The Scarlet Letter — Page 14
At all events, I, the present writer, as their representative, hereby take shame upon myself for their sakes, and pray that any curse incurred by them—as I have heard, and as the dreary and unprosperous condition of the race, for many a long year back, would argue to exist—may be now and henceforth removed.
いずれにせよ、現在この文を書いている私は、彼らの代表として、彼らのために恥を引き受け、彼らが招いたとされる呪い——私が耳にしたところによれば、また長年にわたる一族の陰鬱で不遇な状況がその存在を示唆しているように——が、今この時より永遠に解き放たれんことを祈るものである。
Doubtless, however, either of these stern and black-browed Puritans would have thought it quite a sufficient retribution for his sins, that, after so long a lapse of years, the old trunk of the family tree, with so much venerable moss upon it, should have borne, as its topmost bough, an idler like myself.
しかしながら、疑いなく、これらの厳格で眉間に皺を寄せたピューリタンたちのどちらも、これほど長い年月を経た後に、由緒ある苔をたっぷりとまとった一族の古い幹が、その最も高い枝として私のような怠け者を生んだことを、自らの罪に対する十分な報いだと思ったことであろう。
No aim, that I have ever cherished, would they recognize as laudable; no success of mine—if my life, beyond its domestic scope, had ever been brightened by success—would they deem otherwise than worthless, if not positively disgraceful.
私がこれまで抱いてきたいかなる目標も、彼らには称賛に値するとは映らないだろう。私のいかなる成功も——もし私の生涯が、家庭の範囲を超えたところで、かつて成功によって輝いたことがあったとしても——彼らにとっては無価値、いや積極的に恥ずべきものとしか映らなかったであろう。
"What is he?" murmurs one gray shadow of my forefathers to the other.
「あやつは何者か？」と、私の先祖の一つの灰色の影がもう一方に囁く。
"A writer of story-books! What kind of a business in life—what mode of glorifying God, or being serviceable to mankind in his day and generation—may that be? Why, the degenerate fellow might as well have been a fiddler!"
「物語本を書く者だと！ それが生業として——神を称え、あるいはその時代と世代において人類の役に立つ手段として——いったいどんな意味があるというのか？ まったく、あの堕落した男はバイオリン弾きにでもなっていたほうがよかったのだ！」
Such are the compliments bandied between my great-grandsires and myself, across the gulf of time!
これが、時の大いなる隔たりを越えて、私の曾祖父たちと私との間で交わされる称賛の言葉というわけだ！
And yet, let them scorn me as they will, strong traits of their nature have intertwined themselves with mine.
それでもなお、彼らが望むままに私を軽蔑しようとも、彼らの性質の強い特質は、私のそれと深く絡み合っているのである。
Vocabulary
- いずれ
- izure — Sooner or later; at some point in time.
- 現在
- genzai — Present time; now; current situation or state.
- この
- kono — This; demonstrative adjective indicating near object.
- いる
- iru — To be; to exist; auxiliary indicating ongoing action.
- 彼ら
- karera — They; them; third-person plural pronoun.
- 代表
- daihyō — Representative; representative person or group.
- ため
- tame — For the sake of; for the purpose of.
- 引き受け
- hikiuke — To undertake; to accept responsibility for something.
- 呪い
- noroi — Curse; curse or spell; ill-wishing.
- ところ
- tokoro — Place; location; moment or point in time.
- また
- mata — Again; furthermore; also or in addition.
- 長年
- chōnen — Many years; long period of time.
- わたる
- wataru — To span; to extend across or over something.
- 一族
- ichizoku — Family; clan; extended family group.
- 陰鬱
- in'utsu — Gloomy; melancholy; dark or depressed mood.
- 不遇
- fugū — Misfortune; adversity; lack of success.
- 状況
- jōkyō — Situation; circumstance; state of affairs.
- その
- sono — That; demonstrative adjective indicating distant object.
- 存在
- sonzai — Existence; being; presence or entity.
- 示唆
- shisa — Suggestion; hint; indication or implication.
- よう
- yō — Like; as if; manner or appearance.
- より
- yori — Than; from; by means of or through.
- 永遠
- eien — Eternity; forever; infinite or endless time.
- こと
- koto — Thing; matter; fact or circumstance.
- 祈る
- inoru — To pray; to wish or hope for something.
- もの
- mono — Thing; object; person or creature.
- ある
- aru — To exist; to have; to be present.
- しかし
- shikashi — However; but; nevertheless or yet.
- ながら
- nagara — While; during; even though or although.
- 疑い
- utagai — Doubt; suspicion; uncertainty or skepticism.
- なく
- naku — Without; not; negation or absence.
- これら
- koreら — These; those things; plural demonstrative pronoun.
- 厳格
- genkaku — Strict; severe; rigorous or stern.
- 眉間
- miken — Space between eyebrows; brow or forehead.
- ピューリタン
- Pyūritan — Puritan; member of strict religious movement.
- たち
- tachi — Plural suffix for people or groups.
- どちら
- dochira — Which; which direction or which one.
- これほど
- korehodo — To this extent; this much; so very much.
- 長い
- nagai — Long; lengthy; extended in duration.
- 年月
- nengetsu — Years and months; passage of time.
- 由緒
- yūsho — History; origin; lineage or background.
- たっぷり
- tappuri — Abundantly; generously; plenty or full amount.
- 古い
- furui — Old; ancient; aged or former.
- 最も
- mottomo — Most; the greatest degree; very.
- 高い
- takai — High; tall; expensive or elevated.
- 怠け者
- takakaremono — Lazy person; idler; one who shirks work.
- 自ら
- mizukara — Oneself; by oneself; of one's own volition.
- 対する
- taisuru — To face; to confront; to be opposite to.
- 十分
- jūbun — Enough; sufficient; adequate or satisfactory.
- 報い
- mukui — Reward; retribution; recompense or return.
- あろう
- arō — Will be; probably is; probable state.
- これ
- kore — This; this one; demonstrative pronoun.
- まで
- made — Until; till; up to or as far as.
- いかなる
- ikanaru — What kind of; any; whatsoever or whatever.
- 目標
- mokuhyō — Goal; target; objective or aim.
- 称賛
- shōsan — Praise; admiration; commendation or acclaim.
- 値する
- ataisuru — To deserve; to be worth; to merit.
- ない
- nai — Not; none; negative auxiliary verb form.
- だろう
- darō — Probably; will likely; I suppose.
- 成功
- seikō — Success; achievement; accomplishment or triumph.
- もし
- moshi — If; supposing; in case that.
- 生涯
- shōgai — Lifetime; whole life; entire span.
- 家庭
- katei — Home; family; household or domestic life.
- 範囲
- han'i — Scope; range; extent or boundaries.
- かつて
- katsute — Once; formerly; in the past or before.
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