Cliquez ici  pour voir les photos.

* OMG: Oh My God!
  OGM: Organisme génétiquement modifié

Le Los Angeles Times a publié un article consacré à l’une des « case study houses » (maisons fonctionnelles et économiques) du célèbre architecte Pierre Koenig, située à Hollywood (à trois minutes de chez moi) et propriété d’un collectionneur d’art qui préfère garder l’anonymat.

Cet article, qui mentionne que des tableaux coréens y sont exposés, contient la phrase suivante : « At the vernissage last month, VIPs rubbed elbows… » (Le mois dernier, le vernissage a rassemblé des personnalités connues…)

Le mot français vernissage, repris tel quel en anglais, a une étymologie intéressante : il est formé à partir de vernis, qui lui même provient de Berenik, le nom d’une ancienne ville de Cyrénaïque (région d'Afrique du Nord), dans laquelle des résines naturelles furent pour la première fois utilisées comme vernis. 

L’une des définitions du mot vernissage qui figurent dans le Collins English Dictionary est « varnishing day », expression qui désigne le jour où un artiste peut vernir ou retoucher ses tableaux, avant l’ouverture d’une exposition.

Dans son article sur la maison conçue par l'architecte Pierre Koenig,  le journaliste du Los Angeles Times voulait-il dire que des ouvriers étaient encore en train de vernir des surfaces en bois dans la maison où les personnalités connues s’étaient rassemblées ? Non, il utilisait le mot vernissage dans un autre sens : 

a private showing held before the opening of an art exhibition (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language) (présentation privée de tableaux avant l’ouverture d’une exposition) ; 

a preview or the opening or first day of an exhibition of paintings (Collins English Dictionary) (présentation en avant-première de tableaux, ouverture ou premier jour d’une exposition de tableaux).

La première définition et les deux  dernières semblent bien différentes mais il existe un lien entre elles, car il était un temps où le vernissage avait lieu la veille de l’ouverture officielle d’une exposition de toiles, ce qui permettait aux artistes de les vernir ou de les retoucher. Par la suite, le mot prit un sens plus large et désigna le premier jour d’exposition des tableaux, qu’il s’agisse d’une avant-première ou de l’ouverture de l’exposition.

Non loin de la maison conçue par Pierre Koenig se trouve le Hollywood Bowl, où l’Orchestre philharmonique de Los Angeles, placé sous la direction de Gustavo Dudamel, donnera un concert cet été. A n’en pas douter, ceux qui pourront y assister seront… vernis. 

 Redigé par Jonathan Goldberg, traduit par René Marteens (http://vieduguide.blogspot.com)

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Laura Vallet

A HUNG PARLIAMENT

A
linguistic note on to hang and to hung, being hanged and being hung:

The verb “to hang” has two past participle forms: hung and hanged. “Hung” is used for any object, (e.g. a
picture that is hung on a wall) or for a jury or parliament that is hung
(divided), whereas “hanged” is used
in relation to a person who is executed by hanging.

                       A man being hanged                                                        A picture being hung

hung vb

(Linguistics / Phonetics &
Phonology) the past tense and past participle of hang (except in the
sense of to execute or in the idiom I'll be hanged.)

 

adj

1. (Government, Politics
& Diplomacy)

a.  (of a legislative assembly) not having a party with a working
majority a hung parliament

b.  unable to reach a decision a
hung jury

c.  (of a situation) unable to be resolved

 

hung over Informal suffering from the
effects of a hangover

 

hung up Slang

a.  impeded by some difficulty or delay

b.  in a state of confusion; emotionally disturbed

 

hung up on Slang obsessively or
exclusively interested in he's hung up on modern art these days

Collins
English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000,
2003

to hang out

1. Protrude downward, as in The
   dog's tongue was hanging out, or The branches hung out over the driveway.
   [c. 1400]
2. Display a flag or sign of some
   kind, as in They hung out the flag on every holiday. [Mid-1500s]
3. Reside, live, as in I've found
   a place downtown, and I'll be hanging out there beginning next week. [c.
   1800]
4. Spend one's free time in; also,
   loiter, pass time idly. For example, They hung out around the pool parlor,
   or They spent the evening just hanging out. [Slang; mid-1900s]
5. To hang out with. Keep company with, appear in
   public with, as in She's hanging out with her ex-boyfriend again. [Slang;
   second half of 1900s] Also see the subsequent idioms beginning with hang
   out; let it
   all hang out.

 

Phrasal
Verbs:

 

hang back

To be averse; hold back.

hang in Informal

To persevere: decided to hang in
despite his illness.

hang off

To hold back; be averse.

hang on

1. To cling tightly to something.

2. To continue persistently; persevere.

3. To keep a telephone connection open.

4. To wait for a short period of time.

hang together

1. To stand united; stick together: "We must all hang
together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately" (Benjamin Franklin).

2. To constitute a coherent totality: diverse plot lines that
did not hang together.

hang up

1. To suspend on a hook or hanger.

2.

a. To replace (a telephone receiver) on its base or cradle.

b. To end a telephone conversation.

3.

a. To delay or impede; hinder: Budget problems hung up the
project for months.

b. To become halted or snagged: The fishing line hung up on a
rock.

c. Informal
To have or cause to have emotional difficulties or inhibitions.

 

Idioms:

 

give/care a hang

To be concerned or anxious: I don't
give a hang what you do.

hang fire

1. To delay: "They are people who hung fire even through
the bloody days of the Hungarian Revolution" (Mark Muro).

2. To be slow in firing, as a gun.

hang in there Informal

To persevere despite difficulties;
persist: She hung in there despite pressure to resign.

hang it up Informal

To give up; quit.

hang loose Slang

To stay calm or relaxed.

hang (one's) hat

To settle oneself; take up
residence: hung my hat in Chicago.

hang on to

To hold firmly; keep fast: Hang on
to your money.

hang tough Informal

To remain firmly resolved: "We
are going to hang tough on this" (Donald T. Regan).

let it all hang out Slang

1. To be completely relaxed.

2. To be completely candid.

 

hanged v. Past tense and past participle of hang.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of
the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin
Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.

A
cliffhanger or cliffhanger ending is a plot device in
which a movie, novel, or other work
of fiction contains an abrupt ending, often leaving the main characters in a
precarious or difficult situation, or with a sudden shock revelation. This type
of ending is used to ensure that, if a next installment is made, audiences will
return to find out how the cliffhanger is resolved. The phrase comes from the
classical end-of-episode situation in silent film days, with the protagonist
left hanging from the edge of a cliff. Some serials end with the caveat
"To be continued", or "The End. In television
series, the following episode usually begins with a recap (AKA a "previously").Hanged, drawn and quartered.

Source: Wikipedia

Proverbs with “hang”:

.He
that is born to be hanged shall never be drowned.
Romanian
Proverb

Save a thief from the gallows and he will help to hang you.
Romanian
Proverb

Never mention rope in the house of a man who has been hanged.
Romanian
Proverb

 

He
that killeth a man when he is drunk must be hanged when he is sober.
Romanian
Proverb

If you would not live to be old, you must be hanged when you are young.
Romanian
Proverb

What
good is a golden gallows if they are going to hang you.
Swiss
Proverb

The man dying to hang himself can always find a noose.
Afghan proverb                                  

Son premier discours à la suite des  élections britanniques

(Nos lecteurs sont invités à proposer des traductions de
mots notés en
caractères gras dans le texte suivant.)

"At yesterday's General Election the Conservative Party gained more seats than at any election for the last 80 years. "I'm incredibly proud, not only of the strong result that we achieved, but of the strong and positive campaign that we fought. "We campaigned for hope, not fear, and people responded to that, giving us two million more votes than Labour[1]. "We campaigned for change, not more of the same, and people responded to that, giving us a higher share of the vote than Labour achieved at the last election when they won a majority of 60. "There are many great new Conservative Members of Parliament who will be coming to the House of Commons, and I am very proud this will be a new, modern Conservative Party in Parliament. "I know it will make a huge difference to our politics. "To all those Conservative Party supporters, members and activists who fought so hard, not just in the last few weeks, but in the last few years, I want to say a huge thank you, and to remind you how proud you can be of the result – a bigger increase in seats than even Margaret Thatcher achieved in 1979, the worst loss of seats for Labour than at any General election since 1931, and a share of the vote not far off what Michael Foot got in 1983. "But however much pride we can take in that enormous advance, we have to accept that we fell short of an overall majority. "As I said last night, Britain needs strong, stable decisive government and it is in the national interest that we get that on a secure basis. "We are at war in Afghanistan with our troops putting their lives at risk for us every day. "We are facing a financial and economic situation of great seriousness as a result of our dangerous debts and our deficit. "We need a government that reassures the international markets, we need policies that will bring economic recovery, and we need a government that understands that great change is needed in order to restore faith in our political system. "Britain voted for change yesterday, but it also voted for a new politics, it did not vote for party political bickering, grandstanding and point-scoring. "Our country's problems are too serious, they are too urgent for that. So we must all rise to this occasion, we must show leadership. "We must sort things out as quickly as possible for the good of the country. "Nick Clegg has said that because the Conservative Party won the most votes and the most seats in this election we should have the chance to form a government and I thank him for that. "So we will now begin talks with other parties to see how that can be done. One option would be to give other parties reassurances about certain policy areas and then seek their agreement to allow a minority Conservative government to continue in office without the country constantly facing the threat of its government falling. "This is what is known as a confidence and supply arrangement. "It has been done before and, yes, we can try to do it again. But I am prepared to consider alternative options. "It may be possible to have stronger, more stable, more collaborative government than that. "There is a case for going further than an arrangement which simply keeps a minority Conservative government in office. "So I want to make a big, open and comprehensive offer to the Liberal Democrats. "I want us to work together in tackling our country's big and urgent problems, the debt crisis, our deep social problems, and our broken political system. "Let me explain my thinking. First, it is right and reasonable to acknowledge that of course there are policy disagreements between us, many of which were highlighted in those television debates. "To fellow Conservatives who have fought and campaigned and worked so hard to achieve the massive advance we have made in this campaign, I want to make it clear that I do not believe any government should give more powers to the European Union. "I do not believe that any government can be weak or soft on the issue of immigration which needs to be controlled properly, and the country's defences[2] must be kept strong. "I also believe that on the basis of the election result that we achieved, it is reasonable to expect that the bulk of the policies in our manifesto should be implemented. "But across our two manifestos, there are many areas of common ground and there are areas I believe that we in the Conservative Party can give ground, both in the national interest and in the interest of forging an open and trusting partnership. "We share a strong desire to make opportunity more equal in this country, and I recognise[3] the high priority that the Liberal Democrats have given to the proposal for a pupil premium in our schools. We agree with this idea, it is in our manifesto too, and I am sure we can develop a common approach that recognises the urgency that the Liberal Democrats have attached to this proposal. "The Liberal Democrats in their manifesto have made the achievement of a low carbon economy an absolute priority and we support this aim. I am sure that we can agree a common plan to achieve it. "The Liberal Democrats have also made proposals to reform our tax system. We both agree that Labour's jobs tax, as the Liberal Democrat's manifesto puts it, is a damaging tax on jobs and we would seek to reverse it. It has always been an aspiration of the Conservative Party to reduce taxes, especially on those who earn the least. And we are happy to give this aim a much higher priority and work together to determine how it can be afforded. "We share a common commitment to civil liberties and to getting rid immediately of Labour's ID card scheme. "On our political system, we agree with the Liberal Democrats that reform is urgently needed to help restore trust and that reform must include the electoral system. "The Liberal Democrats have their ideas, we have our ideas, for example that all seats should be of equal size, so that votes can have an equal value in a first-past-the-post system, and other parties have constructive proposals to put forward as well. "So I believe we will need an all-party committee of inquiry on political and electoral reform. "So I think we have a strong basis for a strong government. Inevitably the negotiations we are about to start will involve compromise – that is what working together in the national interest means. "But no Government will be in the national interest unless it deals with the biggest threat to our national interest and that is the deficit. We remain completely convinced that starting to deal with the deficit this year is essential. "This has been more than confirmed by recent events in other European countries, recent instability in the markets, and recent conversations that we have had with both the Treasury and the Bank of England. "The national interest is clear – the world is looking to Britain for decisive action. The new government must grip this deficit and prevent the economic catastrophe that would result by putting off the difficult and the urgent action that needs to be taken. "So our big, open and comprehensive offer to the Liberal Democrats involves helping them to implement key planks of their election manifesto, providing the country with economic, as well as political stability and finding further ways in which Liberal Democrats can be involved in making this happen "The outgoing government has left this country with terrible problems, an economic and financial crisis, deep social problems, a political system in which people, too many people, have lost faith. "The new government will face the worst inheritance of any incoming government for at least 60 years. "That is exactly why it's so important we have strong, stable government that lasts – a strong stable government that has the support of the public to take the difficult decisions that are needed if we're going to put this country back on the right track for a stronger future. "There is one further point I want to make. I believe that it's not just important for this country to have strong and stable government, it's important that we get that strong and stable government quickly. "So I hope we can reach agreement quickly on the big, open and comprehensive offer that I've outlined today. As I've argued in this General Election campaign, this is a great country hut we could be doing so much better. "We don't have to settle for the debt and the waste and the taxes left to us by Labour. We can put behind us the economic problems, the social breakdown, the political division and the distrust that are the poisonous legacy of 13 years of Labour misrule. "Of course I hoped that a Conservative majority would be the outcome of this election and that we could have started today making the changes that I believe our country so badly needs. "I know how much the Conservative party itself and all my colleagues in Parliament and all the loyal members and activists around the country wanted that too – but I also know they wanted something more than that. "They want the best for Britain. The Conservative party has always been a party that puts the national interest first. "And the best thing – the national interest thing – the best thing for Britain now is a new government that works together in that national interest and I hope with all my heart that is something that we can achieve. "That is all I have to say for now – I hope you will understand that I won't be taking questions but this urgent work must begin."

 [1] ecriture en anglais américain: Labor

[3] écriture en anglais américain: recognizes

David
Cameron : la lumière blairiste et l'ombre thatchérienne, par Philippe Marlière
Lire l'article

Note linguistique : «  En rhétorique,
l’éloquence est l'aptitude à s'exprimer avec aisance, capacité
d'émouvoir, de persuader par la parole. » (Wikipedia)

Citations :

Tout penseur qui voudra devenir orateur, tout homme d’esprit
et de cœur qui voudra se faire éloquent et être éloquent, remuer les masses,
dominer les assemblées, avec sa parole, n’aura qu’à passer de la région des
idées dans le domaine des lieux communs
Victor Hugo
Extrait de Carnets intimes  

 

 

La vraie éloquence se moque de l'éloquence.                                      

Blaise Pascal                                                                                       

 

 

L'homme le plus simple qui a de la passion persuade
mieux que le plus éloquent qui n'en a point.         

François de La Rochefoucauld  
Extrait de Maximes  
Maximes de La Rochefoucauld                                                                           

 

La parole est un fruit dont l'écorce s'appelle bavardage,
la chair éloquence, et le noyau bon sens.

Tierno Bokar

Jonathan Goldberg

The 63rd poster is a creation by Annick Durban from a
photograph of Juliette Binoche by Brigitte Lacombe.

 

Cannes Film Festival 2010 – 12 to 23
May 2010

OFFICIAL SELECTION (COMPETITION)

 

Le mot « caution » en anglais provient des mêmes racines que le mot «caution» en français, et les deux ont la même origine latine, mais cela fait des siècles, d’après mes sources, qu’ils ont des sens tout à fait différents. Le substantif «caution» en français se traduit en anglais par « guarantee », ex. caution bancaire, par « deposit » quand il s’agit d’un versement sur un compte bancaire et aussi par « bail » quand on parle d'une somme d’argent qu’une personne en état d’arrestation paie pour se faire libérer jusqu'à son procès. (En anglais ce dernier paiement s’appelle « bail », ce qui n’a rien à voir avec loyer en français.)

Donc, « caution » en anglais, qui n’a rien à voir avec le même mot en français (sauf peut-être dans un sens qui apparemment ne s’emploie presque plus de nos jours) se traduit en français par « précaution ».

Le dictionnaire numérique de TV Monde définit « précaution » comme suit : Disposition prise d'avance pour éviter un mal. Circonspection, ménagement.

Pour compliquer les choses, on doit noter que le mot « precaution » existe aussi en anglais (évidemment sans accent). Voici sa définition dans le dictionnaire numérique Merriam-Webster :

1 : care taken in advance ; foresight, e.g. warned of the need for precaution
2 : a measure taken beforehand to prevent harm or secure good, safeguard, e.g. take the necessary precautions

Dans le premier sens noté ci-dessus, je ne vois pas de différence entre les substantifs anglais « caution » et « précaution », sauf que le préfixe « pré » insiste plutôt sur un temps préalable. A mon avis, la seconde définition est celle qui est le plus en usage. Le mot a plutôt le sens d’une mesure spécifique que l’on prend, (ex. « I took the precaution of informing my boss. »), alors que « caution » comme substantif anglais signifie en général une méthode de faire des choses, ex. He approached the subject with caution.

Attention : ces nuances ne s’appliquent pas au verbe « to caution », qui veut dire plutôt « prévenir » ou « avertir ». Le verbe « to precaution » n’existe pas en anglais, à ma connaissance. De même, l’adjectif anglais « cautionary » peut provoquer toute une analyse supplémentaire.

Les substantifs anglais « caution » et « precaution » s’emploient dans certaines expressions très spécifiques ou idiomatiques :

« out of an abundance of caution ». Cette expression doit son origine au domaine bancaire, où une banque qui prête de l’argent exige parfois des cautions (dans le sens français du mot) sinon excessives, du moins très prudentes, ce qu’il fait « out of an abundance of caution » (ce dernier mot dans le sens anglais), c'est-à-dire avec la plus grande précaution. De là, l’expression « out of an abundance of caution » est passée au domaine juridique (où les avocats et notaires sont aussi prudents), et au domaine médical, où on reproche parfois aux médecins de faire des tests superflus sur leurs patients afin de ne pas rater une maladie qui n’a pas été diagnostiquée.

Cette expression est devenue momentanément populaire il y a un an, quand Obama a été investi dans ses fonctions de président des Etats-Unis. Le Président de la Cour Suprême (« the Chief Justice ») a mutilé le serment qu’il a fait prêter au Président:

Théoriquement cela pouvait susciter une contestation juridique de la légitimité du statut constitutionnel du Président. Le Président Obama a annoncé le jour même qu’il invitait le Président de la Cour Suprême à la Maison Blanche pour lui faire prêter serment encore une fois « out of an abundance of caution », c’est-a-dire par précaution « en abondance ».

Cette expression tire son origine du droit romain, qui a créé l'expression ex abundante cautela, qui est reprise telle quelle dans une décision d'un tribunal canadien, dont voici un extrait :

Ce qu’on a voulu obtenir en ajoutant les mots cités n’est pas tout à fait clair. Ils ont peut-être été ajoutés ex abundante cautela, pour avoir plus de détails dans les descriptions, mais ils semblent presque redondants, si on les rapproche du par. 36(2) et de la définition d’« invention ».

Pour revenir à la langue anglaise, une expression similaire peut être mentionnée : « to err on the side of caution ». Elle indique qu’on préfère se tromper par un excès de précaution que de faire une faute.

Finalement, on peut mentionner le « Principe de Précaution » (« Precautionary Principle » en anglais), qui se réfère au fait que « au cours de ces dernières années, un nombre croissant de documents a été publié qui reflètent la nouvelle culture politique, tenant compte de la prise de conscience actuelle dans le domaine de l’environnement ».

Les lecteurs sont invités à laisser leurs commentaires.

 

 

(This article was originally published in its French version)

 

In several languages, the words meaning “lawyer” are similar: in French "avocat/e", in Portuguese “advogado", in Dutch “advocaat“, in Italian "avvocato"“, in Spanish “abogado/a", in Russian “адвока́т/ а”. In France avocats were formerly an organized body of pleaders, while the preparation of cases was done by avoués. Today this distinction exists only before the French appellate courts.

In the USA a person who practices Law is called a lawyer or an attorney. As a title, only the word “attorney”, not “lawyer” is used, e.g. “Attorney Smith” (in French “Maître Smith”). If the name is not specified, the word “counsel” is used, e.g. A judge addressing an attorney: “Counsel may speak to the defendant.”

In England, there are two kinds of lawyers:

1. Barristers (called “trial attorneys” in the USA). Barristers have two professional functions: to give legal opinions and to appear in Court to represent their clients. The word originates from the days when there was a wooden bar or railing in court which marked off the area where the judge sat and the lawyer had to stand next to the bar when pleading his case. The expression “to be called to the bar” is commonly used in England to denote someone who has become qualified to act as a barrister. Although the word barrister is not used in the USA, all lawyers in America have to be members of the “bar” and to register with the Bar Association in order to practice. (The Italian word barista, pronounced similarly to "barrister", denotes a person who pours drinks at a different kind of bar.)

2. Solicitors. They handle wills and conveyancing (the transfer of property) and generally perform other legal tasks at their offices. They are not allowed to appear in Court, except in certain cases conducted in the lowest (magistrates’) courts. The work of a solicitor is roughly equivalent to that of a French “notaire”. (In the USA notaries are not lawyers. A notary’s function is to authenticate signatures, a service for which he usually charges $10.)

The offices of a barrister are called “chambers”. A person working as an apprentice (stagiaire) with a barrister is called a “pupil”, and the apprenticeship is called “pupilage”; with a solicitor he/she is called an “articled clerk” or “trainee solicitor”.

In England no-one may practice both as a barrister and an attorney. The services of a barrister are never hired directly by the client. The client hires a solicitor and the solicitor chooses a barrister when there is need for a legal opinion or for an appearance in court.

In the USA the term solicitor has nothing to do with the practice of law. It means someone who solicits his clients, from Old French solliciter (note the double “l”). The photo below, taken in California, shows a warning sign directed at street vendors. In Britain that sign would be regarded as amusing and probably offensive to solicitors practicing law. However, the verb “to solicit” is commonly used in England outside of the legal profession. For many years, prostitutes in Britain were allowed to practice their trade, but the Law prohibited them from soliciting. Thus a prostitute could stand on a street corner as long as she took no action or made no movement to solicit clients. Soliciting in this sense is a crime. (“To approach or accost someone with an offer of sexual services” – American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language).

 

 

The legal profession in countries of the British Commonwealth is sometimes structured as in Britain, but there are various different models. In Canada, New Zealand and parts of Australia, for example, a lawyer may practice both as a barrister and solicitor. In the United States no such distinction exists.

The noun “advocate” (as well as the verb “to advocate") exists in English, but it is used to describe a person who defends a cause, not as the description of a profession (except in South African English), like "avocat/e", "advogado", "avvocato", “abogado/a" or "адвока́т/а". It derives from Latin advocatus, from the past participle of advocare to summon, from ad- + vocare to call, from voc-, vox voice. Advocat came from Anglo-French and Middle English (Merriam-Webster Dictionary).

A "Devil’s Advocate" is one who presents an argument or advocates a cause, not out of commitment but merely for the sake of argument or to determine the validity of the cause or position. It derives from the Medieval Latin term advocātus diabolī (from the Latin diabolus), someone who would argue against the canonization or beatification of a saint. In Britain "The Devil's Advocate" is a regular column, with a cult following built up over the past few years appearing in several UK regional newspapers. The author, the mythical Barry Beelzebub, shares with us his wicked thoughts on the world today. For a video explanation of "Devil’s Advocate" for English learners, see:

 

Jonathan Goldberg

Lawyer Jokes:

Q: What's the difference between a good lawyer and a bad lawyer?

A: A bad lawyer can let a case drag out for several years. A good lawyer can make it last even longer.

Q: What’s the difference between a good lawyer and a great lawyer?

A: A good lawyer knows the law. A great lawyer knows the judge.

Q: What do you have when a lawyer is buried up to his neck in sand?

A: Not enough sand.

Q: How many personal injury attorneys does it take to change a light bulb?

A: Three lawyers: one to turn the bulb, one to shake him off the ladder, and the third to sue the ladder company.

Q: How can you tell when a lawyer is lying?

A: His lips are moving.

 

Jonathan Goldberg

Ceux d’entre nous qui ont connu la Seconde Guerre mondiale et se rappellent que Charles de Gaulle, [1] exilé à Londres, fit cause commune avec Winston Churchill pour lutter contre les nazis, et les plus jeunes qui ont étudié l’action de ces deux dirigeants au cours de cette guerre, savent que le Premier ministre britannique de l’époque, Churchill, et le chef de la France libre, Charles de Gaulle, firent alliance (non sans mal) pour vaincre Hitler et les puissances de l’Axe. Cependant, si nous revenons deux cents ans en arrière, nous découvrons qu’un certain John Churchill, premier duc de Marlborough (dont le père était prénommé Winston), devint un héros national britannique parce qu’il vainquit la France. Les deux hommes vécurent dans la même résidence, le Palais de Blenheim.

Cette dernière, construite en Oxfordshire (Angleterre) fut un don que la nation reconnaissante fit à John Churchill pour avoir vaincu la France de Louis XIV (la plus grande victoire britannique depuis la bataille d'Azincourt) et la Bavière à la bataille de Blenheim (graphie anglaise de Blindheim, en Autriche). Près de deux siècles plus tard, Winston Churchill naquit au Palais de Blenheim en 1874.        

Le Palais de Blenheim a été inscrit sur la Liste du patrimoine mondial et attire un grand nombre de touristes.

Tout jeune encore, John Churchill fut un compagnon du roi Jacques II, dernier monarque catholique à régner sur les royaumes d’Angleterre, d’Ecosse et d’Irlande, jusqu’à sa fuite sur le continent, lorsque Guillaume d’Orange envahit l’Angleterre en 1688. John Churchill changea alors d’allégeance et soutint le protestant Guillaume, contre le catholique Jacques II. Lors du couronnement de Guillaume III, Churchill fut élevé au rang de comte de Marlborough. Il participa à la Guerre de succession d’Espagne et dirigea l’armée britannique lors des quatre principales victoires du XVIIe siècle, dont la bataille de Blenheim en 1704. Ces victoires furent obtenues au prix de véritables massacres.

Connu pour sa cupidité, Marlborough fut soupçonné de prolonger la guerre par intérêt personnel. Le fait est qu’il devint l’homme le plus riche de Grande-Bretagne. Heureusement, son projet d’invasion de la France et de marche sur Paris fut contrecarré, principalement par la reine Anne, qui se brouilla avec l’épouse de Churchill, jusqu’alors sa meilleure amie. Il n’en reste pas moins que la chanson qui lui fut consacrée, Malbrouck s’en va-t-en guerre, continua à faire peur aux enfants français longtemps après sa mort.

Le nom de Sir Winston Churchill évoque surtout son rôle dans la Seconde Guerre mondiale, mais il obtint aussi le prix Nobel de littérature, principalement pour son livre History of the English Speaking Peoples. [2] Churchill fut aussi l’auteur des quatre volumes d’une biographie de son célèbre ancêtre, Marlborough: His Life and Times.

Au sujet de John Churchill, il écrivit notamment ce qui suit : « Avant Napoléon, aucun commandant n’eut autant de pouvoir en Europe. L’union de près de vingt Etats coalisés était centrée sur sa personne. C’est lui qui assura la cohésion de la Grande Alliance… Il tenait en main les forces des trois quarts de l’Europe. »

Le comte Charles Spencer (frère de la défunte princesse Diana) a également écrit un livre sur le duc de Marlborough, apparemment publié sous deux titres différents : Battle for Europe: How the Duke of Marlborough Masterminded the Defeat of the French at Blenheim (couverture rigide) and Blenheim: Battle for Europe (livre au format de poche).

John Churchill changea l’histoire de l’Europe mais, selon les valeurs de la société occidentale d’aujourd’hui, il est permis de se demander s’il convient d’admirer un homme qui fit la guerre de façon impitoyable et sanguinaire, massacrant un grand nombre de Français innocents. Il faut peut-être établir la distinction suivante entre les victoires des deux résidents de Blenheim Palace : les bains de sang de Blenheim et d’ailleurs en 1704 étaient inspirés par le fanatisme religieux et la soif de pouvoir, illustrant ainsi les instincts les plus barbares du genre humain, tandis que la Seconde Guerre mondiale était, pour utiliser une expression moderne, une guerre nécessaire. Il est néanmoins permis de douter que la guerre mondiale de 1939-1945 soit en définitive la guerre qui mettra fin à toutes les guerres, pas plus que la Première Guerre mondiale ne mérita cette appellation.

Parmi les sources utilisées figure That Sweet Enemy: The French and the British from the Sun King to the Present, Knopf; 1st US Edition (January 16, 2007), Robert and Isabelle Tombs