The Republic — Page 14
To Plato himself, the enquiry 'what was the intention of the writer,' or 'what was the principal argument of the Republic' would have been hardly intelligible, and therefore had better be at once dismissed (cp. the Introduction to the Phaedrus).
プラトン自身にとって、「著者の意図は何であったか」あるいは「国家の主たる論点は何であったか」という問いは、ほとんど理解しがたいものであったであろうし、したがってただちに退けてしまった方がよい（パイドロスの序文を参照）。
Is not the Republic the vehicle of three or four great truths which, to Plato's own mind, are most naturally represented in the form of the State?
『国家』とは、プラトン自身の心において、国家という形式によって最も自然に表現される三つか四つの大いなる真理を伝える乗り物ではないだろうか。
Just as in the Jewish prophets the reign of Messiah, or 'the day of the Lord,' or the suffering Servant or people of God, or the 'Sun of righteousness with healing in his wings' only convey, to us at least, their great spiritual ideals, so through the Greek State Plato reveals to us his own thoughts about divine perfection, which is the idea of good—like the sun in the visible world;—about human perfection, which is justice—about education beginning in youth and continuing in later years—about poets and sophists and tyrants who are the false teachers and evil rulers of mankind—about 'the world' which is the embodiment of them—about a kingdom which exists nowhere upon earth but is laid up in heaven to be the pattern and rule of human life.
ユダヤの預言者たちにおいて、メシアの支配、あるいは「主の日」、あるいは苦しむ神のしもべまたは民、あるいは「その翼に癒しをもつ義の太陽」が、少なくとも我々にとっては、彼らの偉大な霊的理想を伝えるにすぎないのとちょうど同じように、プラトンはギリシアの国家を通じて、自らの思想を我々に明かしてくれる。すなわち、神的完全性についての思想——それは善のイデアであり、可視的世界における太陽のごときものである——、正義である人間的完全性についての思想、青年期に始まり後年まで続く教育についての思想、人類の偽りの教師であり邪悪な支配者である詩人・ソフィスト・僭主についての思想、それらの体現である「世界」についての思想、そして地上のどこにも存在せず天に蓄えられ人間の生の範型と規範となる王国についての思想である。
No such inspired creation is at unity with itself, any more than the clouds of heaven when the sun pierces through them.
そのような霊感に満ちた創造物は、太陽が雲を貫くときの天の雲と同様に、それ自体として統一をなすことはない。
Every shade of light and dark, of truth, and of fiction which is the veil of truth, is allowable in a work of philosophical imagination.
光と影のあらゆる陰影、真理の陰影、そして真理のヴェールである虚構の陰影は、哲学的想像力の作品においてはすべて許されるものである。
Vocabulary
- 自身
- jishin — Oneself; itself; personally.
- に
- ni — Particle indicating direction, location, or purpose.
- とって
- totte — For; from the perspective of someone.
- 著者
- chosha — Author; writer of a book or text.
- の
- no — Possessive or descriptive linking particle.
- 意図
- ito — Intention; purpose; aim behind an action.
- は
- wa — Topic-marking particle in Japanese grammar.
- 何
- nani — What; which thing or matter.
- で
- de — Particle indicating means, location, or context.
- あった
- atta — Was; existed (past tense of ある).
- か
- ka — Question-marking particle at sentence end.
- あるいは
- aruiwa — Or; alternatively; either one option.
- 国家
- kokka — Nation; state; country as a political entity.
- 主たる
- shutaru — Main; primary; chief among several things.
- 論点
- ronten — Point of argument; main issue under discussion.
- という
- to iu — Called; known as; the question of.
- 問い
- toi — Question; inquiry; a posed problem.
- ほとんど
- hotondo — Almost; nearly; hardly at all.
- 理解
- rikai — Understanding; comprehension of a concept.
- し
- shi — Conjunctive verb form connecting clauses.
- がたい
- gatai — Difficult to do; hard to accomplish.
- もの
- mono — Thing; something with a certain quality.
- あろう
- arou — Probably is; likely to be (volitional form).
- したがって
- shitagatte — Therefore; consequently; as a result.
- ただちに
- tadachini — Immediately; at once; without delay.
- 退け
- noke / shizoke — Dismiss; set aside; push away.
- て
- te — Conjunctive particle linking sequential actions.
- しまった
- shimatta — Ended up doing; completed an action regrettably.
- 方
- hou — Direction; way; option; person.
- が
- ga — Subject-marking particle in Japanese grammar.
- よい
- yoi — Good; fine; acceptable; better.
- 序文
- jobun — Preface; introduction at the start of a text.
- を
- wo — Object-marking particle indicating direct object.
- 参照
- sansho — Reference; refer to a cited source.
- と
- to — And; with; quotation particle.
- 心
- kokoro — Heart; mind; spirit; inner feelings.
- おいて
- oite — At; in; regarding a place or context.
- 形式
- keishiki — Form; format; style of structure.
- よって
- yotte — By means of; due to; because of.
- 最も
- mottomo — Most; extremely; to the greatest degree.
- 自然
- shizen — Nature; natural; occurring without artificiality.
- 表現
- hyogen — Expression; representation; artistic portrayal.
- さ
- sa — Suffix nominalizing adjectives; also casual particle.
- れる
- reru — Passive or potential verb auxiliary suffix.
- 三つ
- mittsu — Three things; a count of three items.
- 四つ
- yottsu — Four things; a count of four items.
- 大いなる
- ooinaru — Great; grand; of immense significance.
- 真理
- shinri — Truth; fundamental truth or principle.
- 伝える
- tsutaeru — To convey; to transmit; to communicate information.
- 乗り物
- norimono — Vehicle; conveyance; means of transport.
- ない
- nai — Not; does not exist; negative form.
- だろう
- darou — Probably; I suppose; conjecture about something.
- 預言者
- yogensha — Prophet; one who delivers divine prophecy.
- たち
- tachi — Plural suffix indicating a group of people.
- 支配
- shihai — Rule; control; domination over others.
- 主
- nushi / Shu — Lord; master; owner; God.
- 日
- hi / nichi — Day; sun; a specific day or date.
- 苦しむ
- kurushimu — To suffer; to be in pain or anguish.
- 神
- kami — God; deity; divine being.
- しもべ
- shimobe — Servant; attendant; one who serves humbly.
- または
- matawa — Or; alternatively between two options.
- 民
- tami — People; nation; folk; the common populace.
- その
- sono — That; the aforementioned (demonstrative adjective).
- 翼
- tsubasa — Wings; feathers used for flight.
- 癒し
- iyashi — Healing; comfort; soothing of pain.
- もつ
- motsu — To have; to hold; to possess something.
- 義
- gi — Righteousness; justice; moral rightness.
- 太陽
- taiyou — Sun; the star at the center of solar system.
- 少なくとも
- sukunakutomo — At least; at a minimum; not less than.
- 我々
- wareware — We; us; our group (formal plural).
- 彼ら
- karera — They; them; those people (third person plural).
- 偉大
- idai — Great; magnificent; of outstanding importance.
- な
- na — Adjectival linking particle for na-adjectives.
- 霊的
- reiteki — Spiritual; relating to the spirit or soul.
- 理想
- riso — Ideal; an ideal goal or standard.
- すぎ
- sugi — Too much; excessive; going beyond a limit.
- ちょうど
- choudo — Exactly; just; precisely at a point.
- 同じ
- onaji — Same; identical; equal in nature.
- よう
- you — Like; as if; in the same manner.
- 通じて
- tsujite — Through; by means of; via a medium.
- 自ら
- mizukara — Oneself; personally; by one's own hand.
- 思想
- shiso — Thought; ideology; philosophical idea.
- 明かして
- akashite — Revealing; disclosing; making something clear.
- くれる
- kureru — To give (to me); to do a favor for me.
- すなわち
- sunawachi — That is; namely; in other words.
- 神的
- shinteki — Divine; godly; of or relating to God.
- 完全性
- kanzennsei — Perfection; the quality of being complete.
- ついて
- tsuite — About; concerning; regarding a topic.
- それ
- sore — That; it; referring to something nearby.
- 善
- zen — Good; goodness; virtue; moral good.
- あり
- ari — Exists; is; there is (form of ある).
- 可視的
- kashiteki — Visible; perceptible by sight; observable.
- 世界
- sekai — World; the entire universe or domain.
- おける
- okeru — In; within; existing in a specific context.
- ごとき
- gotoki — Like; such as; resembling something (literary).
- ある
- aru — To exist; to be; there is something.
- 正義
- seigi — Justice; righteousness; fairness in society.
- 人間的
- ningenteki — Human; humanistic; relating to human nature.
- 青年期
- seinenki — Youth; adolescence; the period of young adulthood.
- 始まり
- hajimari — Beginning; start; the origin of something.
- 後年
- konen — Later years; in later life; subsequent years.
- まで
- made — Until; up to; as far as a point.
- 続く
- tsuzuku — To continue; to last; to go on.
- 教育
- kyoiku — Education; upbringing; instructional development.
- 人類
- jinrui — Humanity; humankind; all human beings.
- 偽り
- itsuwari — Falsehood; lie; deception; untruth.
- 教師
- kyoshi — Teacher; instructor; educator in a school.
- 邪悪
- jaaku — Evil; wicked; malicious in nature.
- 支配者
- shihaisha — Ruler; governor; one who holds power.
- 詩人
- shijin — Poet; one who composes poetry.
- 僭主
- senshu — Tyrant; usurper; illegitimate ruler with absolute power.
- それら
- sorera — Those; those things; referring to multiple items.
- 体現
- taigen — Embodiment; incarnation; to embody an idea.
- そして
- soshite — And then; and; moreover connecting statements.
- 地上
- chijo — On earth; on the ground; terrestrial realm.
- どこ
- doko — Where; what place; any location.
- も
- mo — Also; even; not at all (with negatives).
- 存在
- sonzai — Existence; being; presence of something.
- せず
- sezu — Without doing; not doing (negative conjunctive).
- 天
- ten — Heaven; sky; the divine realm above.
- 蓄え
- takuwae — Store; reserve; accumulated supply of something.
- られ
- rare — Passive auxiliary indicating action done to subject.
- 人間
- ningen — Human being; person; humanity in general.
- 生
- sei / shou — Life; living; birth; existence.
- 範型
- hankei — Archetype; model; paradigm; original pattern.
- 規範
- kihan — Norm; standard; code of conduct.
- なる
- naru — To become; to serve as; to be.
- 王国
- okoku — Kingdom; realm ruled by a king.
- そのような
- sono you na — Such; that kind of; of that nature.
- 霊感
- reikan — Inspiration; divine inspiration; spiritual intuition.
- 満ちた
- michita — Filled with; full of; brimming with something.
- 創造物
- sozoubutsu — Creation; something created; a crafted work.
- 雲
- kumo — Cloud; mass of water vapor in sky.
- 貫く
- tsuranuku — To pierce through; to penetrate; to carry out.
- とき
- toki — Time; moment; when something occurs.
- 同様
- doyou — Likewise; similarly; in the same way.
- 自体
- jitai — Itself; in itself; as such.
- として
- toshite — As; in the capacity of; functioning as.
- 統一
- toitsu — Unity; unification; integration into one whole.
- なす
- nasu — To form; to make; to constitute something.
- こと
- koto — Thing; fact; matter; nominalizer for verbs.
- 光
- hikari — Light; brightness; rays of illumination.
- 影
- kage — Shadow; shade; reflection; dark silhouette.
- あらゆる
- arayuru — All; every; any possible kind.
- 陰影
- in'ei — Shade; shadow; subtle nuance of tone.
- ヴェール
- Veeru — Veil; a covering that conceals something.
- 虚構
- Fiction; fabrication; something imaginary or invented.
- 哲学的
- tetsugakuteki — Philosophical; relating to philosophy or reason.
- 想像力
- sozooryoku — Imagination; creative power; ability to visualize.
- 作品
- sakuhin — Work; piece of art or literary creation.
- すべて
- subete — All; everything; the entirety of something.
- 許さ
- yurusa — Allow; permit; forgive (stem form of 許す).
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