Walden, and On The Duty Of Civil Disobedience — Page 14
It would be some advantage to live a primitive and frontier life, though in the midst of an outward civilization, if only to learn what are the gross necessaries of life and what methods have been taken to obtain them; or even to look over the old day-books of the merchants, to see what it was that men most commonly bought at the stores, what they stored, that is, what are the grossest groceries.
Il y aurait quelque avantage à vivre une vie primitive et pionnière, même au sein d'une civilisation extérieure, ne serait-ce que pour apprendre quelles sont les grossières nécessités de la vie et quelles méthodes ont été employées pour les obtenir ; ou même pour parcourir les vieux livres de comptes des marchands, afin de voir ce que les hommes achetaient le plus communément dans les boutiques, ce qu'ils y entreposaient, c'est-à-dire quelles sont les plus grossières denrées.
For the improvements of ages have had but little influence on the essential laws of man's existence; as our skeletons, probably, are not to be distinguished from those of our ancestors.
Car les progrès des âges n'ont eu que peu d'influence sur les lois essentielles de l'existence humaine ; de même que nos squelettes, probablement, ne peuvent être distingués de ceux de nos ancêtres.
By the words, _necessary of life_, I mean whatever, of all that man obtains by his own exertions, has been from the first, or from long use has become, so important to human life that few, if any, whether from savageness, or poverty, or philosophy, ever attempt to do without it.
Par les mots, _nécessité de la vie_, j'entends tout ce que l'homme obtient par ses propres efforts, qui a été dès le début, ou qui est devenu par un long usage, si important pour la vie humaine que peu de gens, voire aucun, que ce soit par sauvagerie, pauvreté ou philosophie, ne tentent jamais de s'en passer.
To many creatures there is in this sense but one necessary of life, Food.
Pour bien des créatures, il n'existe en ce sens qu'une seule nécessité de la vie, la Nourriture.
To the bison of the prairie it is a few inches of palatable grass, with water to drink; unless he seeks the Shelter of the forest or the mountain's shadow.
Pour le bison des prairies, ce sont quelques pouces d'herbe appétissante, avec de l'eau à boire ; à moins qu'il ne cherche l'Abri de la forêt ou l'ombre de la montagne.
None of the brute creation requires more than Food and Shelter.
Aucune des créatures brutes n'a besoin de plus que de Nourriture et d'Abri.
Vocabulary
- y
- Adverbial pronoun meaning 'there' or 'in it'
- aurait
- Conditional form of 'avoir', meaning 'would have'
- quelque
- Indefinite adjective meaning 'some' or 'a certain'
- avantage
- Benefit or favorable condition gained over something
- vivre
- To live or to exist in a particular way
- vie
- Life; one's existence or manner of living
- primitive
- Relating to an early, simple, or uncivilized state
- pionnière
- Female pioneer; one who explores or settles new territory
- même
- Even; also used as 'same' depending on context
- sein
- Bosom; used in 'au sein de' meaning 'within'
- civilisation
- Advanced stage of human social and cultural development
- extérieure
- External or outside; relating to the outer world
- serait
- Conditional form of 'être', meaning 'would be'
- apprendre
- To learn or to teach something to someone
- quelles
- Feminine plural interrogative adjective meaning 'which' or 'what'
- grossières
- Coarse, crude, or basic; lacking refinement or subtlety
- nécessités
- Necessities; things indispensable for survival or existence
- méthodes
- Methods; systematic procedures used to accomplish something
- employées
- Employed or used; applied to accomplish a task
- obtenir
- To obtain or to get something through effort
- parcourir
- To browse through or travel across a distance
- vieux
- Old; having existed for a long period of time
- livres
- Books; written or printed works bound together
- comptes
- Accounts; financial records or narratives of events
- marchands
- Merchants; people who buy and sell goods commercially
- afin
- Used in 'afin de/que' meaning 'in order to'
- voir
- To see or to observe something visually
- achetaient
- Imperfect tense of 'acheter', meaning 'were buying'
- communément
- Commonly; in a way that is widespread or frequent
- boutiques
- Small shops or stores selling goods to customers
- entreposaient
- Were storing or warehousing goods in a place
- dire
- To say or to tell; used in many expressions
- denrées
- Foodstuffs or commodities, especially basic provisions
- Car
- Conjunction meaning 'for' or 'because', explaining reason
- progrès
- Progress; forward movement or development over time
- âges
- Ages; historical periods or stages of development
- eu
- Past participle of 'avoir', meaning 'had'
- peu
- Little; a small amount or degree of something
- influence
- Influence; power to affect outcomes or people's behavior
- lois
- Laws; rules or principles governing behavior or nature
- essentielles
- Essential; absolutely necessary or fundamentally important
- existence
- Existence; the state of being alive or real
- humaine
- Human; relating to people or human characteristics
- squelettes
- Skeletons; the bony framework supporting a body
- probablement
- Probably; with a high degree of likelihood or certainty
- peuvent
- Third person plural of 'pouvoir', meaning 'can/are able'
- distingués
- Distinguished or differentiated from others by characteristics
- ceux
- Demonstrative pronoun meaning 'those' (masculine plural)
- ancêtres
- Ancestors; people from whom one is descended historically
- mots
- Words; units of language conveying meaning in speech
- nécessité
- Necessity; something indispensable or absolutely required
- entends
- First person singular of 'entendre'; here means 'I mean'
- tout
- All or everything; used as adjective, pronoun, or adverb
- obtient
- Third person singular of 'obtenir', meaning 'obtains'
- propres
- Own; belonging to oneself; also can mean 'clean'
- efforts
- Efforts; strenuous attempts to accomplish something difficult
- dès
- Preposition meaning 'from' or 'as early as'
- début
- Beginning or start of something in time or order
- devenu
- Past participle of 'devenir', meaning 'become'
- long
- Long; extending a great distance or duration of time
- usage
- Usage or use; the act of employing something regularly
- important
- Important; of great significance or consequence to something
- gens
- People; individuals forming a group or community
- voire
- Indeed or even; used to strengthen or extend a statement
- aucun
- No, none; not any of a group or set
- soit
- Subjunctive of 'être'; meaning 'be' or 'whether'
- sauvagerie
- Savagery; wild, uncivilized, or brutal state of being
- pauvreté
- Poverty; the state of being extremely poor or destitute
- philosophie
- Philosophy; the study of fundamental questions about existence
- tentent
- Third person plural of 'tenter', meaning 'attempt' or 'try'
- jamais
- Never; at no time, or ever in a negative context
- passer
- To pass or do without; 's'en passer' means 'to go without'
- bien
- Well; in a good manner, or 'indeed' for emphasis
- créatures
- Creatures; living beings, animals, or organisms of any kind
- existe
- Third person singular of 'exister', meaning 'exists'
- sens
- Sense or meaning; also direction or feeling
- seule
- Alone or only; feminine singular of 'seul'
- nécessité
- Necessity; something indispensable or absolutely required
- Nourriture
- Food; substances eaten to sustain life and provide energy
- bison
- Bison; large bovine animal found on North American plains
- prairies
- Prairies; large open grassland areas or meadows
- quelques
- A few; a small number of something
- pouces
- Inches; unit of measurement or thumbs in French
- herbe
- Grass or herb; green plant growth covering ground
- appétissante
- Appetizing; looking or smelling temptingly good to eat
- eau
- Water; the clear liquid essential for all living things
- boire
- To drink; to consume liquid through the mouth
- moins
- Less; a smaller amount or degree; fewer in number
- cherche
- Third person singular of 'chercher', meaning 'looks for'
- Abri
- Shelter; a place providing protection from weather or danger
- forêt
- Forest; a large area densely covered with trees
- ombre
- Shadow or shade; darkness caused by blocking light
- montagne
- Mountain; a large natural elevation of earth's surface
- Aucune
- None or not any; feminine form of negative 'aucun'
- brutes
- Brutes; brutal or unthinking creatures lacking refinement
- besoin
- Need; a requirement or necessity for something important
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