largeur de vastes empires ; ou se tenant sur une jambe au sommet de piliers, — même ces formes de pénitence consciente ne sont guère plus incroyables et stupéfiantes que les scènes dont je suis quotidiennement témoin.
Vocabulary
- Je
- zhuh — First person singular subject pronoun: I
- voudrais
- voo-dreh — Would like; conditional form of vouloir
- dire
- deer — To say or to tell something
- quelque
- kel-kuh — Some; a certain amount or number
- chose
- shohz — Thing; an object or matter
- non
- nohn — No; negation or refusal
- pas
- pah — Not; used in negation with ne
- tant
- tahn — So much; to such a degree
- au
- oh — To the; contraction of à le
- sujet
- sü-zheh — Subject; topic or matter being discussed
- des
- deh — Of the; plural indefinite article or preposition
- Chinois
- shee-nwah — Chinese; people or things from China
- et
- eh — And; coordinating conjunction linking elements
- habitants
- ah-bee-tahn — Inhabitants; people who live in a place
- îles
- eel — Islands; land masses surrounded by water
- qu'
- kuh — That or than; conjunction before vowel sound
- à
- ah — To, at, or in; common preposition of place
- vous
- voo — You; second person plural or formal pronoun
- qui
- kee — Who or which; relative or interrogative pronoun
- lisez
- lee-zeh — You read; second person plural of lire
- ces
- seh — These or those; plural demonstrative adjective
- pages
- pahzh — Pages; sheets of a book or document
- dont
- dohn — Of which or whose; relative pronoun
- on
- ohn — One or people; impersonal subject pronoun
- dit
- dee — Says or said; third person singular of dire
- que
- kuh — That; subordinating conjunction or relative pronoun
- vivez
- vee-veh — You live; second person plural of vivre
- en
- ahn — In or by; preposition indicating location or manner
- sur
- sür — On or about; preposition of surface or topic
- votre
- voh-truh — Your; second person plural possessive adjective
- condition
- kohn-dee-syohn — Condition; state or circumstances of someone
- particulier
- par-tee-kü-lyeh — Particular; specific or individual in nature
- extérieure
- eks-teh-ryuhr — External or outer; relating to outside appearance
- ou
- oo — Or; coordinating conjunction presenting alternatives
- vos
- voh — Your; plural possessive adjective for multiple items
- circonstances
- seer-kohn-stahns — Circumstances; conditions surrounding a situation
- dans
- dahn — In or inside; preposition of location or time
- ce
- suh — This or that; demonstrative adjective or pronoun
- monde
- mohnd — World; the earth or all of society
- cette
- set — This; feminine singular demonstrative adjective
- ville
- veel — City or town; an urban settlement
- elle
- el — She or it; third person feminine pronoun
- est
- eh — Is; third person singular of être (to be)
- s'
- s — Reflexive pronoun before vowel; oneself
- il
- eel — He or it; third person masculine pronoun
- nécessaire
- neh-seh-sehr — Necessary; required or indispensable for a purpose
- soit
- swah — May be; subjunctive of être expressing possibility
- aussi
- oh-see — Also or as; expressing addition or comparison
- mauvaise
- moh-vez — Bad; feminine adjective meaning of poor quality
- l'
- l — The; definite article before vowel or h
- si
- see — If or so; conditional conjunction or intensifier
- ne
- nuh — Not; first part of French negation ne…pas
- peut
- puh — Can; third person singular of pouvoir
- être
- eh-truh — To be; fundamental linking or auxiliary verb
- améliorée
- ah-meh-lyoh-reh — Improved; made better, feminine past participle
- J'
- zhuh — I; first person pronoun before vowel sound
- ai
- eh — Have; first person singular of avoir
- beaucoup
- boh-koo — A lot; indicating a large quantity or degree
- voyagé
- vwah-yah-zheh — Traveled; past participle of voyager
- partout
- par-too — Everywhere; in all places or directions
- les
- leh — The; definite article for plural nouns
- boutiques
- boo-teek — Shops; small retail stores selling goods
- bureaux
- bü-roh — Offices; workplaces or administrative spaces
- champs
- shahn — Fields; open areas of agricultural land
- m'
- m — Me; first person object pronoun before vowel
- ont
- ohn — Have; third person plural of avoir
- semblé
- sahm-bleh — Seemed; past participle of sembler, to appear
- faire
- fehr — To do or make; highly versatile French verb
- pénitence
- peh-nee-tahns — Penance; punishment or atonement for wrongdoing
- de
- duh — Of or from; very common French preposition
- mille
- meel — Thousand; the number one thousand
- façons
- fah-sohn — Ways or manners; methods of doing something
- remarquables
- ruh-mar-kahbl — Remarkable; worthy of attention or admiration
- Ce
- suh — This or that; demonstrative pronoun or adjective
- j'
- zhuh — I; first person pronoun before vowel sound
- entendu
- ahn-tahn-dü — Heard; past participle of entendre, to hear
- assis
- ah-see — Seated or sitting; past participle of asseoir
- exposés
- eks-poh-zeh — Exposed; subjected to external elements or conditions
- quatre
- kah-truh — Four; the number four
- feux
- fuh — Fires; plural of feu, burning flames
- regardant
- ruh-gar-dahn — Looking at or watching; present participle of regarder
- le
- luh — The; masculine singular definite article
- soleil
- soh-ley — Sun; the star at the center of our system
- face
- fahs — Face or front; facing toward something directly
- suspendus
- süs-pahn-dü — Suspended or hung; hanging from above
- la
- lah — The; feminine singular definite article
- tête
- tet — Head; the uppermost part of the body
- bas
- bah — Low or down; opposite of high
- au-dessus
- oh-duh-sü — Above or over; higher than something else
- flammes
- flahm — Flames; tongues of burning fire
- ciel
- syel — Sky or heaven; the space above the earth
- par-dessus
- par-duh-sü — Over or above; passing beyond something
- leurs
- luhr — Their; third person plural possessive adjective
- épaules
- eh-pohl — Shoulders; joints connecting arms to the torso
- jusqu'
- zhüs-kuh — Until or up to; preposition of limit or time
- leur
- luhr — Their or to them; possessive or indirect pronoun
- devienne
- duh-vyen — Becomes; subjunctive of devenir, to become
- impossible
- im-poh-seebl — Impossible; not able to be done or achieved
- reprendre
- ruh-prahn-druh — To resume or retake; take back a position
- position
- poh-zee-syohn — Position; place or posture of a body
- naturelle
- nah-tü-rel — Natural; existing in or produced by nature
- tandis
- tahn-dee — While or whereas; used in tandis que
- du
- dü — Of the; masculine singular contraction de le
- fait
- feh — Fact or act; result of an action
- torsion
- tor-syohn — Torsion; twisting of a body part or object
- cou
- koo — Neck; part of body connecting head to torso
- rien
- ryen — Nothing; not anything at all
- d'
- d — Of or from; preposition before vowel sound
- autre
- oh-truh — Other or another; different from the current one
- liquides
- lee-keed — Liquids; fluids that flow freely
- passer
- pah-seh — To pass or go through; move from one place
- estomac
- es-toh-mah — Stomach; digestive organ in the abdomen
- vivant
- vee-vahn — Living; present participle of vivre, to live
- enchaînés
- ahn-sheh-neh — Chained; bound or restrained with chains
- vie
- vee — Life; the state of being alive
- pied
- pyeh — Foot; lower extremity of the leg
- un
- uhn — A or an; masculine indefinite article, also one
- arbre
- ar-bruh — Tree; a large woody perennial plant
- mesurant
- muh-zü-rahn — Measuring; present participle of mesurer
- corps
- kor — Body; the physical structure of a person
- comme
- kohm — Like or as; expressing similarity or comparison
- chenilles
- shuh-neey — Caterpillars; larval stage of butterflies or moths
- largeur
- lar-zhuhr — Width; the measurement from side to side
- vastes
- vahst — Vast; very large in extent or size
- empires
- ahm-peer — Empires; large territories under single authority
- se
- suh — Himself, herself, itself; reflexive pronoun
- tenant
- tuh-nahn — Holding; present participle of tenir, to hold
- une
- ün — A or an; feminine indefinite article, also one
- jambe
- zhahmb — Leg; limb used for standing and walking
- sommet
- soh-meh — Summit or top; the highest point of something
- piliers
- pee-lyeh — Pillars; vertical columns supporting a structure
- même
- mem — Same or even; expressing identity or emphasis
- formes
- form — Forms or shapes; external appearances of things
- consciente
- kohn-syahnt — Conscious; aware or deliberate in one's actions
- sont
- sohn — Are; third person plural of être, to be
- guère
- ghehr — Hardly or scarcely; barely, used with negation
- plus
- plü — More or no longer; comparative or negation
- incroyables
- in-krwah-yahbl — Incredible; too extraordinary to be easily believed
- stupéfiantes
- stü-peh-fyahnt — Astounding; causing amazement or shock
- scènes
- sen — Scenes; sights or situations witnessed by someone
- je
- zhuh — I; first person singular subject pronoun
- suis
- swee — Am; first person singular of être, to be
- quotidiennement
- koh-tee-dyen-mahn — Daily; happening or done every day
- témoin
- teh-mwahn — Witness; one who sees or observes an event
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