Without confessing it to himself too bluntly, this preference had a great deal to do with his low opinion of the widow's intellect; for, though he loved his brother, he could not help thinking him somewhat mediocre and believing himself the superior.

Sans se l'avouer à lui-même d'une façon nette, cette préférence entrait pour beaucoup dans sa mésestime pour l'intelligence de la veuve, car, s'il aimait son frère, il ne pouvait s'abstenir de le juger un peu médiocre et de se croire supérieur.

Maupassant, Guy de / Pierre and JeanMaupassant, Guy de / Pierre et Jean

Pierre et Jean

Maupassant, Guy de

Pierre and Jean

Maupassant, Guy de

If there were fewer bad pictures in the official Salon, the average there was assuredly more commonplace and mediocre.

S’il y avait moins de mauvaises toiles au Salon officiel, la moyenne y était à coup sûr plus banale et plus médiocre.

Zola, Emile / His MasterpieceZola, Emile / L'Oeuvre

L'Oeuvre

Zola, Emile

His Masterpiece

Zola, Emile

His oratory was of a mediocre, inartistic order, bristling with legal points and trite commonplaces, which he bellowed forth in thundering tones.

Il avait l'éloquence banale, incorrecte, toute hérissée de questions de droit, enflant les lieux communs, les faisant crever en coups de foudre.

Zola, Emile / His ExcellencyZola, Emile / Son Excellence Eugene Rougon

Son Excellence Eugene Rougon

Zola, Emile

His Excellency

Zola, Emile

Beside himself, Claude called Jory a numskull; was it not better to destroy one's work than to launch a mediocre performance upon the world?

Hors de lui, Claude traita Jory de crétin: est-ce qu’il ne valait pas mieux détruire cette œuvre que de la livrer médiocre?

Zola, Emile / His MasterpieceZola, Emile / L'Oeuvre

L'Oeuvre

Zola, Emile

His Masterpiece

Zola, Emile

It's ill-luck with a vengeance, the daily defeat of a poor devil of mediocre attainments, who imagined that his position as a deputy would facilitate money-making, and who is drowning himself in it all.

C’est la malchance acharnée, l’échec quotidien du pauvre homme médiocre qui a cru que sa situation de député allait lui faciliter les affaires, et qui s’y noie...

Zola, Emile / The Three Cities - ParisZola, Emile / Les Trois Villes - Paris

Les Trois Villes - Paris

Zola, Emile

The Three Cities - Paris

Zola, Emile

If we could see these things as nature sees them, with her thoughts and feelings, we should realise that the uniform mediocrity that runs through these lives cannot truly be mediocre, from the mere fact of its uniformity.

À voir les choses selon le sentiment et la raison de la nature, la médiocrité générale de ces vies ne saurait être vraiment médiocre, par cela même qu'elle est si générale.

Maeterlinck, Maurice / Wisdom and DestinyMaeterlinck, Maurice / La sagesse et la destinee

La sagesse et la destinee

Maeterlinck, Maurice

Wisdom and Destiny

Maeterlinck, Maurice

In reality his death was simply the final decomposition of impoverished, tainted, bourgeois blood, the sudden disappearance of a poor, mediocre being who, despite a fade of seeming health, had been ailing since childhood.

Ce n’était, en somme, que la décomposition dernière d’un sang bourgeois appauvri, gâté à sa source, la brusque disparition d’un pauvre être médiocre, souffrant depuis l’enfance, derrière sa façade de santé.

Zola, Emile / FruitfulnessZola, Emile / Les Quatre Evangiles - Fecondite

Les Quatre Evangiles - Fecondite

Zola, Emile

Fruitfulness

Zola, Emile

Last year we elected for our deputy the Marquis de Lagrifoul, an old nobleman of mediocre abilities, but one whose election was a very bitter pill for the Sub-Prefecture.

L'année dernière, nous avons nommé député le marquis de Lagrifoul, un vieux gentilhomme d'une intelligence médiocre, mais dont l'élection a joliment embêté la sous-préfecture....

Zola, Emile / The Conquest of PlassansZola, Emile / La Conquete des Plassans

La Conquete des Plassans

Zola, Emile

The Conquest of Plassans

Zola, Emile