“However mean men may be, they dare not appear as enemies of virtue; and when they want to persecute it, they feign to believe that it is false or they credit it with crimes.”
[“Quelque méchants que soient les hommes, ils n’oseraint paraître ennemis de la vertu, et lorsqu’ils la veulent persécuter, ils feignent de croire qu’elle est fausse ou ils lui supposent des crimes.”]
La Rochefoucauld, Maxims, tr. S.D. Warner & S. Douard (South Bend, Indiana: St Augustine’s Press, 2001), p.84 (§465).
[“Quelque méchants que soient les hommes, ils n’oseraint paraître ennemis de la vertu, et lorsqu’ils la veulent persécuter, ils feignent de croire qu’elle est fausse ou ils lui supposent des crimes.”]
La Rochefoucauld, Maxims, tr. S.D. Warner & S. Douard (South Bend, Indiana: St Augustine’s Press, 2001), p.84 (§465).
6 comments:
"Mean" for "mechant" may be OK for Yanks, but grates for me.
malevolent?
Not my translation, dearieme. I am estranged from the French language, possibly due to some ancient prejudice.
Yes, I noticed that it was a Yankee translation, whence the burden of my complaint.
At least they didn't allude to a dog that sucks.
"Patents are a virtue" - Milford Crabtree
dearieme - méchant, pas mechant.
I take it as malicious, spiteful.
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