浮世畫家——An Artist of the Floating World (Part Two)

Nothing less than; spearhead

就如之前所說，Ono年青時崇尚軍國主義，視之為日本富強的新力量。他更認為藝術家是推動軍國主義精神的主要領導者。就如他對其門生說：

“In fact, it is my wish that you should go on to become recognized asnothing less than the spearhead of the new spirit…this establishment of ours where we all gather is a testimony (見證)to the new emerging spirit and all of us here have a right to be proud.”

Nothing less than 解作簡直是，不亞於。例如 It is nothing than a disaster. 這簡直是一場災難。建議這個詞語可以用作演說，加強語氣。

至於spearhead 是名詞，解作矛頭。這裡是指先鋒，最主要的力量，可做名詞或動詞。例如：He is spearheading a campaign for a new stadium in the town. 他正發起一項運動，呼籲在城裡新建一座體育場。

骨瘦如柴—skeletal

戰後的日本一切都是頹垣敗瓦，Ono看在眼裡不勝唏噓。

“I was walking somewhere, making my way through what was left of our old pleasure district, looking from under umbrella at thoseskeletal remains.”

Skeletal 是skeleton的 形容詞. Skeleton是指人的骨骼，也可以形容人已經瘦到只剩下一個骨骼。 但是，用於建築物skeleton是指骨架，殘骸。同樣，skeletal 可以指人骨瘦如柴，例如：She returned from the hospital skeletal. 她從醫院回來，骨瘦如柴。至於 skeletal remains 是指建築物的殘骸，頹垣敗瓦。

分手愉快—To part on the easiest of terms

Ono 為小女兒的婚事找一個多年不見的舊同事Matsuda(松田)幫忙。兩人聚舊，Matsuda回憶起他們最後是不歡而散，但他不想舊事重提，希望能和Ono重拾友誼。正如他說：

“We may not have parted on the easiest of terms, but things like that shouldn’t come between us. Naturally, I’d say only the best things about you.”

這裡的part 是動詞，指分開，分手，斷絕關系。To part on the easiest of terms 是指分手愉快，大家沒有不滿的情緒。這裡的term 是指關係。其他講法是 to part as good friends, to part amicably. 例如：The couple parted amicably. 這對夫妻和平地分手。

破壞—mar

Ono曾經有一個得意門生叫Kuroda (黑田)，可是兩師徒因理念不同而關系決裂。Ono 曾嘗試找Kuroda面談，卻吃了閉門羹，使他感到氣餒。

“This matter with Kuroda did, I confess, cast something of a shadow over my mood; it certainly marred my optimism concerning (=about) Nariko’s negotiations.”

在這裡，mar 是動詞，指毀壞，破壞。例如:The scenic beauty of this region was marred by commercial signs. 商業廣告破壞該地區優美的風景。至於文中的那句不能直譯，可理解為：「他使我對仙子的婚事不再感到那麼樂觀了。」

雄圖大計；留下烙印

Ono的住宅是實業家Akira Sugimura (杉村明)的遺產，因此他跟這位實業家算是頗有淵源。Akira野心勃勃，曾把大部分財產投資在文化建設上。據Ono回憶:

“I cannot remember what else he planned, but there was no mistakingthe sweeping ambition of the scheme. Sugimura hoped not only to transform the Kawabe district, but the whole cultural balance of the city, bringing a new emphasis to the northern side of the river. It was, as I have said, nothing less than the attempt of a man to stamp his mark for ever on the character of the city.”

Sweeping是形容詞，指規模大的，廣闊的。例如大幅度的改革是sweeping reforms. Sweeping ambition 指此計劃反映他的野心太大了。

另外，stamp 是動詞，指蓋印。Stamp somebody’s mark指留下某人的印記。例如Hitler stamped his mark on history for the provocation of World War Two. 希特拉發動第二次世界大戰，在歷史上留下印記。

總括而言，有興趣的可以到公共圖書館借閱此書，但譯本不設外借。若有興趣的，可以看看上海譯文出版社於2011年出版的譯本，個人認為譯得不錯，可在HKALL借閱。