斯ういふ過去を二人の間に通り拔けて來てゐるのですから、精神的に向上心のないものは馬鹿だといふ言葉は、Ｋに取つて痛いに違いなかつたのです。然し前にも云つた通り、私は此一言で、彼が折角積み上げた過去を蹴散らした積ではありません。却つてそれを今迄通り積み重ねて行かせやうとしたのです。それが道に達しやうが、天に屆かうが、私は構ひません。私はたゞＫが急に生活の方向を轉換して、私の利害と衝突するのを恐れたのです。要するに私の言葉は單なる利己心の發現でした。
translation
Having passed through such a past between the two of them, it must have been painful for K to say that those who are mentally unimproved are idiots. However, as I said before, I am not the product of just throwing away the past that he has worked so hard to build up. On the contrary, I tried to keep it going as before. Whether it reaches the road, whether it reaches heaven, I don't care. I was simply afraid that K would suddenly change the direction of his life and conflict with my interests. In short, my words were the manifestation of mere selfishness.
kanji (pronunciations & definitions)
| 過去: the past (かこ), bygone days, one’s past (that one would prefer remained secret), past (tense), preterit | 二人: two persons (ににん), two persons (ふたり), two people, two people, pair | 間: space (between) (あいだ), space (between) (あわい), gap, gap, interval | 通: authority (つう), expert, connoisseur, well-informed person, counter for messages, letters, notes, documents, etc. |
| 向上心: ambition (こうじょうしん), aspiration, desire to improve oneself | 馬鹿: idiot (ばか), idiot (バカ), moron, moron, fool | 言葉: language (けとば), language (ことば), dialect, dialect, word | Ｋ: K (ケイ), K (ケー), k, k, kilo- |
| 痛: ouch (いた), ow, that hurt, pain (つう), ache | 然: -like (ぜん), so (さ), like that, in that way, like that (しか) | 前: point (さき), tip, end, nozzle, head (of a line) | 私: I (わたし), me, I (あたくし), I (あたし), I (アタシ) |
| 彼: that (あ), that (あれ), that (アレ), that thing, that thing | 折角: with trouble (せっかく), at great pains, rare, valuable, precious | 積: product (せき), volume, area | 上: above (うえ), over, up, top, summit |
| 今迄: until now (いままで), so far, up to the present | 通: authority (つう), expert, connoisseur, well-informed person, counter for messages, letters, notes, documents, etc. | 重: chief (おも), main, principal, important, main secondary or supporting role (in kyogen) | 行: line (of text) (ぎょう), row, verse, carya (austerities), samskara (formations) |
| 達: pluralizing suffix (esp. for people and animals; formerly honorific) (たち), friend (だち), friend (ダチ) | 天: sky (てん), heaven, God, svarga (heaven-like realm visited as a stage of death and rebirth), deva (divine being of Buddhism) | 構: structure (かまえ), construction, appearance, posture (e.g. in martial arts), pose | 急: sudden (きゅう), abrupt, unexpected, urgent, pressing |
| 方向: direction (ほうこう), orientation, bearing, way, course (e.g. of action) | 利害: advantages and disadvantages (りがい), interests (of parties) | 衝突: collision (しょうとつ), crash, impact, running into, clash | 恐: frightening (こわ), terrifying, yours sincerely (かしく), yours sincerely (かしこ), respectfully yours |
| 利己心: egoism (りこしん), selfishness |