Du troupeau et d'exil

Bonjour,

I have a long sentence, a simple one.  Except that it starts with a sequence that appears to be an idiom, as the translation word-by-word does not seem to have a bearing to what follows it.

Du troupeau et d'exil, avec la certitude que tous les hommes, bien sûr, ne sont pas monstrueux ……………

My take on it is this:

About a herd and an escape, with the certainty that all men, for sure, are not monstrous ….

Well, on the second look, it could well be the translation.  But am not sure.

Merci pour m'aider

Vít Novák

Bonjour Vít,

I'm going to give this a go but again, without context I'm making a couple of assumptions:

1. Literary language omits many words which I will re-inject, and
2. This sentence doesn't rely on surrounding context

• Du troupeau et d'exil, avec la certitude que tous les hommes, bien sûr, ne sont pas monstrueux.
• Whether they're from society, or aloof, it's with certainty that all men, of course, are not monstrous.

My understanding of du troupeau et d'exil is that the writer is saying it doesn't matter whether men are from ‘the flock/herd’ (i.e. society) or whether they are ‘in exile’ (i.e. aloof from society, live more on their own), men are not inevitably monstrous.

Let me know whether this fits in the context of the text or if it is way off.

   -   Mitchell

Salut Mitchell,

I have learned a new way of looking at french sentences: Brief expressions are an excellent skill, that should be practiced. Du troupeau et d'exil is such expression, somewhat snobby. It, bien sûr, fits the context, and moreover fits the personality of its author.

Merci beaucoup,

Vít Novák