Don Quixote — Chapter 50 in French
By Miguel de Cervantes
Une bonne plaisanterie, celle-ci ! "A good joke, that!" répondit Don Quichotte. returned Don Quixote. Les livres qui ont été imprimés avec la licence du roi, et avec l'approbation de ceux à qui ils ont été soumis, et lus avec un plaisir universel, et vantés par les grands et les petits, les riches et les pauvres, les savants et les ignorants, les gens de qualité et le simple peuple, bref par des gens de toute sorte, de quelque rang ou condition qu'ils puissent être - que ce seraient des mensonges ! "Books that have been printed with the king's licence, and with the approbation of those to whom they have been submitted, and read with universal delight, and extolled by great and small, rich and poor, learned and ignorant, gentle and simple, in a word by people of every sort, of whatever rank or condition they may be--that these should be lies! Et surtout quand ils revêtent une telle apparence de vérité ; car ils nous disent le père, la mère, le pays, la parenté, l'âge, le lieu, et les faits d'armes, pas à pas, et jour après jour, accomplis par un tel chevalier ou par de tels chevaliers ! And above all when they carry such an appearance of truth with them; for they tell us the father, mother, country, kindred, age, place, and the achievements, step by step, and day by day, performed by such a knight or knights! Chut, monsieur ; ne proférez pas de tels blasphèmes ; croyez-moi, je vous conseille maintenant d'agir comme un homme sensé devrait le faire ; lisez-les seulement, et vous verrez le plaisir que vous en retirerez. Hush, sir; utter not such blasphemy; trust me I am advising you now to act as a sensible man should; only read them, and you will see the pleasure you will derive from them. main l’audacieux chevalier qui s’est jeté dans les flots bouillants du lac, et le conduit, sans dire un mot, dans l’intérieur de la forteresse ou du palais. For, come, tell me, can there be anything more delightful than to see, as it were, here now displayed before us a vast lake of bubbling pitch with a host of snakes and serpents and lizards, and ferocious and terrible creatures of all sorts swimming about in it, while from the middle of the lake there comes a plaintive voice saying: 'Knight, whosoever thou art who beholdest this dread lake, if thou wouldst win the prize that lies hidden beneath these dusky waves, prove the valour of thy stout heart and cast thyself into the midst of its dark burning waters, else thou shalt not be worthy to see the mighty wonders contained in the seven castles of the seven Fays that lie beneath this black expanse;' and then the knight, almost ere the awful voice has ceased, without stopping to consider, without pausing to reflect upon the danger to which he is exposing himself, without even relieving himself of the weight of his massive armour, commending himself to God and to his lady, plunges into the midst of the boiling lake, and when he little looks for it, or knows what his fate is to be, he finds himself among flowery meadows, with which the Elysian fields are not to be compared.
Le ciel y semble plus transparent, et le soleil y brille d'une étrange splendeur, et un bosquet délicieux d'arbres verts et feuillis se présente aux yeux et charme la vue par sa verdure, tandis que l'oreille est apaisée par la douce mélodie naturelle des innombrables oiseaux au plumage gai qui voltigent çà et là parmi les branches entrelacées. "The sky seems more transparent there, and the sun shines with a strange brilliancy, and a delightful grove of green leafy trees presents itself to the eyes and charms the sight with its verdure, while the ear is soothed by the sweet untutored melody of the countless birds of gay plumage that flit to and fro among the interlacing branches. Là il voit un ruisseau dont les eaux limpides, comme du cristal liquide, ondoient sur des sables fins et des cailloux blancs qui ressemblent à de l'or tamisé et à de pures perles. Here he sees a brook whose limpid waters, like liquid crystal, ripple over fine sands and white pebbles that look like sifted gold and purest pearls. Là il aperçoit une fontaine magnifiquement ouvragée de jaspe aux mille couleurs et de marbre poli ; ici une autre de forme rustique où les petits coquillages et les spirales blanches et jaunes des demeures d'escargot, disposés dans un désordre savant, mêlés à des fragments de cristal étincelant et de fausses émeraudes, composent une œuvre d'aspect varié, où l'art, imitant la nature, semble l'avoir surpassée. There he perceives a cunningly wrought fountain of many-coloured jasper and polished marble; here another of rustic fashion where the little mussel-shells and the spiral white and yellow mansions of the snail disposed in studious disorder, mingled with fragments of glittering crystal and mock emeralds, make up a work of varied aspect, where art, imitating nature, seems to have outdone it.
Soudain se présente à ses yeux un fort château ou un magnifique palais aux murs d'or massif, aux tours de diamant et aux portes de hyacinthe; en bref, tant est merveilleuse sa structure que, bien que les matériaux dont il est bâti ne soient rien moins que des diamants, des escarboucles, des rubis, des perles, de l'or et des émeraudes, le travail en est encore plus rare. "Suddenly there is presented to his sight a strong castle or gorgeous palace with walls of massy gold, turrets of diamond and gates of jacinth; in short, so marvellous is its structure that though the materials of which it is built are nothing less than diamonds, carbuncles, rubies, pearls, gold, and emeralds, the workmanship is still more rare. Après l’avoir déshabillé, nu comme sa mère l’a mis au monde, elle le baigne dans des eaux tièdes, le frotte d’onguents de senteur, et le revêt d’une chemise de fine percale, toute parfumée d’odeurs exquises ; puis, une autre damoiselle survient qui lui jette sur les épaules une tunique qui vaut au moins, à ce qu’on dit, une ville tout entière, et même davantage. And after having seen all this, what can be more charming than to see how a bevy of damsels comes forth from the gate of the castle in gay and gorgeous attire, such that, were I to set myself now to depict it as the histories describe it to us, I should never have done; and then how she who seems to be the first among them all takes the bold knight who plunged into the boiling lake by the hand, and without addressing a word to him leads him into the rich palace or castle, and strips him as naked as when his mother bore him, and bathes him in lukewarm water, and anoints him all over with sweet-smelling unguents, and clothes him in a shirt of the softest sendal, all scented and perfumed, while another damsel comes and throws over his shoulders a mantle which is said to be worth at the very least a city, and even more? Quoi de plus charmant, quand on nous conte ensuite qu’après cela ces dames le mènent dans une autre salle, où il trouve la table mise avec tant de magnificence qu’il en reste tout ébahi ! How charming it is, then, when they tell us how, after all this, they lead him to another chamber where he finds the tables set out in such style that he is filled with amazement and wonder; to see how they pour out water for his hands distilled from amber and sweet-scented flowers; how they seat him on an ivory chair; to see how the damsels wait on him all in profound silence; how they bring him such a variety of dainties so temptingly prepared that the appetite is at a loss which to select; to hear the music that resounds while he is at table, by whom or whence produced he knows not. damoiselle plus belle que toutes les autres, qui vient s’asseoir auprès du chevalier, et commence à lui raconter quel est ce château, et comment elle y est enchantée ; avec une foule d’autres choses qui étonnent le chevalier, et ravissent les lecteurs qui sont à lire son histoire ! And then when the repast is over and the tables removed, for the knight to recline in the chair, picking his teeth perhaps as usual, and a damsel, much lovelier than any of the others, to enter unexpectedly by the chamber door, and herself by his side, and begin to tell him what the castle is, and how she is held enchanted there, and other things that amaze the knight and astonish the readers who are perusing his history.
Je ne veux pas m’étendre davantage sur ce sujet ; mais de ce que j’ai dit on peut inférer que, quelque page qu’on ouvre de quelque histoire de chevalier errant que ce soit, elle causera sûrement plaisir et surprise à quiconque la lira. Que votre grâce m’en croie : lisez ces livres, ainsi que je vous l’ai dit, et vous verrez comme ils chasseront la mélancolie que vous pourriez avoir, et comme ils guériront votre mauvaise humeur, si par hasard vous l’avez mauvaise. "But I will not expatiate any further upon this, as it may be gathered from it that whatever part of whatever history of a knight-errant one reads, it will fill the reader, whoever he be, with delight and wonder; and take my advice, sir, and, as I said before, read these books and you will see how they will banish any melancholy you may feel and raise your spirits should they be depressed. Quant à moi, je peux dire que, depuis que je suis chevalier errant, je me trouve valeureux, libéral, poli, bien élevé, généreux, affable, intrépide, doux, patient, souffrant avec résignation les fatigues, les douleurs, les prisons, les enchantements ; et, quoiqu’il y ait For myself I can say that since I have been a knight-errant I have become valiant, polite, generous, well-bred, magnanimous, courteous, dauntless, gentle, patient, and have learned to bear hardships, imprisonments, and enchantments; and though it be such a short time since I have seen myself shut up in a cage like a madman, I hope by the might of my arm, if heaven aid me and fortune thwart me not, to see myself king of some kingdom where I may be able to show the gratitude and generosity that dwell in my heart; for by my faith, senor, the poor man is incapacitated from showing the virtue of generosity to anyone, though he may possess it in the highest degree; and gratitude that consists of disposition only is a dead thing, just as faith without works is dead. C'est pour cette raison que je serais heureux si la fortune m'offrait bientôt quelque occasion de me faire empereur, afin de montrer mon cœur en faisant du bien à mes amis, particulièrement à ce pauvre Sancho Panza, mon écuyer, qui est le meilleur homme du monde ; et je lui donnerais volontiers un comté que je lui ai promis depuis si longtemps, seulement j'ai peur qu'il n'ait pas la capacité de gouverner son domaine. For this reason I should be glad were fortune soon to offer me some opportunity of making myself an emperor, so as to show my heart in doing good to my friends, particularly to this poor Sancho Panza, my squire, who is the best fellow in the world; and I would gladly give him a county I have promised him this ever so long, only that I am afraid he has not the capacity to govern his realm."