← History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire — Volume 1

History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire — Volume 1 — Page 6

English → Japanese Full Text Level 9/10

This vast design of Gibbon, the magnificent whole into which he has cast the decay and ruin of the ancient civilization, the formation and birth of the new order of things, will of itself, independent of the laborious execution of his immense plan, render "The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire" an unapproachable subject to the future historian: 101 in the eloquent language of his recent French editor, M. Guizot:—

ギボンのこの壮大な構想、すなわち古代文明の衰退と崩壊、新秩序の形成と誕生を組み込んだ壮麗な全体像は、彼の膨大な計画の労苦に満ちた実行とは独立して、それ自体によって、『ローマ帝国衰亡史』を将来の歴史家にとって到達しえない主題たらしめるであろう。101 最近のフランス語版編者であるギゾー氏の雄弁な言葉を借りれば、——

101 (return) [ A considerable portion of this preface has already appeared before us public in the Quarterly Review.]

101（戻る）［この序文のかなりの部分は、すでに『クォータリー・レビュー』において公衆の前に掲載されている。］

"The gradual decline of the most extraordinary dominion which has ever invaded and oppressed the world; the fall of that immense empire, erected on the ruins of so many kingdoms, republics, and states both barbarous and civilized; and forming in its turn, by its dismemberment, a multitude of states, republics, and kingdoms; the annihilation of the religion of Greece and Rome; the birth and the progress of the two new religions which have shared the most beautiful regions of the earth; the decrepitude of the ancient world, the spectacle of its expiring glory and degenerate manners; the infancy of the modern world, the picture of its first progress, of the new direction given to the mind and character of man—such a subject must necessarily fix the attention and excite the interest of men, who cannot behold with indifference those memorable epochs, during which, in the fine language of Corneille—

「かつて世界を侵略し抑圧した最も並外れた支配の漸進的な衰退、野蛮と文明の双方にわたる数多くの王国・共和国・国家の廃墟の上に築かれたその広大な帝国の崩壊、そしてその解体によって今度は無数の国家・共和国・王国を形成したこと、ギリシアとローマの宗教の消滅、地球上の最も美しい地域を分かち合った二つの新しい宗教の誕生と発展、古代世界の老耄、その消えゆく栄光と退廃した風俗の光景、近代世界の黎明、その最初の進歩の姿、人間の精神と性格に与えられた新たな方向性——このような主題は必然的に人々の注意を引き、その関心を呼び起こさずにはおかない。彼らはコルネイユの格調高い言葉の中に示された、それらの記憶すべき時代を無関心に眺めることができないのである——

'Un grand destin commence, un grand destin s'achève.

「偉大な運命が始まり、偉大な運命が終わる。

Vocabulary

の: no — Possessive or nominalizing particle.
この: kono — This (referring to something nearby).
壮大: sōdai — Grand, magnificent, on a vast scale.
な: na — Adjectival linking particle for na-adjectives.
構想: kōsō — Concept, plan, or grand conception.
すなわち: sunawachi — That is to say, namely, in other words.
古代: kodai — Ancient times, antiquity.
文明: bunmei — Civilization, culture.
衰退: suitai — Decline, decay, deterioration.
と: to — And; with; quotation particle.
崩壊: hōkai — Collapse, breakdown, disintegration.
新: shin — New, novel (prefix form).
秩序: chitsujo — Order, system, discipline.
形成: keisei — Formation, creation, shaping.
誕生: tanjō — Birth, coming into existence.
を: wo — Object marker particle.
組み込ん: kumikon — Incorporate, build in (stem form).
だ: da — Casual copula meaning 'is' or 'are'.
壮麗: sōrei — Splendid, magnificent, majestic.
全体像: zentaizō — Overall picture, complete image.
は: wa — Topic marker particle.
彼: kare — He, him.
膨大: bōdai — Enormous, vast, huge in scale.
計画: keikaku — Plan, project, scheme.
労苦: rōku — Toil, hardship, laborious effort.
に: ni — Directional or locative particle.
満ち: michi — Filled with, full of (stem form).
た: ta — Past tense auxiliary verb.
実行: jikkō — Execution, carrying out, implementation.
独立: dokuritsu — Independence, standing alone.
し: shi — Conjunctive form of suru (to do).
て: te — Conjunctive particle connecting clauses.
それ: sore — That, it (referring to something previously mentioned).
自体: jitai — Itself, in itself, by itself.
よっ: yo(tte) — By means of, due to (contracted form).
帝国: teikoku — Empire, imperial nation.
衰亡: suibō — Decline and fall, ruin.
史: shi — History, chronicle, historical record.
将来: shōrai — Future, prospects ahead.
歴史: rekishi — History.
家: ka — Expert, specialist, -ist suffix.
とっ: to(tte) — For, from the perspective of (contracted).
到達: tōtatsu — Reaching, attaining, arrival at a goal.
え: e — Potential negative stem (can/cannot).
ない: nai — Negative auxiliary, not, does not exist.
主題: shudai — Subject, theme, main topic.
たら: tara — Conditional form meaning 'if' or 'when'.
める: meru — Potential or causative verb ending.
で: de — Particle indicating means, place, or reason.
あろ: aro — Volitional form of aru, meaning 'probably is'.
う: u — Volitional auxiliary expressing conjecture.
最近: saikin — Recently, lately, these days.
語: go — Language, tongue (suffix for languages).
版: han — Edition, version, print.
編者: hensha — Editor, compiler of a publication.
ある: aru — To exist, to be (for inanimate things).
氏: shi — Mr., Ms., honorific title for persons.
雄弁: yūben — Eloquence, eloquent speech.
言葉: kotoba — Words, language, expression.
借りれ: karire — To borrow (conditional/potential form).
ば: ba — Conditional particle meaning 'if'.
戻る: modoru — To return, to go back.
序文: jobun — Preface, foreword, introduction.
かなり: kanari — Considerably, fairly, quite a lot.
部分: bubun — Part, portion, section.
すでに: sudeni — Already, by now, previously.
レビュー: rebyū — Review (publication or critique).
おい: oi — In, at (archaic/literary locative form).
公衆: kōshū — The public, general audience.
前: mae — Before, in front of, prior.
掲載: keisai — Publication, printing in a journal.
さ: sa — Passive or nominalizing suffix.
れ: re — Passive auxiliary verb form.
いる: iru — To exist, to be (animate); progressive marker.
かつて: katsute — Once, formerly, in the past.
世界: sekai — The world, the globe.
侵略: shinryaku — Invasion, aggression, encroachment.
抑圧: yokuatsu — Oppression, suppression, repression.
最も: mottomo — Most, extremely (superlative adverb).
並外れ: namihazure — Extraordinary, exceptional, out of the ordinary.
支配: shihai — Rule, domination, control.
漸進的: zenshinteki — Gradual, step-by-step, incremental.
野蛮: yaban — Barbarity, savagery, uncivilized behavior.
双方: sōhō — Both sides, both parties.
わたる: wataru — To span, extend across, cover a range.
数多く: kazuōku — Numerous, many, a great number.
王国: ōkoku — Kingdom, realm.
共和国: kyōwakoku — Republic, republican state.
国家: kokka — Nation, state, country.
廃墟: haikyo — Ruins, remains of a destroyed place.
上: ue — Above, on top of, upon.
築か: kizuka — Built, constructed (passive stem form).
その: sono — That, those (demonstrative adjective).
広大: kōdai — Vast, extensive, sprawling.
そして: soshite — And then, and also, furthermore.
解体: kaitai — Dismantling, dissolution, breaking up.
今度: kondo — This time, next time, now.
無数: musū — Countless, innumerable, myriad.
こと: koto — Thing, fact, matter (nominalizer).
宗教: shūkyō — Religion, faith, creed.
消滅: shōmetsu — Disappearance, extinction, annihilation.
地球: chikyū — The Earth, the globe.
美しい: utsukushii — Beautiful, lovely, attractive.
地域: chiiki — Region, area, zone.
分かち合っ: wakachiat(te) — To share with others (stem form).
二つ: futatsu — Two (things), a pair.
新しい: atarashii — New, fresh, novel.
発展: hatten — Development, growth, expansion.
消え: kie — Disappear, fade away (stem form).
ゆく: yuku — To go, to pass on (literary form).
栄光: eikō — Glory, honor, splendor.
退廃: taihai — Decadence, degeneration, moral decline.
風俗: fūzoku — Customs, manners, social practices.
光景: kōkei — Scene, spectacle, sight.
近代: kindai — Modern era, modern times.
黎明: reimei — Dawn, daybreak, early beginnings.
最初: saisho — First, beginning, the very start.
進歩: shinpo — Progress, advancement, improvement.
姿: sugata — Form, figure, appearance, shape.
人間: ningen — Human being, mankind, person.
精神: seishin — Spirit, mind, mentality.
性格: seikaku — Character, personality, nature.
与え: atae — To give, to grant (stem form).
られ: rare — Passive or potential auxiliary form.
新た: arata — New, fresh, renewed (na-adjective form).
方向性: hōkōsei — Direction, orientation, sense of direction.
よう: yō — So that, in order to; seeming like.
必然的: hitsuzenteki — Inevitable, necessary, unavoidable.
人々: hitobito — People, persons, folks.
注意: chūi — Attention, caution, notice.
引き: hiki — Drawing, attracting (stem form).
関心: kanshin — Interest, concern, attention.
呼び起こさ: yobiokosha — To evoke, arouse, call forth (stem form).
ず: zu — Negative conjunctive form without doing.
おか: oka — Leave, let be (stem of oku).
彼ら: karera — They, them (plural pronoun).
格調: kakuchō — Dignity, style, elevated tone.
高い: takai — High, tall, elevated, expensive.
中: naka — Inside, among, within, middle.
示さ: shimesa — To show, indicate, demonstrate (stem form).
それら: sorera — Those things, they (plural demonstrative).
記憶: kioku — Memory, recollection.
す: su — To do (classical/archaic verb form).
べき: beki — Should, ought to (obligation form).
時代: jidai — Era, age, period, epoch.
無関心: mukanshin — Indifference, apathy, lack of interest.
眺める: nagameru — To gaze at, look out over, view.
が: ga — Subject marker particle; but (conjunction).
でき: deki — Can do, be able to (stem form).
偉大: idai — Great, magnificent, eminent.
運命: unmei — Fate, destiny, fortune.
始まり: hajimari — Beginning, start, origin.
終わる: owaru — To end, to finish, to conclude.

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