The Ballad of the White Horse — Page 3
It is enough for me to maintain two things: that they are popular traditions; and that without these popular traditions we should have bothered about Alfred about as much as we bother about Eadwig.
私が主張すべきことは二つで十分だ。それらが民衆の伝承であるということ、そしてこれらの民衆の伝承がなければ、私たちはエアドウィグを気にかけるのと同じくらいしかアルフレッドを気にかけなかったであろうということだ。
One other consideration needs a note.
もう一つの考慮事項について注記が必要だ。
Alfred has come down to us in the best way (that is, by national legends) solely for the same reason as Arthur and Roland and the other giants of that darkness, because he fought for the Christian civilization against the heathen nihilism.
アルフレッドが最良の形で、すなわち国民的伝説によって私たちに伝わったのは、アーサーやローランドやあの暗黒時代の他の巨人たちと同じ理由によるものであり、それは彼が異教徒のニヒリズムに対してキリスト教文明のために戦ったからに他ならない。
But since this work was really done by generation after generation, by the Romans before they withdrew, and by the Britons while they remained, I have summarised this first crusade in a triple symbol, and given to a fictitious Roman, Celt, and Saxon, a part in the glory of Ethandune.
しかしこの偉業は実際には幾世代にもわたって、撤退する前のローマ人によって、そして留まり続けたブリトン人によって成し遂げられたのだから、私はこの最初の十字軍を三重の象徴にまとめ、架空のローマ人、ケルト人、サクソン人にエサンドゥーンの栄光における役割を与えた。
I fancy that in fact Alfred's Wessex was of very mixed bloods; but in any case, it is the chief value of legend to mix up the centuries while preserving the sentiment; to see all ages in a sort of splendid foreshortening.
実際のところアルフレッドのウェセックスは非常に混血であったと私は思う。しかしいずれにせよ、感情を保ちながら幾世紀をも混ぜ合わせること、すべての時代を一種の壮大な短縮法で見ることこそが、伝説の主たる価値なのだ。
That is the use of tradition: it telescopes history.
それが伝統の用をなすものだ。伝統は歴史を望遠鏡のように圧縮する。
G.K.C.
G・K・C
DEDICATION
献辞
Of great limbs gone to chaos, A great face turned to night-- Why bend above a shapeless shroud Seeking in such archaic cloud Sight of strong lords and light?
混沌へと消えた偉大な四肢、 夜へと向けられた偉大な顔―― なぜ形なき屍衣の上に身をかがめ そのような太古の雲の中に 力強き君主と光の姿を求めるのか？
Where seven sunken Englands Lie buried one by one, Why should one idle spade, I wonder, Shake up the dust of thanes like thunder To smoke and choke the sun?
七つの沈んだイングランドが 一つ一つ埋もれて横たわるところで、 なぜ一本の怠けたスコップが、私は不思議に思うが、 雷のように豪族たちの塵を掘り起こし 太陽を煙と煤で覆い尽くすのか？
Vocabulary
- 私
- watashi — First-person pronoun meaning 'I' or 'me'.
- が
- ga — Subject marker particle in Japanese grammar.
- 主張
- shuchō — Claim, assertion, or argument one makes.
- べき
- beki — Auxiliary expressing obligation or what ought to be.
- こと
- koto — Thing, matter, or fact (abstract noun).
- は
- wa — Topic marker particle indicating the sentence topic.
- 二つ
- futatsu — The number two (for counting objects).
- で
- de — Particle indicating means, location of action, or limit.
- 十分
- jūbun — Sufficient, enough, or adequate amount.
- だ
- da — Copula meaning 'is' or 'are' (plain form).
- それら
- sorera — Those things (plural demonstrative pronoun).
- 民衆
- minshū — The common people, masses, or populace.
- の
- no — Possessive or nominalizing particle in Japanese.
- 伝承
- denshō — Oral tradition, folklore, or cultural transmission.
- ある
- aru — To exist or to be (for inanimate objects).
- と
- to — Particle meaning 'and', 'with', or quotation marker.
- いう
- iu — To say, call, or be called something.
- そして
- soshite — Conjunction meaning 'and then' or 'and also'.
- これら
- korera — These things (plural proximal demonstrative pronoun).
- ば
- ba — Conditional particle meaning 'if' or 'when'.
- たち
- tachi — Plural suffix for people or animate beings.
- を
- wo — Object marker particle indicating the direct object.
- 気
- ki — Spirit, mind, feeling, or attention.
- に
- ni — Particle indicating direction, time, or indirect object.
- かける
- kakeru — To apply, spend, or direct attention toward something.
- 同じ
- onaji — Same, identical, or equal in nature or degree.
- くらい
- kurai — About, approximately, or to the extent of.
- しか
- shika — Only, nothing but (used with negative verb).
- た
- ta — Past tense auxiliary verb ending in Japanese.
- もう
- mō — Already, another, or soon (context-dependent adverb).
- 一つ
- hitotsu — One thing; also used to mean 'another one'.
- 考慮
- kōryo — Consideration, deliberation, or taking into account.
- 事項
- jikō — Item, matter, or point requiring attention.
- つい
- tsui — Inadvertently, just, or recently (adverb).
- て
- te — Conjunctive particle connecting verb phrases.
- 注記
- chūki — Note, annotation, or written remark.
- 必要
- hitsuyō — Necessary, needed, or required.
- 最良
- sairyō — Best, optimal, or of the highest quality.
- 形
- katachi — Form, shape, or style of something.
- すなわち
- sunawachi — That is, namely, or in other words.
- 国民
- kokumin — Citizens or the people of a nation.
- 的
- teki — Suffix meaning '-like', '-al', or '-ic'.
- 伝説
- densetsu — Legend, myth, or traditional tale.
- や
- ya — Particle listing examples: 'and', 'or', 'such as'.
- あの
- ano — That (over there); distal demonstrative adjective.
- 暗黒
- ankoku — Darkness, blackness, often meaning a dark age.
- 時代
- jidai — Era, age, period of historical time.
- 他
- hoka — Other, another, or the rest.
- 巨人
- kyojin — Giant, a person or being of enormous size.
- 理由
- riyū — Reason, cause, or grounds for something.
- よる
- yoru — To be due to, based on, or caused by.
- もの
- mono — Thing, object, or abstract matter.
- それ
- sore — That thing (medial demonstrative pronoun).
- 彼
- kare — He, him, or that person (male).
- 異教徒
- ikyōto — Pagan, heretic, or person of a different faith.
- 対し
- taishi — Against, toward, or in contrast to something.
- 教
- kyō — Religion, teaching, or doctrine (suffix or noun).
- 文明
- bunmei — Civilization, culture, or advanced social development.
- ため
- tame — For the sake of, in order to, due to.
- から
- kara — Because, from, or since (particle/conjunction).
- なら
- nara — If, in the case that (conditional conjunction).
- ない
- nai — Negative auxiliary meaning 'not' or 'does not exist'.
- しかし
- shikashi — However, but, or nevertheless.
- この
- kono — This (proximal demonstrative adjective).
- 偉業
- igyō — Great feat, remarkable achievement, or heroic deed.
- 実際
- jissai — Actually, in reality, or in practice.
- 幾
- iku — Several, how many (used in compound forms).
- 世代
- sedai — Generation, a group of people of similar age.
- も
- mo — Also, too, even, or as many as.
- 撤退
- tettai — Withdrawal, retreat, or pulling back.
- する
- suru — To do; general-purpose action verb.
- 前
- mae — Before, in front of, or prior to.
- 人
- hito / jin — Person, people, or human being.
- 留まり
- todomari — Remaining, staying (conjunctive form of 'todomaru').
- 続け
- tsuzuke — Continuing (conjunctive form of 'tsuzukeru').
- 成し遂げ
- nashitoge — Accomplished, achieved (conjunctive of 'nashitogeру').
- られ
- rare — Passive or potential auxiliary verb suffix.
- 最初
- saisho — First, the very beginning or earliest point.
- 十字軍
- jūjigun — Crusade, the medieval Christian military campaigns.
- 三重
- sanjū — Triple, threefold, or triple-layered.
- 象徴
- shōchō — Symbol, emblem, or representation of something.
- まとめ
- matome — Summary, collection, or bringing together.
- 架空
- kakū — Fictional, imaginary, or not real.
- 栄光
- eikō — Glory, honor, or splendid distinction.
- おける
- okeru — In, at, regarding (formal locative expression).
- 役割
- yakuwari — Role, function, or part played by someone.
- 与え
- atae — To give or assign (conjunctive form of 'ataeru').
- ところ
- tokoro — Place, point, or circumstance.
- 非常
- hijō — Extremely, very, or emergency (context-dependent).
- 混血
- konketsu — Mixed blood, interracial heritage, or hybrid ancestry.
- 思う
- omou — To think, feel, or believe something.
- いずれ
- izure — Either, any, or eventually (formal expression).
- 感情
- kanjō — Emotion, feeling, or sentiment.
- 保ち
- tamochi — Maintaining, keeping (conjunctive of 'tamotsu').
- ながら
- nagara — While doing, although (conjunctive particle).
- 世紀
- seiki — Century, a period of one hundred years.
- 混ぜ
- maze — Mixing (conjunctive form of 'mazeru').
- 合わせ
- awase — Combining, matching together (conjunctive of 'awaseru').
- すべて
- subete — All, everything, or entirely.
- 一種
- isshu — A kind of, a type of, or a sort of.
- 壮大
- sōdai — Grand, magnificent, or on a vast scale.
- な
- na — Adjectival copula suffix connecting na-adjectives to nouns.
- 短縮
- tanshuku — Shortening, abbreviation, or compression.
- 法
- hō — Method, law, or way of doing something.
- 見る
- miru — To see, look at, or view something.
- こそ
- koso — Emphatic particle meaning 'precisely' or 'indeed'.
- 主たる
- shutaru — Primary, main, or chief (formal adjective).
- 価値
- kachi — Value, worth, or significance.
- 伝統
- dentō — Tradition, custom, or cultural heritage.
- 用
- yō — Use, purpose, or business (suffix/noun).
- なす
- nasu — To form, accomplish, or make something.
- 歴史
- rekishi — History, the record of past events.
- 望遠鏡
- bōenkyō — Telescope, an instrument for viewing distant objects.
- よう
- yō — Like, similar to, or it seems (auxiliary/suffix).
- 圧縮
- asshuku — Compression, compressing, or condensing.
- 献辞
- kenji — Dedication, an inscription dedicating a work to someone.
- 混沌
- konton — Chaos, disorder, or primordial confusion.
- へ
- e — Directional particle meaning 'toward' or 'to'.
- 消え
- kie — Disappearing, vanishing (conjunctive of 'kieru').
- 偉大
- idai — Great, magnificent, or outstanding in stature.
- 四肢
- shishi — Four limbs, arms and legs of the body.
- 夜
- yoru — Night, the dark period after sunset.
- 向け
- muke — Directed toward, aimed at (conjunctive of 'mukeru').
- 顔
- kao — Face, countenance, or facial expression.
- なぜ
- naze — Why, for what reason.
- なき
- naki — Without, lacking (literary attributive negative form).
- 上
- ue — Above, on top of, or upper.
- 身
- mi — Body, oneself, or one's person.
- かがめ
- kagame — Bending down, stooping (conjunctive of 'kagameru').
- その
- sono — That (medial demonstrative adjective).
- 太古
- taiko — Ancient times, the remote or primordial past.
- 雲
- kumo — Cloud, a mass of water vapor in the sky.
- 中
- naka — Inside, middle, or among.
- 力強き
- chikarazuyoki — Mighty, powerfully strong (literary attributive form).
- 君主
- kunshu — Monarch, sovereign ruler, or lord.
- 光
- hikari — Light, radiance, or gleam.
- 姿
- sugata — Figure, form, or appearance of a person.
- 求める
- motomeru — To seek, request, or look for something.
- か
- ka — Question particle indicating interrogative sentences.
- 七つ
- nanatsu — Seven things (native Japanese counting word).
- 沈ん
- shizunde — Sinking, submerged (conjunctive of 'shizumu').
- 埋もれ
- umore — Buried, concealed under (conjunctive of 'umoreru').
- 横たわる
- yokotawaru — To lie down or stretch out horizontally.
- 一本
- ippon — One long thin object (counter for sticks, etc.).
- 怠け
- namake — Laziness, idleness (conjunctive of 'namakeru').
- スコップ
- sukoppu — Shovel or scoop used for digging.
- 不思議
- fushigi — Strange, mysterious, or wonderfully puzzling.
- 雷
- kaminari — Thunder or lightning; a thunderbolt.
- 豪族
- gōzoku — Powerful clan or influential local noble family.
- 塵
- chiri — Dust, dirt, or trivial matter.
- 掘り起こし
- horiokoshi — Digging up, unearthing (conjunctive of 'horiοkosu').
- 太陽
- taiyō — The sun, our solar star.
- 煙
- kemuri — Smoke, fumes, or vapor from fire.
- 煤
- susu — Soot, black residue from incomplete combustion.
- 覆い尽くす
- ōitsukusu — To cover completely, engulf, or blanket entirely.
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