『オブローモフ』の冒頭を英語で、日本語訳つきで読む

One morning, in a flat in one of the great buildings in Gorokliovaia Street, * the population of which was sufficient to constitute that of a provincial town, there was lying in bed a gentleman named Ilya Ilyitch Oblomov. He was a fellow of a little over thirty, of medium height, and of pleasant exterior. Unfortunately, in his dark-grey eyes there was an absence of any definite idea, and in his other features a total lack of concentration. Suddenly a thought would wander across his face with the freedom of a bird, flutter for a moment in his eyes, settle on his half-opened lips, and remain momentarily lurking in the lines of his forehead. Then it would disappear, and once more his face would glow with a radiant insouciance which extended even to his attitude and the folds of his night-robe. At other times his glance would darken as with weariness or ennui. Yet neither the one nor the other expression could altogether banish from his countenance that gentleness which was the ruling, the fundamental, characteristic, not only of his features, but also of the spirit which lay beneath them. That spirit shone in his eyes, in his smile, and in his every movement of hand and head. On glancing casually at Oblomov a cold, a superficially observant person would have said, “Evidently he is good-natured, but a simpleton;” whereas a person of greater penetration and sympathy than the first would have prolonged his glance, and then gone on his way thoughtfully, and with a smile as though he were pleased with something.

ゴロホヴァヤ通りの大きな建物の一つにあるアパートで、ある朝、イリヤ・イリイチ・オブローモフという名の紳士がベッドに横になっていました。その建物の住人は、一つの地方都市を構成するのに十分なほどでした。彼は三十歳を少し過ぎた男で、中背、感じのよい外見でした。残念ながら、その暗い灰色の目には、はっきりとした考えが欠けており、他の顔の造作にも、まったく集中力がありませんでした。突然、考えが鳥のように自由に顔をよぎり、目の中で一瞬羽ばたき、半開きの唇にとまり、額のしわにしばらく潜んでいました。そして消え去ると、再び顔は輝くような無頓着さに包まれ、それは態度や寝間着のひだにまで及びました。別の時には、彼の視線は疲れや退屈のように暗くなりました。しかし、どちらの表情も、彼の顔から、彼の特徴だけでなく、その下にある精神の支配的で基本的な特質である優しさを完全に追い出すことはできませんでした。その精神は、目に、微笑みに、手や頭のあらゆる動きに輝いていました。オブローモフを何気なく見た冷たく表面的な観察者は、「明らかに善良だが、愚か者だ」と言ったでしょう。一方、より洞察力と共感を持つ人は、視線を長く留め、それから何かに満足したように微笑みながら、物思いにふけって歩き去ったでしょう。

Oblomov’s face was neither reddy nor dull nor pale, but of an indefinite hue. At all events, that was the impression which it gave—possibly because, through insufficiency of exercise, or through want of fresh air, or through a lack of both, he was wrinkled beyond his years. In general, to judge from the extreme whiteness of his bare neck, his small, puffy hands, and his soft shoulders, one would conclude that he possessed an effeminate body. Even when excited, his actions were governed by an unvarying gentleness, added to a lassitude that was not devoid of a certain peculiar grace. On the other hand, should depression of spirits show itself in his face, His glance would grow dull, and his brow furrowed, as doubt, despondency, and apprehension fell to contending with one another. Yet this crisis of emotion seldom crystallized into the form of a definite idea—still less into that of a fixed resolve. Almost always such emotion evaporated in a sigh, and shaded off into a sort of apathetic lethargy.

オブローモフの顔は、赤らんでおらず、くすんでおらず、青白くもなく、漠然とした色合いでした。少なくとも、それが与える印象でした。おそらく、運動不足のためか、新鮮な空気の欠如のためか、あるいはその両方の欠如のために、彼は年齢よりも老けてしわが寄っていました。一般に、露出した首の極端な白さ、小さくむくんだ手、柔らかい肩から判断すると、女性的な体を持っていると結論づけられるでしょう。興奮した時でさえ、彼の行動は、ある独特の優雅さを欠かない倦怠感に加えて、変わらない優しさによって支配されていました。一方、顔に憂鬱が現れると、彼の視線は鈍くなり、額にしわが寄り、疑い、失望、不安が互いに争うように落ち込みました。しかし、この感情の危機が明確な考えの形に結晶することはほとんどなく、ましてや固い決意の形になることはありませんでした。ほとんどいつも、そのような感情はため息とともに消え、ある種の無気力な嗜眠状態に移り変わっていきました。