On the Method of Zadig: Essay #1 from "Science and Hebrew Tradition" — Page 3
One day, walking near a little wood, he saw, hastening that way, one of the Queen's chief eunuchs, followed by a troop of officials, who appeared to be in the greatest anxiety, running hither and thither like men distraught, in search of some lost treasure.
ある日、小さな森の近くを歩いていると、彼は女王の筆頭宦官の一人が急ぎ足でやって来るのを見た。その後ろには一団の役人たちが続いており、彼らは何か失われた宝を探して、取り乱した人々のようにあちこちを走り回り、非常に不安そうな様子であった。
'Young man,' cried the eunuch, 'have you seen the Queen's dog?' Zadig answered modestly, 'A bitch, I think, not a dog.' 'Quite right,' replied the eunuch; and Zadig continued, 'A very small spaniel who has lately had puppies; she limps with the left foreleg, and has very long ears.'
「若者よ」と宦官は叫んだ、「女王の犬を見かけましたか？」ザディグは謙虚に答えた、「犬ではなく、雌犬だと思います。」「その通り」と宦官は答えた。するとザディグは続けた、「最近子犬を産んだばかりの、とても小さなスパニエルで、左前脚を引きずっており、耳がとても長い犬です。」
'Ah! you have seen her then,' said the breathless eunuch. 'No,' answered Zadig, 'I have not seen her; and I really was not aware that the Queen possessed a spaniel.'
「ああ！では見かけたのですね」と息を切らした宦官は言った。「いいえ」とザディグは答えた、「見かけていません。そして、女王がスパニエルを飼っているとは全く知りませんでした。」
By an odd coincidence, at the very same time, the handsomest horse in the King's stables broke away from his groom in the Babylonian plain.
奇妙な偶然により、まさにその同じ時、王の厩舎で最も美しい馬がバビロニアの平原で馬丁から逃げ出した。
The grand huntsman and all his staff were seeking the horse with as much anxiety as the eunuch and his people the spaniel; and the grand huntsman asked Zadig if he had not seen the King's horse go that way.
大狩猟長と彼の部下全員が、宦官とその部下たちがスパニエルを探すのと同じくらい必死に馬を探していた。そして大狩猟長はザディグに、王の馬がそちらの方向へ行くのを見かけなかったかと尋ねた。
'A first-rate galloper, small-hoofed, five feet high; tail three feet and a half long; cheek pieces of the bit of twenty-three carat gold; shoes silver?' said Zadig.
「一流の速駆け馬で、蹄が小さく、体高五フィート、尻尾の長さは三フィート半、馬銃の頬当ては二十三カラットの金、蹄鉄は銀製ですか？」とザディグは言った。
'Which way did he go? Where is he?' cried the grand huntsman.
「どちらへ行ったのですか？どこにいるのですか？」と大狩猟長は叫んだ。
Vocabulary
- ある
- aru — A certain; one particular (indefinite article usage)
- 日
- hi — Day; sun
- 小さな
- chiisana — Small; little; tiny
- 森
- mori — Forest; woods
- の
- no — Possessive or attributive particle connecting nouns
- 近く
- chikaku — Near; nearby; in the vicinity of
- を
- wo — Object-marking particle indicating direct object
- 歩い
- arui — Walked (stem form of 歩く, to walk)
- て
- te — Conjunctive particle linking sequential actions
- いる
- iru — To be; to exist (for animate beings)
- と
- to — When; and; quotation particle
- 彼
- kare — He; him
- は
- wa — Topic-marking particle highlighting the subject
- 女王
- joō — Queen; female monarch
- 筆頭
- hittō — Head; chief; foremost person in a group
- 一人
- hitori — One person; alone
- が
- ga — Subject-marking particle
- 急ぎ足
- isogiashi — Quick pace; hurried walking steps
- で
- de — At; by means of; particle indicating means or location
- やって来る
- yattekuru — To come along; to arrive; to approach
- 見た
- mita — Saw; past tense of 見る (to see)
- その
- sono — That; those (demonstrative adjective)
- 後ろ
- ushiro — Behind; back; rear
- に
- ni — Direction or location particle: to, at, in
- 一団
- ichidan — A group; a band of people
- 役人
- yakunin — Government official; public servant
- たち
- tachi — Plural suffix for people or animate beings
- 続い
- tsuzui — Continued; followed (stem of 続く, to continue)
- おり
- ori — Formal progressive form of いる (to be)
- 彼ら
- karera — They; them (third person plural)
- 何か
- nanika — Something; anything
- 失わ
- ushinawa — Lost (passive stem of 失う, to lose)
- れた
- reta — Passive past auxiliary indicating something was done
- 宝
- takara — Treasure; precious thing
- 探し
- sagashi — Searching; looking for something
- 取り乱し
- torimidashi — Flustered; in a state of agitation or panic
- た
- ta — Past tense auxiliary verb
- 人々
- hitobito — People; various people
- よう
- yō — Appearing as if; seeming like
- あちこち
- achikochi — Here and there; all around; in various places
- 走り回り
- hashirimawari — Running around; dashing about in many directions
- 非常
- hijō — Extremely; very; extraordinary
- 不安
- fuan — Anxiety; unease; worried feeling
- そう
- sō — Appearing so; seeming that way
- な
- na — Adjectival suffix connecting na-adjectives to nouns
- 様子
- yōsu — Appearance; state; manner; situation
- あっ
- a' — Ah! Oh! Expression of sudden realization
- 若者
- wakamono — Young person; youth
- よ
- yo — Sentence-final particle for emphasis or address
- 叫ん
- sakeben — Shouted; cried out (stem of 叫ぶ)
- だ
- da — Copula; plain form of です (to be)
- 犬
- inu — Dog
- 見かけ
- mikake — Happen to see; catch sight of
- まし
- mashi — Polite past auxiliary (part of ました)
- か
- ka — Question-marking sentence-final particle
- 謙虚
- kenkyo — Humble; modest; unassuming
- 答え
- kotae — Answer; reply; response
- なく
- naku — Without; negating connective form
- 思い
- omoi — Think; thought; feeling
- ます
- masu — Polite present/future verb ending
- 通り
- tōri — As stated; in the manner of; street
- する
- suru — To do; to perform
- 続け
- tsuzuke — Continue; keep doing (stem of 続ける)
- 最近
- saikin — Recently; lately
- 子犬
- koinu — Puppy; small dog
- 産ん
- san'n — Gave birth (stem of 産む, to give birth)
- ばかり
- bakari — Just; only; having just done something
- とても
- totemo — Very; extremely; quite
- 左
- hidari — Left; left side
- 前脚
- maeashi — Front leg; foreleg of an animal
- 引きずっ
- hikizut- — Dragging; limping (stem of 引きずる)
- 耳
- mimi — Ear
- 長い
- nagai — Long; lengthy
- です
- desu — Polite copula meaning 'is/am/are'
- ああ
- ā — Ah; oh; exclamation of surprise or realization
- ね
- ne — Sentence-final particle seeking agreement or confirmation
- 息
- iki — Breath; breathing
- 切らし
- kirashi — Out of breath; having exhausted (stem of 切らす)
- 言っ
- it- — Said; spoke (stem of 言う, to say)
- いいえ
- iie — No; negative response
- い
- i — Verb stem or part of negative conjugation
- ませ
- mase — Polite imperative or negation component
- ん
- n — Negative auxiliary or explanatory particle
- そし
- soshi — And then; and so (part of そして)
- 飼っ
- kat- — Kept as pet; raised an animal (stem of 飼う)
- 全く
- mattaku — Completely; utterly; not at all (with negative)
- 知り
- shiri — Know; knowledge (stem of 知る, to know)
- でし
- deshi — Polite past copula component (part of でした)
- 奇妙
- kimyō — Strange; peculiar; odd
- 偶然
- gūzen — Coincidence; by chance; accidental
- より
- yori — Than; from; compared to
- まさに
- masani — Exactly; precisely; indeed
- 同じ
- onaji — Same; identical
- 時
- toki — Time; moment; when
- 王
- ō — King; monarch; ruler
- 最も
- mottomo — Most; extremely (superlative adverb)
- 美しい
- utsukushii — Beautiful; lovely; gorgeous
- 馬
- uma — Horse
- 平原
- heigen — Plain; flatland; open field
- から
- kara — From; because; since
- 逃げ出し
- nigedashi — Escaped; fled; ran away from
- 大
- dai — Great; large; grand (prefix)
- 部下
- buka — Subordinate; one's staff or underlings
- 全員
- zen'in — All members; everyone in a group
- 探す
- sagasu — To search for; to look for
- くらい
- kurai — About; approximately; to the extent that
- 必死
- hisshi — Desperate; frantic; with all one's effort
- そちら
- sochira — That direction; that way; over there
- 方向
- hōkō — Direction; heading; orientation
- へ
- e — Directional particle indicating movement toward
- 行く
- iku — To go; to head toward
- なかっ
- nakat- — Was not; past negative auxiliary (part of なかった)
- 尋ね
- tazune — Asked; inquired (stem of 尋ねる)
- 一流
- ichiryū — First-class; top-grade; finest quality
- 速
- haya — Fast; swift; quick (prefix or adjective root)
- 小さく
- chiisaku — Smallly; in a small manner (adverbial form)
- 五
- go — Five (number)
- フィート
- fīto — Feet (unit of measurement)
- 尻尾
- shippo — Tail of an animal
- 長さ
- nagasa — Length; measure of how long something is
- 三
- san — Three (number)
- 半
- han — Half; semi-
- 二十三
- nijūsan — Twenty-three (number)
- 金
- kin — Gold; metal; money
- 銀製
- ginsei — Made of silver; silver-manufactured
- どちら
- dochira — Which way; which direction; which one
- 行っ
- it- — Went; gone (stem of 行く, to go)
- どこ
- doko — Where; what place
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