Walden, and On The Duty Of Civil Disobedience — Page 10
Age is no better, hardly so well, qualified for an instructor as youth, for it has not profited so much as it has lost.
La vieillesse n'est pas mieux qualifiée, à peine aussi bien qualifiée, pour être instructeur que la jeunesse, car elle n'a pas autant profité qu'elle a perdu.
One may almost doubt if the wisest man has learned any thing of absolute value by living.
On peut presque douter que l'homme le plus sage ait appris quoi que ce soit d'une valeur absolue en vivant.
Practically, the old have no very important advice to give the young, their own experience has been so partial, and their lives have been such miserable failures, for private reasons, as they must believe; and it may be that they have some faith left which belies that experience, and they are only less young than they were.
En pratique, les vieux n'ont pas de conseils très importants à donner aux jeunes, leur propre expérience ayant été si partielle, et leurs vies ayant été de si misérables échecs, pour des raisons personnelles, à ce qu'ils doivent croire ; et il se peut qu'il leur reste quelque foi qui dément cette expérience, et qu'ils ne soient simplement pas aussi jeunes qu'ils l'étaient.
I have lived some thirty years on this planet, and I have yet to hear the first syllable of valuable or even earnest advice from my seniors.
J'ai vécu une trentaine d'années sur cette planète, et je n'ai pas encore entendu la première syllabe d'un conseil utile ou même sincère de la part de mes aînés.
They have told me nothing, and probably cannot tell me any thing to the purpose.
Ils ne m'ont rien dit, et ne peuvent probablement rien me dire d'utile.
Here is life, an experiment to a great extent untried by me; but it does not avail me that they have tried it.
Voici la vie, une expérience que je n'ai pour ainsi dire pas encore tentée ; mais le fait qu'ils l'aient tentée ne me sert à rien.
If I have any experience which I think valuable, I am sure to reflect that this my Mentors said nothing about.
Si j'ai quelque expérience que j'estime précieuse, je suis sûr de constater que mes Mentors n'en ont rien dit.
One farmer says to me, "You cannot live on vegetable food solely, for it furnishes nothing to make bones with;" and so he religiously devotes a part of his day to supplying his system with the raw material of bones; walking all the while he talks behind his oxen, which, with vegetable-made bones, jerk him and his lumbering plough along in spite of every obstacle.
Un fermier me dit : « On ne peut pas vivre uniquement de nourriture végétale, car elle ne fournit rien pour faire des os ; » et ainsi il consacre religieusement une partie de sa journée à approvisionner son organisme en matière première pour les os ; marchant tout le temps qu'il parle derrière ses bœufs, lesquels, avec leurs os faits de végétaux, le tirent lui et sa lourde charrue en dépit de tout obstacle.
Vocabulary
- vieillesse
- Old age, the later stage of life
- mieux
- Better, comparative of 'bien'
- qualifiée
- Qualified, having the necessary skills or credentials
- peine
- Barely, scarcely; also means sorrow or difficulty
- instructeur
- Instructor, a person who teaches or trains others
- jeunesse
- Youth, the period of being young
- car
- Conjunction meaning 'because' or 'for'
- autant
- As much, as many, equally as
- profité
- Benefited, gained advantage from something
- perdu
- Lost, past participle of 'perdre'
- presque
- Almost, nearly, not quite
- douter
- To doubt, to be uncertain about something
- sage
- Wise, prudent; a person of great wisdom
- appris
- Learned, past participle of 'apprendre'
- soit
- Subjunctive of 'être'; also means 'either/or'
- valeur
- Value, worth, importance of something
- absolue
- Absolute, unconditional, total
- vivant
- Living, while alive; present participle of 'vivre'
- pratique
- Practice, practical application of knowledge
- vieux
- Old people, the elderly; plural of 'vieux'
- conseils
- Advice, tips, recommendations given to someone
- jeunes
- Young people, youth
- propre
- Own, personal; also means clean
- expérience
- Experience, knowledge gained through living
- ayant
- Having; present participle of 'avoir'
- partielle
- Partial, incomplete, not whole
- misérables
- Miserable, wretched, deeply unhappy or poor
- échecs
- Failures, defeats; also means chess
- raisons
- Reasons, justifications, explanations
- personnelles
- Personal, private, relating to an individual
- croire
- To believe, to think something is true
- reste
- Remains, stays; also means remainder or rest
- quelque
- Some, a little, a certain amount of
- foi
- Faith, belief, trust in something or someone
- dément
- Refutes, contradicts; also means demented or crazy
- simplement
- Simply, just, in a simple manner
- vécu
- Lived, past participle of 'vivre'
- trentaine
- About thirty, approximately thirty years
- planète
- Planet, a celestial body orbiting a star
- encore
- Still, yet, again, even more
- entendu
- Heard, past participle of 'entendre'
- syllabe
- Syllable, a unit of pronunciation in speech
- conseil
- Advice, guidance given to help someone
- utile
- Useful, helpful, serving a practical purpose
- même
- Even, same, very; emphatic adverb or adjective
- sincère
- Sincere, genuine, honest in feelings or words
- part
- Part, share; also means 'from' in some expressions
- aînés
- Elders, older people, those older than oneself
- rien
- Nothing, not anything
- probablement
- Probably, most likely, in all likelihood
- Voici
- Here is, here are; used to present something
- ainsi
- Thus, so, in this way
- tentée
- Tempted, having been attracted to do something
- sert
- Serves, is useful for; third singular of 'servir'
- estime
- Esteem, respect; also means to estimate or value
- précieuse
- Precious, valuable, highly prized
- sûr
- Sure, certain, confident about something
- constater
- To observe, to note, to establish a fact
- Mentors
- Mentors, experienced guides who advise others
- fermier
- Farmer, a person who works agricultural land
- vivre
- To live, to be alive, to exist
- uniquement
- Only, solely, exclusively
- nourriture
- Food, nourishment, sustenance for the body
- végétale
- Plant-based, relating to vegetables or plants
- fournit
- Provides, supplies; third singular of 'fournir'
- os
- Bones; plural of 'os'
- consacre
- Dedicates, devotes time or effort to something
- religieusement
- Religiously, faithfully, with great dedication
- partie
- Part, portion, section of a whole
- journée
- Day, the whole course of a day
- approvisionner
- To supply, to stock up with provisions
- organisme
- Organism, body, living biological entity
- matière
- Matter, material, subject or substance
- marchant
- Walking, marching; present participle of 'marcher'
- derrière
- Behind, at the back of something
- bœufs
- Oxen, plural of 'bœuf'; large working cattle
- lesquels
- Which, whom; plural masculine relative pronoun
- végétaux
- Plants, vegetation; plural of 'végétal'
- tirent
- Pull, draw; third plural of 'tirer'
- lourde
- Heavy, weighty, difficult to lift or bear
- charrue
- Plow, a farm tool for turning soil
- dépit
- Spite, vexation; 'en dépit de' means despite
- obstacle
- Obstacle, something blocking progress or movement
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