先生はいくらとも云はなかつた。けれども先生の話は、容易に自分の死といふ遠い問題を離れなかつた。さうして其死は必ず奧さんの前に起るものと假定されてゐた。奧さんも最初のうちは、わざとたわいのない受け答へをしてゐるらしく見えた。それが何時の間にか、感傷的な女の心を重苦しくした。
translation
"The teacher didn't say anything." However, Sensei's story did not easily leave the distant issue of his own death. Thus, it was assumed that his death would inevitably occur before his wife. At first, Oku-san seemed to be purposely answering in a nonchalant manner. Before I knew it, it made the sentimental woman's heart heavy.
kanji (pronunciations & definitions)
| 先生: teacher (せんせい), instructor, master, sensei, title or form of address for a teacher, master, doctor, lawyer, etc. | 話: talk (はなし), speech, chat, conversation, topic | 容易: easy (ようい), simple, plain | 自分: myself (じぶん), yourself, oneself, himself, herself |
| 遠: distant (とお) | 問題: question (e.g. on a test) (もんだい), problem, problem (e.g. societal, political), question, issue | 離: li (one of the trigrams of the I Ching: fire, south) (り) | 必: definiteness (ひつ), certainty |
| 前: point (さき), tip, end, nozzle, head (of a line) | 起: source (おこり), origin, cause, beginning, genesis | 最初: beginning (さいしょ), outset, first, onset | 受: vedana (sensation) (じゅ) |
| 見: looking (み), viewing, (please) try (to), view (of life, etc.) (けん), outlook | 何時: when (いつ), at what time, how soon, normal times, ordinary days | 間: space (between) (あいだ), space (between) (あわい), gap, gap, interval | 感傷的: sentimental (かんしょうてき), emotional, maudlin, mawkish |
| 心: mind (こころ), heart, spirit, the meaning of a phrase (riddle, etc.), heart (しん) | 重苦: intense suffering (じゅうく) |