それから二三日して、私はとう／＼自殺する決心をしたのです。私に乃木さんの死んだ理由が能く解らないやうに、貴方にも私の自殺する譯が明らかに呑み込めないかも知れませんが、もし左右だとすると、それは時勢の推移から來る人間の相違だから仕方がありません。或は箇人の有つて生れた性格の相違と云つた方が確かも知れません。私は私の出來る限り此不可思議な私といふものを、貴方に解らせるやうに、今迄の敍述で己れを盡した積です。
translation
After a few days, I finally decided to commit suicide. Just as I don't understand the reason for Mr. Nogi's death, you may not be able to understand my story of suicide, but if it's left and right, it's a difference between people that comes from the transition of the times. it can't be helped. Or, it might be more accurate to say that it is the difference in personality that each person was born with. To the best of my ability, I have tried my best to make you understand this mysterious me.
kanji (pronunciations & definitions)
| 二三日: 23rd day of the month (にじゅうさんにち), 23 days, two or three days (にさんにち) | 私: I (わたし), me, I (あたくし), I (あたし), I (アタシ) | 自殺: suicide (じさつ) | 決心: determination (けっしん), resolution |
| 理由: reason (りゆう), reason (わけ), pretext, pretext, motive | 能: talent (のう), gift, function, noh (theatre) | 解: solution (of an equation, inequality, etc.) (かい), root (e.g. of a polynomial), solution (to a given problem), answer, explanation | 貴方: your home (きほう), your residence, you (referring to one’s equal; epistolary style), you (あなた), dear |
| 明: vidya (wisdom) (みょう), mantra, the coming (July 4, etc.), brightness (めい), discernment | 知: wisdom (ち), jnana (higher knowledge) | 左右: left and right (さう), left and right (さゆう), left and right (そう), right and left, right and left | 時勢: (trend of) the times (じせい), current of the times, spirit of the age |
| 人間: human being (にんげん), human, person, man, mankind | 相違: difference (そうい), discrepancy, variation | 仕方: way (しかた), method, means, resource, course | 或: a certain … (ある), some … |
| 生: pure (き), undiluted, raw, crude, raw (なま) | 性格: character (of a person) (せいかく), personality, disposition, nature, characteristics | 方: direction (かた), way, person, lady, gentleman | 確: sure (たしか), certain, positive, definite, reliable |
| 思議: conjecture (しぎ), guess | 不可思議: mystery (ふかしぎ), something inexplicable, wonder, miracle, unfathomable (of a Buddha’s abilities) | 今迄: until now (いままで), so far, up to the present | 己: oneself (itself, etc.) (おのれ), I, me, you, by oneself (itself, etc.) |