其年の六月に卒業する筈の私は、是非共此論文を成規通り四月一杯に書き上げて仕舞はなければならなかつた。二、三、四と指を折つて餘る時日を勘定して見た時、私は少し自分の度胸を疑ぐつた。他のものは餘程前から材料を蒐めたり、ノートを溜めたりして、餘所目にも忙がしさうに見えるのに、私丈はまだ何にも手を着けずにゐた。私にはたゞ年が改たまつたら大いに遣らうといふ決心丈があつた。私は其決心で遣り出した。さうして忽ち動けなくなつた。今迄大きな問題を空に描いて、骨組丈は略出來上つてゐる位に考へてゐた私は、頭を抑えて惱み始めた。私はそれから論文の問題を小さくした。さうして練り上げた思想を系統的に纏める手數を省くために、たゞ書物の中にある材料を竝べて、それに相當な結論を一寸付け加へる事にした。
translation
As I was supposed to graduate in June of that year, I had to finish writing this thesis by the end of April, according to the rules. When I counted the days left by breaking my fingers two, three, four, I began to doubt my courage. Others had been collecting materials and accumulating notebooks for quite some time, and even though they seemed quite busy, I hadn't done anything yet. I was determined to spend a lot of money when the new year rolled around. I made up my mind to send him out. And all of a sudden I couldn't move. Until now, I had drawn a big problem in the sky and thought about it to the extent that I was almost finished with the skeleton, but I held my head and started to feel sick. I then made the thesis problem smaller. In order to save me the trouble of systematically putting together the thoughts I had worked out in this way, I decided to simply look up the material in the book and add a little bit of a suitable conclusion.
kanji (pronunciations & definitions)
| 六月: June (ろくがつ), sixth month of the lunar calendar | 卒業: graduation (そつぎょう), completion (of a course), moving on (from), outgrowing (something), leaving (a group, company, etc.) | 筈: should (be) (はず), bound (to be), expected (to be), must (be), nock (of a bow) | 私: I (わたし), me, I (あたくし), I (あたし), I (アタシ) |
| 是非共: by all means (ぜひとも), at all costs, absolutely | 論文: thesis (ろんぶん), essay, treatise, paper, article | 四月: April (しがつ), fourth month in the lunar calendar, four months (よつき) | 一杯: one cup (of) (いっぱい), one glass (of), one bowl (of), cupful, glassful |
| 書: letter (ふみ), writings, book (しょ), document, calligraphy (esp. Chinese) | 上: above (うえ), over, up, top, summit | 仕舞: end (しまい), close, finish, termination, noh dance in plain clothes | 二三: two or three (にさん) |
| 指: finger (おゆび), finger (および), finger (ゆび), toe, toe | 折: opportunity (おり), chance, occasion, time, folding | 餘: other (よ), another, remaining, leftover, over | 時日: date (じじつ), time |
| 見: looking (み), viewing, (please) try (to), view (of life, etc.) (けん), outlook | 少: small (しょう), little, few | 自分: myself (じぶん), yourself, oneself, himself, herself | 度胸: courage (どきょう), bravery, pluck, nerve, grit |
| 他: another place (ほか), some other place, somewhere else, outside, another (person or thing) | 材料: materials (ざいりょう), ingredients, material (for a novel, experiment, etc.), subject matter, grounds (for a decision, judgement, etc.) | 何: what (なに), what (ナニ), you-know-what, you-know-what, that thing | 手: hand (て), arm, forepaw, foreleg, handle |
| 年: year (とし), age, years, past one’s prime, old age | 改: revision (かい) | 大: large (おお), big, great, major, important | 決心: determination (けっしん), resolution |
| 決心: determination (けっしん), resolution | 出: coming out (で), going out, outflow, efflux, rising (of the Sun or the Moon) | 忽: one hundred-thousandth (こつ), sudden, abrupt, unexpected | 動: motion (どう) |
| 大: large (おお), big, great, major, important | 問題: question (e.g. on a test) (もんだい), problem, problem (e.g. societal, political), question, issue | 空: emptiness (から), emptiness (カラ), being empty, being empty, not carrying anything | 骨組: skeletal frame (ほねぐみ), skeleton, build, physique, framework |
| 位: throne (くらい), crown, (nobleman’s) seat, government position, court rank | 考: thought (こう), report on one’s investigation into …, deceased father | 頭: counter for large animals (e.g. head of cattle) (とう), counter for insects in a collection, counter for helmets, masks, etc., head (あたま), head (かしら) | 抑: in the first place (そもそも), to begin with, from the start, originally, ab initio |
| 小: smallness (しょう), small item, short month (i.e. having fewer than 31 days), elementary school, smaller (of two things, places, etc. with the same name) | 思想: thought (しそう), idea, ideology | 系統的: systematic (けいとうてき) | 纏: battle standard decorated with hanging strips of paper or leather (まとい), fireman’s standard (Edo period) |
| 書物: book (しょもつ), volume | 中: inside (なか), interior, among, within, middle | 結論: conclusion (of an argument, discussion, study, etc.) (けつろん), conclusion | 一寸: one sun (approx. 3.03 cm) (いっすん), little bit (of time, distance, etc.), a little (ちょいと), a little (ちょっと), a little (ちょと) |
| 加: addition (か), Canada | 事: thing (こと), thing (こん), matter, matter, incident |