Bleak House — Page 4
Well may the court be dim, with wasting candles here and there; well may the fog hang heavy in it, as if it would never get out; well may the stained-glass windows lose their colour and admit no light of day into the place; well may the uninitiated from the streets, who peep in through the glass panes in the door, be deterred from entrance by its owlish aspect and by the drawl, languidly echoing to the roof from the padded dais where the Lord High Chancellor looks into the lantern that has no light in it and where the attendant wigs are all stuck in a fog-bank!
法廷が薄暗いのも無理はない、あちこちで蝋燭が燃え尽きかけているのだから。霧がそこに重くたれ込めているのも無理はない、まるで永遠に晴れることがないかのように。ステンドグラスの窓が色を失い、昼の光を少しも室内に差し込まないのも無理はない。扉のガラス越しに中を覗き込む通りの見知らぬ者たちが、梟のような雰囲気と、大法官閣下が光のない提灯を覗き込む、クッション張りの高壇から屋根へとけだるく反響するあの間延びした声に気おされて、入廷をためらうのも無理はない、そしてそこでは陪席の法廷かつらがすべて霧の中に突き刺さっているのだ！
This is the Court of Chancery, which has its decaying houses and its blighted lands in every shire, which has its worn-out lunatic in every madhouse and its dead in every churchyard, which has its ruined suitor with his slipshod heels and threadbare dress borrowing and begging through the round of every man's acquaintance, which gives to monied might the means abundantly of wearying out the right, which so exhausts finances, patience, courage, hope, so overthrows the brain and breaks the heart, that there is not an honourable man among its practitioners who would not give—who does not often give—the warning, "Suffer any wrong that can be done you rather than come here!
これが大法院である。あらゆる州に朽ちかけた家屋と荒廃した土地を持ち、あらゆる精神病院に疲れ果てた狂人を、あらゆる墓地に死者を持ち、破滅した訴訟当事者がすり切れたかかとと着古した服装で知人という知人を訪ね歩いて金を借り物乞いをするという姿を持ち、金の力には正当な権利を疲弊させる手段を豊富に与え、財産も忍耐も勇気も希望も使い果たさせ、頭脳を転覆させ心を打ち砕くために、その実務家の中に、「ここへ来るくらいなら、どんな不正も甘んじて受けよ！」という警告を与えない者は一人もおらず、しばしばその警告を与えない者も一人もいないほどの、これが大法院なのだ。
Vocabulary
- 法廷
- hōtei — Courtroom; place where legal trials are held
- が
- ga — Subject marker particle in Japanese grammar
- 薄暗い
- usugurai — Dim, gloomy, poorly lit
- の
- no — Possessive or nominalizing particle
- も
- mo — Also, too; inclusive particle
- 無理
- muri — Impossible, unreasonable, forcing something
- は
- wa — Topic marker particle in Japanese grammar
- ない
- nai — Negative form; not existing or not doing
- あちこち
- achikochi — Here and there, in various places
- で
- de — Particle indicating location of action or means
- 蝋燭
- rōsoku — Candle, a wax stick burned for light
- 燃え尽き
- moetsuki — Burning out completely, exhausting all fuel
- かけ
- kake — In the process of; on the verge of
- て
- te — Te-form connective particle linking verb phrases
- いる
- iru — To exist; indicates ongoing state or action
- だ
- da — Copula; plain form of 'to be'
- から
- kara — Because; from; indicating reason or origin
- 霧
- kiri — Fog, mist obscuring visibility
- そこ
- soko — There, that place nearby
- に
- ni — Particle indicating direction, location, or target
- 重く
- omoku — Heavily, with great weight
- まるで
- marude — Just like, as if, completely resembling
- 永遠
- eien — Eternity, forever, without end
- 晴れる
- hareru — To clear up, become sunny or resolved
- こと
- koto — Thing, fact, nominalizer for verb phrases
- か
- ka — Question particle; or expressing doubt
- よう
- yō — Appearance, seeming like, resembling something
- ステンドグラス
- sutendo gurasu — Stained glass, decorative colored window glass
- 窓
- mado — Window, an opening in a wall
- 色
- iro — Color, hue, tint
- を
- wo — Object marker particle in Japanese grammar
- 失い
- ushinai — Losing, being deprived of something
- 昼
- hiru — Daytime, noon, midday
- 光
- hikari — Light, radiance, illumination
- 少し
- sukoshi — A little, a small amount
- 室内
- shitsunai — Indoor, inside a room
- 差し込ま
- sashikoma — Shining into, filtering in (of light)
- 扉
- tobira — Door, gate, entrance panel
- ガラス
- garasu — Glass, a transparent material
- 越し
- goshi — Through, over, across a barrier
- 中
- naka — Inside, within, the interior of something
- 覗き込む
- nozokikomu — To peer into, look closely inside something
- 通り
- tōri — Street, passage; as in the manner of
- 見知らぬ
- mishiranu — Unknown, unfamiliar, unrecognized person or thing
- 者
- mono — Person, individual, one who does something
- 梟
- fukurō — Owl, a nocturnal bird of prey
- な
- na — Adjectival particle; or soft prohibition/emphasis
- 雰囲気
- fun'iki — Atmosphere, mood, ambiance of a place
- と
- to — And; with; quotation particle in Japanese
- 閣下
- kakka — Your Excellency, honorific for high officials
- 提灯
- chōchin — Paper lantern, traditional Japanese hanging light
- クッション
- kusshon — Cushion, soft padded seat covering
- 屋根
- yane — Roof, the top covering of a building
- へ
- e — Directional particle meaning toward or to
- けだるく
- kedaruku — Languidly, sluggishly, with heavy weariness
- 反響する
- hankyō suru — To echo, reverberate, resound through space
- あの
- ano — That (over there); used for shared reference
- し
- shi — Conjunctive form connecting clauses or reasons
- た
- ta — Past tense marker; also modifies nouns
- 声
- koe — Voice, sound produced by a person
- ためらう
- tamerau — To hesitate, waver, be reluctant to act
- そして
- soshite — And then, and also, furthermore
- かつら
- katsura — Wig, hairpiece worn especially by lawyers/judges
- すべて
- subete — All, everything, the whole of something
- 突き刺さっ
- tsukisasatsu — Piercing, stabbing into, penetrating sharply
- これ
- kore — This, this thing here nearby
- ある
- aru — To exist, to be (for inanimate things)
- あらゆる
- arayuru — Every, all kinds of, every possible type
- 州
- shū — State, province, county or administrative region
- 朽ちかけ
- kuchikake — Beginning to rot, decaying, on verge of ruin
- 家屋
- kaoku — House, dwelling, residential building
- 荒廃
- kōhai — Devastation, ruin, desolation, falling into decay
- 土地
- tochi — Land, plot of ground, territory
- 持ち
- mochi — Holding, possessing, ownership of something
- 精神病院
- seishinbyōin — Psychiatric hospital, mental institution
- 疲れ果て
- tsukarehate — Completely exhausted, utterly worn out
- 狂人
- kyōjin — Madman, mentally deranged or insane person
- 墓地
- bochi — Cemetery, graveyard, burial ground
- 死者
- shisha — The dead, deceased persons
- 破滅
- hametsu — Ruin, destruction, downfall, complete collapse
- 訴訟
- soshō — Lawsuit, legal action, litigation in court
- 当事者
- tōjisha — Party involved, stakeholder, person directly concerned
- すり切れ
- surikire — Worn out, frayed, threadbare from use
- かかと
- kakato — Heel of a shoe or foot
- 着古し
- kifurushi — Worn-out clothes, shabby garments from long use
- 服装
- fukusō — Clothing, attire, manner of dressing
- 知人
- chijin — Acquaintance, someone one knows casually
- という
- to iu — Called, named, referred to as something
- 訪ね歩い
- tazune aruī — Going around visiting, wandering seeking someone
- 金
- kane — Money, gold, financial resources
- 借り
- kari — Borrowing, a debt owed to someone
- 物乞い
- monogoi — Beggar, one who begs for charity
- 姿
- sugata — Figure, appearance, form of a person
- 力
- chikara — Power, strength, ability, force
- 正当
- seitō — Legitimate, rightful, just, lawfully valid
- 権利
- kenri — Right, entitlement, legal claim
- 疲弊
- hihei — Exhaustion, depletion, wearing down of resources
- さ
- sa — Nominalizing suffix; or filler/casual sentence ender
- せる
- seru — Causative suffix; to make or let someone do
- 手段
- shudan — Means, method, way of achieving something
- 豊富
- hōfu — Abundant, plentiful, rich in supply
- 与え
- atae — Giving, providing, granting to someone
- 財産
- zaisan — Assets, property, wealth, estate
- 忍耐
- nintai — Patience, endurance, perseverance through hardship
- 勇気
- yūki — Courage, bravery, bold spirit
- 希望
- kibō — Hope, wish, aspiration for the future
- 使い果たさ
- tsukaihatasa — Using up completely, exhausting all of something
- 頭脳
- zunō — Brain, intellect, mental capacity
- 転覆
- tenpuku — Overturning, capsizing, overthrowing something established
- 心
- kokoro — Heart, mind, spirit, inner feelings
- 打ち砕く
- uchikudaku — To shatter, crush, break something completely apart
- ため
- tame — For the sake of, in order to, because
- その
- sono — That (nearby), the aforementioned thing or person
- 実務家
- jitsumuka — Practitioner, experienced professional in a field
- ここ
- koko — Here, this place
- 来る
- kuru — To come, to arrive at a place
- くらい
- kurai — About, approximately; to the extent that
- なら
- nara — If, in that case, conditional conjunction
- どんな
- donna — What kind of, any type of, whatever sort
- 不正
- fusei — Injustice, wrongdoing, unfair or illegal conduct
- 甘んじ
- amanje — Accepting reluctantly, submitting to something undesirable
- 警告
- keikoku — Warning, caution, alert about danger
- 一人
- hitori — One person, alone, by oneself
- しばしば
- shibashiba — Often, frequently, repeatedly occurring
- ほど
- hodo — To the extent that, as much as, about
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