若し私が伯父の希望通り伯父の娘と結婚したならば、其結果は物質的に私に取つて有利なものでしたらうか。是は考へる迄もない事と思ひます。伯父は策略で娘を私に押し付けやうとしたのです。好意的に兩家の便宜を計るといふよりも、ずつと下卑た利害心に驅られて、結婚問題を私に向けたのです。私は從妹を愛してゐない丈で、嫌つてはゐなかつたのですが、後から考へて見ると、それを斷つたのが私には多少の愉快になると思ひます。胡魔化されるのは何方にしても同じでせうけれども、載せられ方からいへば、從妹を貰はない方が、向ふの思ひ通りにならないといふ點から見て、少しは私の我が通つた事になるのですから。然しそれは殆んど問題とするに足りない些細な事柄です。ことに關係のない貴方に云はせたら、さぞ馬鹿氣た意地に見えるでせう。
translation
If I were to marry his daughter as he wished, would the result be materially advantageous to me? I don't think it's worth thinking about. My uncle tried to force his daughter on me by trickery. Rather than favorably seeking the convenience of both families, they turned the matter of marriage to me, driven by vulgar interests. I didn't love my servants, and I didn't hate them, but in hindsight, I think it would have been a little more amusing for me to stop doing that. It would be the same for anyone to be disfigured, but from the point of view of the way it was posted, it would be better not to have a servant, from the point of view that it would not be what the other person thought. Because it will be something that we have passed. But it's mostly a trivial matter that doesn't matter. If I were to tell you, who has nothing to do with it, it would make you look ridiculous and stubborn.
kanji (pronunciations & definitions)
| 若: youth (わか), child (esp. of the young son of someone of high social standing), young, new, like (こと) | 私: I (わたし), me, I (あたくし), I (あたし), I (アタシ) | 伯父: uncle (おじ), uncle (しゅくふ), uncle (はくふ), uncle (one’s father’s older brother) (えおじ) | 希望: hope (きぼう), wish, aspiration, (bright) prospects, expectation |
| 娘: unmarried woman (じょう), Miss, -ess, -ette, daughter (むすめ) | 結婚: marriage (けっこん) | 結果: result (けっか), consequence, outcome, effect, as a result of … | 物質的: material (ぶっしつてき), physical |
| 有利: advantageous (ゆうり), favourable, better, stronger, profitable | 是: here (ここ), this place, this point, here, now | 考: thought (こう), report on one’s investigation into …, deceased father | 迄: until (a time) (まで), till, to, up to, to (a place or person) |
| 策略: scheme (さくりゃく), tactic, stratagem, trick | 付: furnished with (つき), furnished with (づき), furnished with (ツキ), including, including | 好意的: favorable (こういてき), favourable | 便宜: convenience (びんぎ), convenience (べんぎ), accommodation, accommodation, advantage |
| 下卑: vulgarity (げび), coarseness, crudeness | 利害: advantages and disadvantages (りがい), interests (of parties) | 心: mind (こころ), heart, spirit, the meaning of a phrase (riddle, etc.), heart (しん) | 害心: evil intentions (がいしん), malice |
| 問題: question (e.g. on a test) (もんだい), problem, problem (e.g. societal, political), question, issue | 問題: question (e.g. on a test) (もんだい), problem, problem (e.g. societal, political), question, issue | 愛: love (あい), affection, care, attachment, craving | 丈: only (だけ), just, merely, simply, no more than |
| 後: behind (あと), rear, after, later, remainder | 見: looking (み), viewing, (please) try (to), view (of life, etc.) (けん), outlook | 多少: a little (たしょう), some, somewhat, slightly, to some degree | 愉快: pleasant (ゆかい), delightful, enjoyable, joyful, cheerful |
| 同: the same (どう), the said, likewise | 載: 10^44 (さい), hundred tredecillion | 方: direction (かた), way, person, lady, gentleman | 通: authority (つう), expert, connoisseur, well-informed person, counter for messages, letters, notes, documents, etc. |
| 我: I (あ), I (あれ), I (わ), I (わぬ), I (われ) | 然: -like (ぜん), so (さ), like that, in that way, like that (しか) | 殆: quite (ほとほと), utterly, really, completely | 問題: question (e.g. on a test) (もんだい), problem, problem (e.g. societal, political), question, issue |
| 些細: trivial (ささい), trifling, slight, insignificant | 事柄: matter (ことがら), thing, affair, circumstance | 貴方: your home (きほう), your residence, you (referring to one’s equal; epistolary style), you (あなた), dear | 馬鹿: idiot (ばか), idiot (バカ), moron, moron, fool |
| 意地: stubbornness (いじ), obstinacy, willpower, pride, disposition |