Meditations — Page 7
He trod the path beaten by his predecessors, seeking only to do his duty as well as he could, and to keep out corruption.
彼は前任者たちが切り開いた道を歩み、ただ自分のできる限り職務を果たし、腐敗を排除しようとした。
He did some unwise things, it is true.
確かに、彼はいくつかの賢明でないことをした。
To create a compeer in empire, as he did with Verus, was a dangerous innovation which could only succeed if one of the two effaced himself; and under Diocletian this very precedent caused the Roman Empire to split into halves.
ウェルスに対してそうしたように、帝国における対等な共同統治者を作ることは、二人のうちの一人が身を引いた場合にのみ成功しうる危険な革新であり、ディオクレティアヌスの治世においてはまさにこの先例がローマ帝国を二つに分裂させる原因となった。
He erred in his civil administration by too much centralising.
彼は民政において、過度な中央集権化という過ちを犯した。
But the strong point of his reign was the administration of justice.
しかし、彼の治世の強みは司法の運営にあった。
Marcus sought by-laws to protect the weak, to make the lot of the slaves less hard, to stand in place of father to the fatherless.
マルクスは弱者を守り、奴隷たちの境遇をより楽にし、父なき者たちの父代わりとなるための法令を求めた。
Charitable foundations were endowed for rearing and educating poor children.
貧しい子供たちを養育し教育するための慈善基金が設立された。
The provinces were protected against oppression, and public help was given to cities or districts which might be visited by calamity.
属州は圧政から守られ、災難に見舞われた都市や地区には公的な援助が与えられた。
The great blot on his name, and one hard indeed to explain, is his treatment of the Christians.
彼の名声における大きな汚点であり、まことに説明しがたいものは、キリスト教徒に対する彼の扱いである。
In his reign Justin at Rome became a martyr to his faith, and Polycarp at Smyrna, and we know of many outbreaks of fanaticism in the provinces which caused the death of the faithful.
彼の治世において、ローマのユスティノスは信仰のために殉教し、スミルナのポリュカルポスも同様であり、また属州において信者たちの死をもたらした狂信的な暴力の勃発が数多くあったことが知られている。
It is no excuse to plead that he knew nothing about the atrocities done in his name: it was his duty to know, and if he did not he would have been the first to confess that he had failed in his duty.
彼の名のもとで行われた残虐行為について何も知らなかったと弁明することは言い訳にならない。知ることは彼の義務であり、もし知らなかったとすれば、彼自身が真っ先に自分の義務を果たせなかったと告白したであろう。
Vocabulary
- 彼
- kare — He; third-person masculine pronoun.
- は
- wa — Topic marker particle in Japanese grammar.
- 前任者
- zenninsha — Predecessor; person who held a position before.
- たち
- tachi — Plural suffix for people or animate beings.
- が
- ga — Subject marker particle in Japanese grammar.
- 切り開い
- kirihirai — Cleared and opened; blazed a trail through.
- 道
- michi — Road; path; way forward.
- 歩み
- ayumi — Walking; steps taken along a path.
- ただ
- tada — Simply; merely; only; just.
- 自分
- jibun — Oneself; one's own self.
- できる
- dekiru — To be able to; can do something.
- 限り
- kagiri — Limit; as much as possible; extent.
- 職務
- shokumu — Duties; official responsibilities of a position.
- 果たし
- hatashi — Fulfilling; carrying out one's duties completely.
- 腐敗
- fuhai — Corruption; moral decay; rottenness.
- 排除
- haijo — Exclusion; elimination; removing something unwanted.
- しよう
- shiyou — Let's do; volitional form of 'to do'.
- 確か
- tashika — Certainly; surely; admittedly true.
- いくつか
- ikutsuka — Several; some; a few things.
- 賢明
- kenmei — Wise; prudent; showing good judgment.
- ない
- nai — Negation; not existing; not being the case.
- こと
- koto — Thing; fact; nominalized abstract matter.
- 対し
- taishi — Toward; in relation to; regarding someone.
- そう
- sou — Like that; in that way; so.
- よう
- you — Seems; appears; in the manner of.
- 帝国
- teikoku — Empire; imperial nation or domain.
- おける
- okeru — In; at; pertaining to a place or context.
- 対等
- taitou — Equal standing; parity; equivalence between parties.
- 共同
- kyoudou — Joint; cooperative; shared between parties.
- 統治者
- touchisha — Ruler; governor; one who governs a territory.
- 作る
- tsukuru — To make; to create; to form something.
- 二人
- futari — Two people; a pair of persons.
- うち
- uchi — Among; within; inside a group or set.
- 一人
- hitori — One person; alone; single individual.
- 身
- mi — One's body; oneself; one's person.
- 引い
- hiui — Withdrawing; stepping back; pulling away.
- 場合
- baai — Case; situation; circumstance; occasion.
- のみ
- nomi — Only; solely; exclusively; nothing but.
- 成功
- seikou — Success; achievement of a desired outcome.
- うる
- uru — Can; to be capable of; potential form.
- 危険
- kiken — Danger; risk; hazardous situation.
- 革新
- kakushin — Innovation; reform; progressive change.
- あり
- ari — Existing; there is; being present.
- 治世
- chisei — Reign; period of a ruler's governance.
- まさに
- masani — Precisely; exactly; indeed; just so.
- この
- kono — This; referring to something nearby or mentioned.
- 先例
- senrei — Precedent; prior example used as a model.
- 二つ
- futatsu — Two things; a pair of objects.
- 分裂
- bunretsu — Division; split; fragmentation into separate parts.
- さ
- sa — Nominalizing suffix; makes adjectives into nouns.
- せる
- seru — Causative auxiliary; to make or let someone do.
- 原因
- gen'in — Cause; reason; origin of a problem.
- 民政
- minsei — Civil administration; civilian government management.
- 過度
- kado — Excess; excessiveness; going beyond proper limits.
- 中央
- chuuou — Central; center; the middle point or authority.
- 集権化
- shuukenka — Centralization; concentrating power in one authority.
- という
- toiu — Called; known as; the thing called.
- 過ち
- ayamachi — Mistake; error; fault; wrongdoing.
- 犯し
- okashi — Committing; perpetrating an offense or mistake.
- しかし
- shikashi — However; but; nevertheless; in contrast.
- 強み
- tsuyomi — Strength; strong point; area of excellence.
- 司法
- shihou — Judiciary; the administration of justice.
- 運営
- un'ei — Management; operation; administration of something.
- 弱者
- jakusha — The weak; vulnerable people; those without power.
- 守り
- mamori — Protecting; guarding; defending someone or something.
- 奴隷
- dorei — Slave; person owned and controlled by another.
- 境遇
- kyouguu — Circumstances; living conditions; one's situation in life.
- より
- yori — More than; from; compared to something.
- 楽
- raku — Comfort; ease; relief from hardship.
- 父
- chichi — Father; male parent.
- なき
- naki — Without; lacking; absence of something.
- 者
- mono — Person; one who; individual with a quality.
- 代わり
- kawari — Substitute; replacement; standing in for another.
- なる
- naru — To become; to turn into something.
- ため
- tame — For the sake of; in order to; purpose.
- 法令
- hourei — Law; ordinance; official legal decree.
- 求め
- motome — Seeking; requesting; demanding something.
- 貧しい
- mazushii — Poor; impoverished; lacking financial resources.
- 子供
- kodomo — Child; children; young person.
- 養育
- youiku — Raising; nurturing; bringing up children.
- 教育
- kyouiku — Education; instruction; teaching and learning.
- する
- suru — To do; to perform an action.
- 慈善
- jizen — Charity; benevolence; philanthropic giving.
- 基金
- kikin — Fund; endowment; pool of money for a purpose.
- 設立
- setsuritsu — Establishment; founding; setting up an organization.
- 属州
- zokushuu — Province; administrative region of an empire.
- 圧政
- assei — Oppression; tyranny; harsh authoritarian rule.
- から
- kara — From; because; starting point particle.
- 守ら
- mamora — Protecting; defending; base form for conjugation.
- 災難
- sainan — Disaster; calamity; great misfortune or trouble.
- 見舞わ
- mimaowa — Afflicted by; visited by misfortune or disaster.
- 都市
- toshi — City; urban area; metropolitan region.
- や
- ya — And; listing particle connecting nouns.
- 地区
- chiku — District; area; designated zone or region.
- 公的
- kouteki — Public; official; relating to the state.
- 援助
- enjo — Aid; assistance; support given to those in need.
- 与え
- atae — Giving; providing; granting something to someone.
- 名声
- meisei — Reputation; fame; public renown or standing.
- における
- ni okeru — In; within; at; regarding a specific context.
- 大きな
- ookina — Large; big; significant in scale or degree.
- 汚点
- oten — Stain; blemish; mark on one's reputation.
- まこと
- makoto — Truly; sincerely; indeed; in all honesty.
- 説明
- setsumei — Explanation; description; making something understandable.
- がたい
- gatai — Hard to do; difficult to accomplish.
- もの
- mono — Thing; matter; something abstract or physical.
- 教徒
- kyouto — Adherent; follower of a religious faith.
- 対する
- taisuru — Toward; in regard to; facing something.
- 扱い
- atsukai — Treatment; handling; the way someone is treated.
- ある
- aru — To exist; there is; to be present.
- 信仰
- shinkou — Faith; religious belief; devotion to a creed.
- 殉教
- junkyou — Martyrdom; dying for one's religious faith.
- も
- mo — Also; too; even; inclusive particle.
- 同様
- douyou — Similarly; likewise; in the same manner.
- また
- mata — Also; again; furthermore; in addition.
- 信者
- shinja — Believer; follower; adherent of a religion.
- 死
- shi — Death; dying; end of life.
- もたらし
- motarashi — Bringing about; causing; giving rise to something.
- 狂信
- kyoushin — Fanaticism; extreme zealous belief in something.
- 的
- teki — Suffix meaning '-like', '-istic', or '-related'.
- 暴力
- bouryoku — Violence; physical force used to harm others.
- 勃発
- boppatsu — Outbreak; sudden eruption of conflict or trouble.
- 数多く
- kazuooku — Many; numerous; a large quantity of things.
- いる
- iru — To exist; to be; for animate beings.
- 名
- na — Name; reputation; under the name of.
- もと
- moto — Under; based on; beneath the authority of.
- 行わ
- okonawa — Carried out; performed; conducted an action.
- 残虐
- zangyaku — Cruelty; brutality; savage and violent behavior.
- 行為
- koui — Act; action; deed; conduct.
- つい
- tsui — Regarding; about; concerning something specific.
- 何
- nani — What; nothing; something unspecified.
- 弁明
- benmei — Justification; defense; explaining one's actions.
- 言い訳
- iiwake — Excuse; pretext; justification for one's behavior.
- なら
- nara — If; in that case; conditional conjunction.
- 知る
- shiru — To know; to learn; to become aware of.
- 義務
- gimu — Duty; obligation; moral or legal responsibility.
- もし
- moshi — If; supposing; in the event that.
- ば
- ba — Conditional particle meaning 'if' or 'when'.
- 自身
- jishin — Oneself; one's own self; personally.
- 真っ先
- massaki — First of all; foremost; ahead of everyone else.
- 果たせ
- hatase — Fulfilling; potential conditional of 'to fulfill'.
- 告白
- kokuhaku — Confession; admission; declaration of truth.
- あろう
- arou — Probably is; volitional presumptive of 'to be'.
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