英語で紹介する日本文化Ⅱ                      20091023

Lesson 4: Selection from Essays in Idleness 1

(Citation from Donald Keene “Selection from Essays in Idleness” Kodansha International, 1999)

 

Introduction

 

What a strange, demented(発狂するような) feeling it gives me when I realize I have spent whole days before this inkstone(すずり), with nothing better to do, jotting down at random whatever nonsensical(ばかげた) thoughts have entered my head.

 

2

 

The man who forgets the wise principles of the reigns(治世) of the ancient emperors; who gives no thought to the grievances(不満) of the people or the harm done the country; who strives for the utmost luxury in everything, imagining this is the sign of magnificence(豪華さ); who acts as if the world were too small for him seems deplorably(ひどく) wanting(欠けている) in intelligence.

You will find in Lord() Kuj?s(条殿) Testament(遺戒) the instruction, “Make(間に) do() with(わせる) whatever you have, from your court costume down to your horses and carriages. Do not strive for elegance.” Again, you will find among the writings of the Retired() Emperor() Juntoku() on court ceremonial, “The clothes worn by the emperor should be simple and unassuming(気取らない).

 

8

 

Nothing leads a man astray(惑う) so easily as sexual desire. What a foolish thing a man’s heart is!

 

Though we realize, for example, that fragrances(芳香) are short(はか)-lived(ない) and the scent burnt(たきし) into(めた) clothes lingers(残っている) but briefly, how our hearts always leap when we catch whiff(一吹き) of an exquisite perfume! The() holy() man() of() Kume() lost his magic powers after the whiteness of legs of a girl who was washing clothes; this was quite understandable, considering that the glowing plumpness(ふくよかさ) of her arms, legs, and flesh(肉体) owed nothing to artifice(狡猾さ).    

 

 

 

 

12

 

How delightful it would be to converse(談話を交わす) intimately(親しく) with someone of the same mind, sharing with him the pleasures of uninhibited(遠慮のない) conversation on the amusing and foolish things of this world, but such friends are hard to rid. If you must take(気を) care(揉む) that your opinions do not differ in the least from those of the person with whom you are talking, you might just as well be alone.

 

You might suppose(~だと思う) that a man(人は) who listens in general agreement to what the other person is saying, but differs on minor pointswho may contest an opinion, saying, “How can I possibly agree?” or argue, “It’s precisely because of this that that is the case”would be a great comfort when you were bored, but as a matter of fact, if ever anything is said which might require a word of apologyof course, even when conversing with people who are not of the same mind, differences over the usual insignificant(取るに足らない) gossip(世間話) do not matterone realizes sadly what a great distance separates this man from the true friends of one’s heart.    

 

18

 

It is excellent for a man to be simple in his tastes, to avoid extravagance(浪費), to own no possessions, to entertain no craving(切望する) for worldly(世俗的な) success. It has been true since ancient days that wise men are rarely rich.

 

In China there was once a man called Hsu() Yu() who owned not a single possession. Someone, seeing him use is hands to scoop up water for drinking, presented him with what is known as a “sounding(なりひ) gourd(さご).” For a time Hsu Yu hung it on the branch of a tree, but it rattled when the wind blew. “How noisy!” he said, and threw it away. Hsu Yu went back to drinking water scooped up in his hands. What a clean detachment(超然としていること) must have been in his heart!

Sun Chen(孫晨) slept without a quilt(布団) during the winter months. All he had was a bundle of straw that he slept at night and put away in the morning.

 

37

 

When a person who has always been extremely close appears on a particular occasion reserved(あらたまった) and formal(礼儀正しい) towards you, some people undoubtedly will say, “Why act that way now, after all these years?” But I feel that such behavior shows sincerity(誠実さ) and breeding(躾が良い).

 

On the other hand, I am sure I should feel equally attracted if someone with whom I am on distant terms(間柄) should choose some occasion to speak to me with utter frankness.

 

45

 

Kin'yo(藤原公世), an officer of the second rank, had a brother called the High() Priest() Ry?gaku(僧正), an extremely bad(怒り)-()tempered(ぽい性格の) man. Next to his monastery(僧院) grew a large nettle()-()tree() which occasioned(~をもたらす) the nickname people gave him, the Nettle-tree High Priest. “That name is outrageous(不作法な)”, said the high priest, and cut down the tree. The stump(切り株) still being left, people referred to him now as the Stump High Priest. More furious(怒り狂った) than ever, Ry?dgaku had the stump dug up and thrown away, bur this left a big ditch(). People now called him the Ditch High Priest.

 

51

 

The cloistered() emperor(), having decided to introduce water from ?i() River(井川) into the pond of his Kameyama(亀山) palace(殿), commanded the inhabitants of ?i to build a waterwheel. He paid them generously(気前よく), and the men worked hard for several days to construct it. But when the wheel was put in place it failed to turn at all. The men tried in various ways to repair it, but it stood there useless, stubbornly(頑なに) refusing to turn. The emperor thereupon summoned some villagers from Uji(宇治) and ordered them to build a waterwheel. They put one together without difficulty and presented it. The wheel turned perfectly and was splendidly efficient at drawing up water.

 

Expert knowledge in any art is a noble thing.     

 

68

 

There was in Tsukushi(筑紫) a certain man, a constable() of() the peace(使) it would seem, who for many years had eaten two broiled radishes each morning under the impression(~という気持ちで) that radishes were a sovereign(最高の) remedy for all ailments(病気). Once some enemy forces attacked and surrounded his constabulary(管区、館), choosing a moment when the place was deserted(無人になる). Just then, two soldiers rushed out of the building, and engaged(~と交戦する) the enemy, fighting with no thought for their lives until they drove away all the enemy troops. The constable, greatly astonished, asked the two soldiers, “You have fought most gallantly(勇敢に), gentlemen, considering I have never seen you here before. Might I ask who you are?” “We are the radishes you have faithfully eaten every morning for so many years,” they answered, and with these words they disappeared.

 

So deep was his faith in radishes that even such a miracle could occur.

 

71

 

As soon as I hear a name I feel convinced I can guess what the owner looks like, but it never happens, when I actually meet the man, that his face is as I had supposed. I wonder if everybody shares my experience of feeling, often I hear some story about the past, that the house mentioned in the story must have been rather like this or that house belonging to people of today, or that the persons of the story resemble people I see now.

 

It has happened on various occasions too that I have felt, just after someone has said something or I have seen something or thought of something, that it has occurred before. I cannot remember when it was, but I feel absolutely certain that the thing has happened. Am  I the only one who has such impressions?

アメリカ政治外交史歴代アメリカ合衆国大統領研究