← The Republic

The Republic — Page 4

English → Japanese INTRODUCTION AND ANALYSIS. Level 9/10

We can only guess why the great design was abandoned; perhaps because Plato became sensible of some incongruity in a fictitious history, or because he had lost his interest in it, or because advancing years forbade the completion of it; and we may please ourselves with the fancy that had this imaginary narrative ever been finished, we should have found Plato himself sympathising with the struggle for Hellenic independence (cp. Laws, iii. 698 ff.), singing a hymn of triumph over Marathon and Salamis, perhaps making the reflection of Herodotus (v. 78) where he contemplates the growth of the Athenian empire—'How brave a thing is freedom of speech, which has made the Athenians so far exceed every other state of Hellas in greatness!' or, more probably, attributing the victory to the ancient good order of Athens and to the favor of Apollo and Athene (cp. Introd. to Critias).

なぜこの壮大な構想が放棄されたのかは、推測するほかない。おそらくは、プラトンが架空の歴史における何らかの矛盾に気づいたからであろうか、あるいはその題材への関心を失ったからであろうか、もしくは加齢によって完成が妨げられたからであろうか。そして、もしこの架空の物語が完成していたならば、プラトン自身がヘラスの独立をめぐる闘争に共感し(『法律』第三巻698節以降参照)、マラトンとサラミスの勝利を讃える賛歌を歌い、あるいはヘロドトス(第五巻78節)がアテナイ帝国の成長を省みて述べた「言論の自由とはなんと勇敢なものであろうか、それはアテナイ人をヘラスの他のいかなる国家をも遥かに凌ぐほどの偉大さへと導いたのだ!」という感慨を抱き、あるいはより蓋然性が高いこととして、その勝利をアテナイの古来の良き秩序とアポロンおよびアテネの恩寵に帰したであろうと、私たちは想像を楽しむことができる(『クリティアス』序論参照)。

Again, Plato may be regarded as the 'captain' ('arhchegoz') or leader of a goodly band of followers; for in the Republic is to be found the original of Cicero's De Republica, of St. Augustine's City of God, of the Utopia of Sir Thomas More, and of the numerous other imaginary States which are framed upon the same model.

また、プラトンは多くの優れた追随者たちを率いる「首領」(「アルケゴス」)あるいは指導者と見なすこともできる。というのも、『国家』の中にこそ、キケロの『国家論』、聖アウグスティヌスの『神の国』、トマス・モア卿の『ユートピア』、そして同じ模型に基づいて構築された数多くの他の架空の国家の原型が見出されるからである。

The extent to which Aristotle or the Aristotelian school were indebted to him in the Politics has been little recognised, and the recognition is the more necessary because it is not made by Aristotle himself.

アリストテレスあるいはアリストテレス学派が『政治学』においてプラトンにどれほど多くを負っているかは、ほとんど認識されてこなかった。そしてこの認識はアリストテレス自身によってなされていないがゆえに、なおさら必要なことである。

Vocabulary

なぜ
naze — Why; for what reason
この
kono — This (referring to something nearby)
壮大
sōdai — Grand, magnificent, vast in scale
na — Adjectival copula linking na-adjectives to nouns
構想
kōsō — Plan, concept, grand design or vision
ga — Subject marker particle in Japanese grammar
放棄
hōki — Abandonment, giving up, relinquishment
ta — Past tense verb ending in Japanese
no — Nominalizer or possessive particle
ka — Question marker particle at sentence end
wa — Topic marker particle in Japanese
推測
suisoku — Conjecture, guess, supposition about something unknown
する
suru — To do; general-purpose action verb
ほか
hoka — Other, besides, no other option available
ない
nai — Negative ending; does not exist or occur
おそらく
osoraku — Probably, perhaps, most likely
架空
kakū — Fictional, imaginary, not based on reality
歴史
rekishi — History, historical record or events
における
ni okeru — In, within, regarding a particular context
何らか
nanraka — Some kind of, some sort of unspecified thing
矛盾
mujun — Contradiction, inconsistency, logical conflict
ni — Particle indicating direction, location, or cause
気づい
kizui — Noticed, became aware of (conjunctive form)
から
kara — Because, from; indicates reason or origin
de — Copula or particle indicating means or location
あろう
arō — Probably is; volitional/presumptive form of ある
ある
aru — To exist, to be (for inanimate things)
その
sono — That, the (referring to previously mentioned thing)
題材
daizai — Subject matter, theme, material for a work
e — Particle indicating direction or target
関心
kanshin — Interest, concern, attention toward something
o — Object marker particle in Japanese
失っ
ushinat- — Lost (conjunctive form of 失う)
もしくは
moshiku wa — Or, alternatively; formal conjunction
加齢
karei — Aging, growing older with advancing years
によって
ni yotte — By means of, due to, depending on
完成
kansei — Completion, finishing, bringing to perfection
妨げ
samatage — Obstruction, hindrance, being prevented from doing
そして
soshite — And then, and also; additive conjunction
もし
moshi — If, supposing that; conditional opener
物語
monogatari — Story, tale, narrative account
shi — Conjunctive verb form; listing reasons or actions
te — Conjunctive particle connecting verb phrases
なら
nara — If, given that; conditional particle
ba — Conditional suffix meaning if or when
自身
jishin — Oneself, himself, herself; reflexive pronoun
独立
dokuritsu — Independence, autonomy, self-governance
めぐる
meguru — Concerning, revolving around a topic
闘争
tōsō — Struggle, conflict, fierce fighting or contest
共感
kyōkan — Empathy, sympathy, sharing someone's feelings
法律
hōritsu — Law, legal statute, rules of society
第三巻
dai san kan — Volume three, the third volume of a work
setsu — Section, clause, passage of a text
以降
ikō — From ... onward, after a certain point
参照
sanshō — Reference, cross-reference, see also
to — And, with; connecting particle or quotation marker
勝利
shōri — Victory, triumph, winning a contest
讃える
tataeru — To praise, extol, celebrate greatness of something
賛歌
sanka — Hymn, ode, song of praise
歌い
utai — Singing (conjunctive form of 歌う)
第五巻
dai go kan — Volume five, the fifth volume of a work
帝国
teikoku — Empire, imperial dominion or realm
成長
seichō — Growth, development, rising in size or power
省み
kaerimī — Reflecting on, looking back at oneself or past
述べ
nobe — Stating, describing, expressing in words
言論
genron — Speech, expression of opinion, discourse
自由
jiyū — Freedom, liberty, being unrestrained
なんと
nanto — How (exclamatory), what a thing!
勇敢
yūkan — Brave, courageous, bold in action
もの
mono — Thing, person; nominalizing or emphatic ending
それ
sore — That, it; demonstrative pronoun
hito — Person, human being, people
hoka / ta — Other, another, the rest
いかなる
ikanaru — Any, whatsoever; formal emphatic modifier
国家
kokka — Nation-state, country as a political entity
mo — Also, even, too; inclusive particle
遥か
haruka — Far, by far, vastly distant or superior
凌ぐ
shinogu — To surpass, exceed, endure or outdo
ほど
hodo — To the extent that, as much as
偉大
idai — Great, magnificent, of outstanding importance
導い
michibi- — Led, guided (conjunctive form of 導く)
da — Copula; plain form of です (is/are)
という
to iu — Called, known as; quotation or naming expression
感慨
kangai — Deep emotion, profound sentiment, moving feeling
抱き
daki — Holding, embracing (conjunctive form of 抱く)
より
yori — More, rather; comparative particle or from
蓋然性
gaizesei — Probability, likelihood, degree of plausibility
高い
takai — High, tall, elevated, expensive
こと
koto — Thing, fact, matter (nominalizer)
として
toshite — As, in the capacity of, regarded as
古来
korai — From ancient times, since olden days
良き
yoki — Good (literary/archaic adjective form of 良い)
秩序
chitsujo — Order, discipline, organized social arrangement
および
oyobi — And, as well as; formal conjunction
恩寵
onchō — Grace, divine favor, benevolent blessing
帰し
kishi — Attributing to, returning to (conjunctive form)
watashi — I, me; first-person singular pronoun
たち
tachi — Plural suffix for people (we, they)
想像
sōzō — Imagination, imagining, picturing in the mind
楽しむ
tanoshimu — To enjoy, take pleasure in something
できる
dekiru — To be able to, can, is possible
序論
joron — Introduction, preface, preliminary remarks
また
mata — Also, again, moreover; additive conjunction
多く
ōku — Many, much, a large number or amount
優れ
sugure — Excellent, superior (conjunctive form of 優れる)
追随者
tsuizuisha — Follower, adherent, one who follows a leader
率いる
hikiiru — To lead, command, head a group
首領
shuryō — Leader, chief, head of a group
指導者
shidōsha — Leader, guide, person in a leadership role
見なす
minasu — To regard as, consider to be, deem
naka — Inside, middle, among, within
こそ
koso — Emphatic particle; precisely, it is exactly this
sei — Saint, holy; honorific for religious figures
kami / shin — God, deity, divine being
kuni — Country, nation, land
kyō — Lord, Sir; honorific title for nobility
ユートピア
Yūtopia — Utopia, ideal imaginary perfect society
同じ
onaji — Same, identical, alike
模型
mokei — Model, template, prototype structure
基づい
motodzui- — Based on, grounded in (conjunctive form)
構築
kōchiku — Construction, building, structuring of a system
数多く
kazuōku — Numerous, many in number, a great many
原型
genkei — Prototype, archetype, original model or form
見出さ
miidasa- — To find, discover, identify (passive base form)
れる
reru — Passive or potential verb auxiliary suffix
学派
gakuha — School of thought, academic faction or tradition
政治学
seijigaku — Political science, study of politics and governance
において
ni oite — In, at, regarding (formal prepositional expression)
どれ
dore — Which one; interrogative pronoun among options
負っ
ot- — Owed, indebted (conjunctive form of 負う)
いる
iru — To exist, to be (for animate beings)
ほとんど
hotondo — Almost, mostly, nearly all of something
認識
ninshiki — Recognition, awareness, understanding of something
なかっ
nakatt- — Was not (past negative conjunctive of ない)
なさ
nasa — Lack, absence of (nominalizing suffix for adjectives)
ゆえ
yue — Therefore, because, for that reason (literary)
なおさら
naosara —
必要
hitsuyō — Necessity, need, something required or essential
← Previous Next →

Unlock audio playback, vocabulary games, and reading progress tracking.

Create free account →