| Sei Shonagon |
| Hateful Things |
One
is in a hurry to leave, but one's visitor keeps chattering away.
If it is someone of no importance, one can get rid of him by saying,
"You must tell me all about it next time"; but, should it be the
sort of visitor whose presence commands one's best behavior, the
situation is hateful indeed.
Someone
has suddenly fallen ill and one summons the exorcist. Since he is
not at home, one has to send messengers to look for him. After one
has had a long fretful wait, the exorcist finally arrives, and with
a sigh of relief one asks him to start his incantations. But perhaps
he has been exorcizing too many evil spirits recently; for hardly
has he installed himself and begun praying when his voice becomes
drowsy. Oh, how hateful!
A man
who has nothing in particular to recommend him discusses all sorts
of subjects at random as though he knew everything.
To envy others and to complain about one's own lot; to speak badly
about people; to be inquisitive about the most trivial matters and
to resent and abuse people for not telling one, or, if one does manage
to worm out some facts, to inform everyone in the most detailed fashion
as if one had known all from the beginning -- oh, how hateful!
An
admirer has come on a clandestine visit, but a dog catches sight
of him and starts barking. One feels like killing the beast.
One
has gone to bed and is about to doze off when a mosquito appears
and announces itself in a reedy voice. One can actually feel the
wind made by his winds and, slight though it is, one finds it hateful
in the extreme.
One
is in the middle of a story when someone butts in and tries to show
that he is the only clever person in the room. Such a person is
hateful, and so, indeed, is anyone, child or adult, who tries to
push himself forward. One is telling a story about old times when
someone breaks in with a little detail that he happens to know,
implying that one's own version is inaccurate -- disgusting behavior!
Very
hateful is a mouse that scurries all over the place.
A certain
gentleman whom one does not want to see visits one at home or in
the Palace, and one pretends to be asleep. But a maid comes to tell
one and shakes one awake, with a look on her face that says, "What
a sleepyhead!" Very hateful. |
|
Traducción realizada
por Amalia Sato, a partir
de la versión de Ivan Morris
y lecturas de los originales
en japonés. |
