Incessant is the change of water where the stream glides on calmly: the spray appears over a cataract, yet vanishes without a moment's delay. Such is the fate of men in the world and of the houses in which they live. Walls standing side by side, tilings vying with one another in loftiness, these are from generations past the abodes of high and low in a mighty town. But none of them has resisted the destructive work of time. Some stand in ruins; others are replaced by new structures. Their possessors too share the same fate with them. Let the place be the same, the people as numerous as before, yet we can scarcely meet one out of every ten, with whom we had long ago a chance of coming across. We see our first light in the morning and return to our long home next evening. Our destiny is like bubbles of water. Whence do we come? Whither do we tend? What ails us, what delights us in this unreal world? It is impossible to say. A house with its master, which passes away in a state of perpetual change, may well be compared to a morning-glory with a dew drop upon it. Sometimes the dew falls and the flower remains but only to die in the first sunshine: sometimes the dew survives the drooping flower, yet can not live till the evening.
さて、長々と英文を引用させていただきましたが、
みなさんにはこれが何であるかおわかりでしょうか。
おそらく、日ごろから古文に親しんでおられるか、
あるいは、日常的に英語をお使いになっておられるなら、
おわかりになる方がいらっしゃるのではないかと思います。
ゆく河の流れは絶えずして、しかももとの水にあらず。
よどみに浮かぶうたかたは、かつ消え、
かつ結びて、久しくとどまりたる例（ためし）なし。
世の中にある人と栖（すみか）と、またかくのごとし。
上記の英文は、鴨長明の『方丈記』の英訳です。
そして、この驚嘆すべき緻密で臨場感のあふれる翻訳は、
みなさんよくご存知、明治の文豪・夏目漱石によるものです。
※漱石全集（岩波書店） 第２６巻より抜粋
中でも私が好きなのは、以下の部分です。
Our destiny is like bubbles of water.
Whence do we come?
Whither do we tend?
What ails us, what delights us in this unreal world?
It is impossible to say.
珠玉です…
私にとっては、長明の『方丈記』以上に、
漱石の “Hojio-ki” の方が胸を打つのです。
by スグル