Tous les matins d’été sur les plages ont l’air d’être les premiers du monde. Tous les soirs d’été prennent un visage de solennelle fin du monde.
All summer mornings on the beach seem like the first in the world. All summer evenings take on the appearance of a solemn end of the world. –Albert Camus, Carnets 1932-1948
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I’m in the Mood for the Subjunctive
An overview of how the French subjunctive mood is treated on this website, including both the basics and the more curious forms and functions of this mood.
…la beauté est insupportable. Elle nous désespère, éternité d’une minute que nous voudrions pourtant étirer le long du temps.
Beauty is unbearable. It leads us to despair, being the eternity of a minute that we would nevertheless like to stretch out for all time.
–Camus, Carnets 1932-1948
Spotlight on Marie de France
Bisclavret, Marie de France’s fast-paced tale of twelfth-century love and lycanthropy, gets a new presentation and translation in a recently added text file.
Never give up. Never surrender.
Ne jamais céder. Ne jamais se rendre. –Galaxy Quest
New (and Upcoming) Changes at MadBeppo
Timely update about changes to MadBeppo that have been accumulating over the past three years: a redesigned home page, many new authors and texts, more fascinating language files, and glorious original illustrations added to selected pages!
Le prophète est celui qui s’oppose à ce que le moyen devienne fin, à ce que la forme extérieure soit cherchée et servie pour elle-même.
The prophet is a person opposed to the means becoming an end, to the exterior form’s being sought for and served for its own sake. –Yves Congar, Vraie et fausse réforme dans l’Eglise (p201)
Test Your Omniscience!
Sample final exam questions, of a truly apocalyptic quality, proposed for an unnamed secondary institution, but that was a leading preparatory school in the area where the Professor used to live and work and have his being.
What were you thinking when you squeezed the life out of him? Did you think you were G O D, BRANDON?!
A quoi songeais-tu pendant que tu lui retirais la vie? Te prenais-tu pour D I E U, BRANDON?!
–Rupert (Jimmy Stewart) to Brandon (John Dall) in Rope (1948)
Mark’s Adventures Underground Part 2
The concluding, actually underground part of this two-part series.
A little less noise there, a little less noise!
Un peu moins de bruit, là, s’il vous plaît!
– Mr. Darling to the Darling children (1911)
Mark’s Adventures Underground Part 1
The tale of Mark’s journeys continues. His descent to the underground and what he found there.
Go ahead and look! I hope you LIKE what you see!!!
Eh bien! vas-y, regarde, puisque tu y tiens. J’espère que la vue te plaira!
– Brandon (John Dall) to Rupert (Jimmy Stewart) in Rope (1948)
French Subtitles Come to Scientific Method
The animated internet series Scientific Method will soon have closed captioning in English, and selected episodes, such as the very first one (“Ignorance Isn’t Bliss”) will have subtitles in French!
Tous hommes n’ont pas bon sens rassis.
Not all folks have good settled sense.– François Villon (1461)
A Request Addressed to Experts in the Thought of René Girard
The Professor admits to his decades-long fascination with René Girard (the thinker, not the footballer) and asks for help interpreting two episodes from the Christian scriptures.
Consider what a great girl you are. Consider anything, only don’t cry!
Réfléchissez à quelle grande fille vous êtes. Réfléchissez à n’importe quoi, mais ne pleurez pas!
– the White Queen (1871)
Mark in the Bee-Hive State Part 5: Happy Returns
‘Mark’, with the help of friends, triumphantly concludes his journey of spiritual exploration.
On ne plaisante pas avec la police parisienne!
You don’t joke around with the Paris police force!– Inspector Vital, in J-L Godard’s A bout de souffle (1960)
New and Upcoming Changes at MadBeppo
Friends, I know you will be as excited as I am when you learn that MadBeppo.com is going through some major changes. These include some main menu reorganization, the revised Authors & Texts page, plus something completely new on the horizon.