Walden, and On The Duty Of Civil Disobedience — Page 5
The portionless, who struggle with no such unnecessary inherited encumbrances, find it labor enough to subdue and cultivate a few cubic feet of flesh.
Ceux qui n'ont point de patrimoine, et qui ne luttent contre aucun de ces inutiles fardeaux héréditaires, trouvent déjà suffisamment de peine à soumettre et à cultiver quelques pieds cubes de chair.
But men labor under a mistake.
Mais les hommes travaillent dans l'erreur.
The better part of the man is soon plowed into the soil for compost.
La meilleure part de l'homme est bientôt enfouie dans la terre en guise de compost.
By a seeming fate, commonly called necessity, they are employed, as it says in an old book, laying up treasures which moth and rust will corrupt and thieves break through and steal.
Par un destin apparent, communément appelé nécessité, ils s'occupent, comme il est dit dans un vieux livre, à amasser des trésors que la teigne et la rouille corrompront et que les voleurs perceront les murs pour dérober.
It is a fool's life, as they will find when they get to the end of it, if not before.
C'est la vie d'un sot, comme ils le découvriront lorsqu'ils en atteindront le terme, sinon avant.
It is said that Deucalion and Pyrrha created men by throwing stones over their heads behind them:—
On dit que Deucalion et Pyrrha créèrent les hommes en lançant des pierres par-dessus leur tête derrière eux :—
Inde genus durum sumus, experiensque laborum, Et documenta damus quâ simus origine nati.
Inde genus durum sumus, experiensque laborum, Et documenta damus quâ simus origine nati.
Or, as Raleigh rhymes it in his sonorous way,—
Ou, comme Raleigh le met en vers à sa manière sonore,—
"From thence our kind hard-hearted is, enduring pain and care, Approving that our bodies of a stony nature are."
« De là vient que notre espèce est endurcie, supportant peine et souci, prouvant ainsi que nos corps sont de nature pierreuse. »
So much for a blind obedience to a blundering oracle, throwing the stones over their heads behind them, and not seeing where they fell.
Voilà ce que vaut une obéissance aveugle à un oracle maladroit, lançant les pierres par-dessus leur tête derrière eux, sans voir où elles tombaient.
Most men, even in this comparatively free country, through mere ignorance and mistake, are so occupied with the factitious cares and superfluously coarse labors of life that its finer fruits cannot be plucked by them.
La plupart des hommes, même dans ce pays relativement libre, par simple ignorance et erreur, sont tellement absorbés par les soucis factices et les travaux grossièrement superflus de la vie que ses fruits les plus délicats ne peuvent être cueillis par eux.
Their fingers, from excessive toil, are too clumsy and tremble too much for that.
Leurs doigts, engourdis par un labeur excessif, sont trop malhabiles et tremblent trop pour cela.
Vocabulary
- Ceux
- Those (people), referring to a previously mentioned group
- qui
- Who, which; relative or interrogative pronoun
- n'
- Contracted form of 'ne'; negation particle
- ont
- Third person plural of 'avoir'; they have
- point
- Not at all; literary negation equivalent to 'pas'
- de
- Of, from; common preposition indicating possession or origin
- patrimoine
- Heritage, estate, or inherited wealth passed down through generations
- et
- And; basic coordinating conjunction
- ne
- Negation particle used with 'pas', 'point', etc.
- luttent
- They struggle or fight against something
- contre
- Against; preposition indicating opposition
- aucun
- No, none, not any; negative adjective or pronoun
- ces
- These, those; demonstrative adjective for plural nouns
- inutiles
- Useless, pointless; serving no practical purpose
- fardeaux
- Burdens, loads; heavy weights physical or figurative
- héréditaires
- Hereditary; passed down through inheritance or genetics
- trouvent
- They find; third person plural of 'trouver'
- déjà
- Already; indicating something has occurred before now
- suffisamment
- Sufficiently, enough; to an adequate degree
- peine
- Difficulty, trouble, pain; effort or hardship
- à
- To, at, in; very common French preposition
- soumettre
- To submit, subdue, or bring under control
- cultiver
- To cultivate, grow, or tend to crops or land
- quelques
- A few, some; indicating a small indefinite quantity
- pieds
- Feet; unit of measurement or body part
- cubes
- Cubic; three-dimensional unit of volume
- chair
- Flesh; the soft tissue of a living body
- Mais
- But; coordinating conjunction indicating contrast
- les
- The; definite article for plural nouns
- hommes
- Men, humans; plural of 'homme'
- travaillent
- They work; third person plural of 'travailler'
- dans
- In, inside; preposition indicating location or state
- l'
- The; elided definite article before vowel or h
- erreur
- Error, mistake; an incorrect belief or action
- La
- The; definite article for feminine singular nouns
- meilleure
- Best; feminine superlative form of 'bon'
- part
- Part, share, portion of something larger
- homme
- Man, human being; adult male person
- est
- Is; third person singular of 'être'
- bientôt
- Soon; in a short period of time
- enfouie
- Buried, hidden underground; past participle of 'enfouir'
- la
- The; definite article for feminine singular nouns
- terre
- Earth, ground, soil; the land beneath us
- en
- In, as, by; versatile preposition or pronoun
- guise
- Guise, manner, way; in the manner of something
- Par
- By, through, per; preposition indicating means or agent
- un
- A, one; indefinite article or number
- destin
- Destiny, fate; predetermined course of events
- apparent
- Apparent, seeming; visible or seeming to be true
- communément
- Commonly, generally; in a widespread or usual manner
- appelé
- Called, named; past participle of 'appeler'
- nécessité
- Necessity; something indispensable or urgently required
- ils
- They; third person masculine plural pronoun
- s'
- Reflexive pronoun; elided form of 'se'
- occupent
- They occupy themselves, they are busy with something
- comme
- As, like; conjunction or preposition of comparison
- il
- He, it; third person masculine singular pronoun
- dit
- Says, said; third person singular of 'dire'
- vieux
- Old, aged; adjective describing something ancient
- livre
- Book; bound collection of written pages
- amasser
- To amass, accumulate; to gather large quantities of something
- des
- Some, of the; partitive or plural article
- trésors
- Treasures; precious objects or accumulated wealth
- que
- That, which, what; relative or subordinating conjunction
- teigne
- Moth; insect that destroys fabric and stored goods
- rouille
- Rust; reddish corrosion formed on iron or steel
- corrompront
- Will corrupt, will spoil; future tense of 'corrompre'
- voleurs
- Thieves, robbers; people who steal from others
- perceront
- Will pierce, break through; future tense of 'percer'
- murs
- Walls; solid vertical structures enclosing a space
- pour
- For, in order to; preposition indicating purpose
- dérober
- To steal, rob; to take something illicitly
- C'
- It is, this is; elided demonstrative pronoun 'ce'
- vie
- Life; the state of being alive
- d'
- Of, from; elided preposition before vowel or h
- sot
- Fool, foolish; someone lacking good sense
- le
- The; definite article for masculine singular nouns
- découvriront
- Will discover; future tense of 'découvrir'
- lorsqu'
- When; conjunction used before a vowel sound
- atteindront
- Will reach, attain; future tense of 'atteindre'
- terme
- Term, end, limit; conclusion or boundary of something
- sinon
- Otherwise, if not; conjunction indicating alternative condition
- avant
- Before; indicating prior time or position
- On
- One, we, they, people; indefinite subject pronoun
- créèrent
- They created; simple past of 'créer'
- lançant
- Throwing, hurling; present participle of 'lancer'
- pierres
- Stones, rocks; hard natural mineral objects
- par
- By, through; preposition of means or direction
- dessus
- Over, above; indicating a position higher than something
- leur
- Their; possessive adjective for third person plural
- tête
- Head; the uppermost part of the human body
- derrière
- Behind, in back of; preposition indicating rear position
- eux
- Them; stressed third person masculine plural pronoun
- Ou
- Or; disjunctive conjunction presenting an alternative
- met
- Puts, places; third person singular of 'mettre'
- vers
- Verse; lines of poetry or toward as preposition
- sa
- His, her, its; possessive adjective for singular noun
- manière
- Manner, way, style; how something is done
- sonore
- Sonorous, resonant; having a rich, full sound
- De
- From, of; preposition indicating origin or belonging
- là
- There; adverb indicating a place or point
- vient
- Comes; third person singular of 'venir'
- notre
- Our; first person plural possessive adjective
- espèce
- Species, kind; a group sharing common characteristics
- endurcie
- Hardened, toughened; made resistant through experience or suffering
- supportant
- Enduring, bearing; tolerating hardship or difficulty
- souci
- Worry, care, concern; a source of anxiety
- prouvant
- Proving; demonstrating the truth of something
- ainsi
- Thus, so, in this way; consequence or summary
- nos
- Our; first person plural possessive adjective for plural nouns
- corps
- Body; the physical structure of a living being
- sont
- Are; third person plural of 'être'
- nature
- Nature; the inherent character or quality of something
- pierreuse
- Stony, rocky; resembling or composed of stone
- Voilà
- There it is, that is; used to present something
- ce
- This, that, it; demonstrative pronoun or adjective
- vaut
- Is worth; third person singular of 'valoir'
- une
- A, one; indefinite article for feminine singular nouns
- obéissance
- Obedience; compliance with authority or rules
- aveugle
- Blind; unable to see, or acting without insight
- maladroit
- Clumsy, awkward; lacking skill or dexterity
- sans
- Without; preposition indicating absence or lack
- voir
- To see; to perceive with the eyes
- où
- Where; relative or interrogative adverb of place
- elles
- They; third person feminine plural pronoun
- tombaient
- Were falling; imperfect tense of 'tomber'
- plupart
- Most, the majority; the greater part of something
- même
- Same, even; indicating similarity or emphasis
- pays
- Country, land; a nation or geographic region
- relativement
- Relatively, comparatively; in relation to something else
- libre
- Free; not restricted or under control
- simple
- Simple, plain; not complex or complicated
- ignorance
- Ignorance; lack of knowledge or awareness
- tellement
- So much, so; to such a great degree
- absorbés
- Absorbed, engrossed; fully occupied or consumed by something
- soucis
- Worries, concerns; plural of 'souci'
- factices
- Artificial, fake; not genuine or natural
- travaux
- Works, tasks, labor; plural of 'travail'
- grossièrement
- Coarsely, crudely; in a rough or unrefined manner
- superflus
- Superfluous, excessive; more than what is needed
- ses
- His, her, its; possessive adjective for plural nouns
- fruits
- Fruits; the results or produce of something
- plus
- More; indicating a greater degree or quantity
- délicats
- Delicate, subtle; requiring care or fine perception
- peuvent
- Can, are able to; third person plural of 'pouvoir'
- être
- To be; fundamental infinitive verb of existence
- cueillis
- Gathered, picked; past participle of 'cueillir'
- Leurs
- Their; possessive adjective for third person plural
- doigts
- Fingers; the digits of the human hand
- engourdis
- Numb, stiff; having lost sensation or mobility
- labeur
- Labor, toil; hard and exhausting physical work
- excessif
- Excessive; going beyond what is normal or necessary
- trop
- Too, too much; exceeding the proper amount
- malhabiles
- Clumsy, unskillful; lacking dexterity or competence
- tremblent
- They tremble, shake; third person plural of 'trembler'
- cela
- That, this; demonstrative pronoun for something distant
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