Walden, and On The Duty Of Civil Disobedience — Page 15
The necessaries of life for man in this climate may, accurately enough, be distributed under the several heads of Food, Shelter, Clothing, and Fuel; for not till we have secured these are we prepared to entertain the true problems of life with freedom and a prospect of success.
Les nécessités de la vie pour l'homme dans ce climat peuvent, assez exactement, être réparties sous les différentes catégories de la Nourriture, de l'Abri, du Vêtement et du Combustible ; car ce n'est qu'après avoir assuré ces éléments que nous sommes prêts à aborder les véritables problèmes de la vie avec liberté et une perspective de succès.
Man has invented, not only houses, but clothes and cooked food; and possibly from the accidental discovery of the warmth of fire, and the consequent use of it, at first a luxury, arose the present necessity to sit by it.
L'homme a inventé non seulement les maisons, mais aussi les vêtements et la nourriture cuite ; et c'est peut-être à partir de la découverte accidentelle de la chaleur du feu, et de l'usage qui s'ensuivit, d'abord un luxe, que naquit la nécessité actuelle de s'asseoir auprès de lui.
We observe cats and dogs acquiring the same second nature.
Nous observons que les chats et les chiens acquièrent la même seconde nature.
By proper Shelter and Clothing we legitimately retain our own internal heat; but with an excess of these, or of Fuel, that is, with an external heat greater than our own internal, may not cookery properly be said to begin?
Par un Abri et un Vêtement appropriés, nous conservons légitimement notre propre chaleur interne ; mais avec un excès de ceux-ci, ou de Combustible, c'est-à-dire avec une chaleur externe supérieure à notre chaleur interne, ne peut-on pas dire que la cuisine commence véritablement ?
Darwin, the naturalist, says of the inhabitants of Tierra del Fuego, that while his own party, who were well clothed and sitting close to a fire, were far from too warm, these naked savages, who were farther off, were observed, to his great surprise, "to be streaming with perspiration at undergoing such a roasting."
Darwin, le naturaliste, dit des habitants de la Terre de Feu que, tandis que sa propre compagnie, bien vêtue et assise près d'un feu, était loin d'avoir trop chaud, ces sauvages nus, qui se trouvaient plus éloignés, furent observés, à sa grande surprise, « ruisselant de sueur en subissant une telle rôtisserie ».
So, we are told, the New Hollander goes naked with impunity, while the European shivers in his clothes.
Ainsi, nous dit-on, le Néo-Hollandais va nu en toute impunité, tandis que l'Européen grelotte dans ses vêtements.
Is it impossible to combine the hardiness of these savages with the intellectualness of the civilized man?
Est-il impossible de combiner la robustesse de ces sauvages avec l'intellectualité de l'homme civilisé ?
According to Liebig, man's body is a stove, and food the fuel which keeps up the internal combustion in the lungs.
Selon Liebig, le corps de l'homme est un poêle, et la nourriture est le combustible qui entretient la combustion interne dans les poumons.
Vocabulary
- nécessités
- Necessities; things essential for survival
- vie
- Life; the state of being alive
- homme
- Man; adult male human being
- climat
- Climate; prevailing weather conditions of a region
- assez
- Fairly, quite, or sufficiently
- exactement
- Exactly, precisely, with complete accuracy
- réparties
- Distributed, divided, or classified into categories
- différentes
- Different, various, distinct from each other
- catégories
- Categories; groups sharing common characteristics
- Nourriture
- Food; nourishment consumed to sustain life
- Abri
- Shelter; a place providing protection from elements
- Vêtement
- Clothing; garments worn to cover the body
- Combustible
- Fuel; material burned to produce heat or energy
- car
- Conjunction meaning 'because' or 'for'
- après
- After; following in time or order
- assuré
- Secured, ensured, made certain or guaranteed
- éléments
- Elements; basic or essential components of something
- prêts
- Ready, prepared to do something
- aborder
- To approach or tackle a subject or problem
- véritables
- True, real, genuine, not false or imitation
- problèmes
- Problems; difficult situations requiring a solution
- liberté
- Freedom; state of being free from constraint
- perspective
- Perspective; a particular point of view or outlook
- succès
- Success; the achievement of a desired goal
- inventé
- Invented, created something new for the first time
- seulement
- Only, merely, just
- maisons
- Houses; buildings where people live
- vêtements
- Clothes; garments worn on the body
- nourriture
- Food; sustenance consumed for nourishment
- cuite
- Cooked; food that has been prepared with heat
- peut-être
- Perhaps, maybe, possibly
- partir
- To leave, depart; also used in 'à partir de' meaning 'from'
- découverte
- Discovery; finding something previously unknown
- accidentelle
- Accidental; happening by chance, not planned
- chaleur
- Heat, warmth; thermal energy felt physically
- feu
- Fire; combustion producing heat and light
- usage
- Use, usage; the act of using something
- ensuivit
- Followed; ensued as a result or consequence
- abord
- First; used in 'd'abord' meaning 'first of all'
- luxe
- Luxury; great comfort or elegance beyond necessity
- naquit
- Was born; past historic of 'naître'
- nécessité
- Necessity; something indispensable or required
- actuelle
- Current, present-day, existing now
- asseoir
- To sit down; to take a seated position
- auprès
- Near, close to, beside someone or something
- observons
- We observe; we watch or notice carefully
- chats
- Cats; common domestic feline animals
- chiens
- Dogs; common domestic canine animals
- acquièrent
- Acquire, obtain, or develop over time
- même
- Same, even, or very; used for emphasis
- seconde
- Second; coming after the first in order
- nature
- Nature; the innate character or qualities of something
- appropriés
- Appropriate, suitable, fitting for a purpose
- conservons
- We preserve, keep, or maintain something
- légitimement
- Legitimately, rightfully, in a lawful manner
- propre
- Own; also means clean in a different context
- interne
- Internal; situated inside or within something
- excès
- Excess; an amount beyond what is necessary
- ceux-ci
- These ones; demonstrative pronoun referring to nearby items
- est-à-dire
- That is to say; used to clarify or explain
- externe
- External; relating to the outside of something
- supérieure
- Superior, higher, greater in quality or position
- dire
- To say; to express something in words
- cuisine
- Cooking; the art of preparing food
- commence
- Begins, starts; third person singular of 'commencer'
- véritablement
- Truly, really, genuinely, in a real sense
- naturaliste
- Naturalist; scientist who studies natural history
- habitants
- Inhabitants; people who live in a place
- Terre
- Land, earth, or ground; also the planet Earth
- Feu
- Fire; burning combustion producing heat and light
- tandis
- While, whereas; used in 'tandis que'
- compagnie
- Company; companions or a group of people together
- bien
- Well; in a good or satisfactory manner
- vêtue
- Dressed, clothed; wearing garments
- assise
- Seated, sitting; feminine past participle of 'asseoir'
- près
- Near, close to; in proximity to something
- loin
- Far, distant; not close in space or time
- trop
- Too, too much; more than is desirable
- chaud
- Hot, warm; having a high temperature
- sauvages
- Wild, savage; uncivilized or untamed people
- nus
- Naked, bare; without clothing
- trouvaient
- Were found; imperfect of 'trouver', to find
- éloignés
- Distant, far away, removed from a location
- observés
- Observed, watched, noticed with attention
- surprise
- Surprise; an unexpected or astonishing event
- ruisselant
- Streaming, dripping; covered with running liquid
- sueur
- Sweat, perspiration; liquid secreted through skin
- subissant
- Undergoing, enduring; experiencing something unpleasant
- telle
- Such, like this; used for emphasis or comparison
- rôtisserie
- Roasting; cooking on a spit or intense heat
- Ainsi
- Thus, so, in this way
- dit-on
- They say, it is said; reported speech marker
- nu
- Naked, unclothed; without any covering
- impunité
- Impunity; exemption from punishment or harm
- Européen
- European; person from or relating to Europe
- grelotte
- Shivers, shudders; trembles from cold or fear
- impossible
- Impossible; not able to be done or achieved
- combiner
- To combine, to join two or more things together
- robustesse
- Robustness; the quality of being strong and sturdy
- intellectualité
- Intellectuality; the quality of being intellectual
- civilisé
- Civilized; having an advanced society and culture
- Selon
- According to; preposition indicating a source
- corps
- Body; the physical structure of a living being
- poêle
- Stove; a heating or cooking appliance using fuel
- combustible
- Fuel; material that burns to produce energy
- entretient
- Maintains, sustains; keeps something going or alive
- combustion
- Combustion; the process of burning with oxygen
- poumons
- Lungs; organs used for breathing in the chest
Unlock audio playback, vocabulary games, and reading progress tracking.
Create free account →