Siddhartha: List 3

by Hermann Hesse
In this translation from German by Hilda Rosner, a young man named Siddhartha, not entirely satisfied with the religious ways of his Brahmin family and Gotama the Buddha, decides to seek his own path to spiritual enlightenment.

This list covers Part Two from "Kamala"–"Samsara."

Here are links to our lists for the novel: List 1, List 2, List 3, List 4
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. enthralled
    filled with wonder and delight
    Siddhartha learned something new on every step of his path, for the world was transformed and he was enthralled.
  2. fleeting
    lasting for a markedly brief time
    The sun and moon had always shone; the rivers had always flowed and the bees had hummed, but in previous times all this had been nothing to Siddhartha but a fleeting and illusive veil before his eyes, regarded with distrust, condemned to be disregarded and ostracized from the thoughts, because it was not reality, because reality lay on the other side of the visible.
  3. ostracize
    avoid speaking to or dealing with
    The sun and moon had always shone; the rivers had always flowed and the bees had hummed, but in previous times all this had been nothing to Siddhartha but a fleeting and illusive veil before his eyes, regarded with distrust, condemned to be disregarded and ostracized from the thoughts, because it was not reality, because reality lay on the other side of the visible.
  4. incidental
    minor or casual or subordinate in significance or nature
    No, this world of thought was still on this side, and it led to no goal when one destroyed the senses of the incidental Self but fed it with thoughts and erudition.
  5. erudition
    profound scholarly knowledge
    No, this world of thought was still on this side, and it led to no goal when one destroyed the senses of the incidental Self but fed it with thoughts and erudition.
  6. recourse
    act of turning to for assistance
    He had heard a voice, a voice in his own heart which commanded him to seek rest under this tree, and he had not taken recourse to mortification of the flesh, sacrifices, bathings or prayers, eating or drinking, sleeping or dreaming; he had listened to the voice.
  7. subservient
    compliant and obedient to authority
    All are subservient, all wish to be my friend, to obey and to think little.
  8. benediction
    a blessing or ceremonial prayer invoking divine protection
    He called across a benediction, as is customary among travellers, and asked how far the road still was to the large town.
  9. artful
    marked by skill or cunning in achieving a desired end
    Beneath heaped-up black hair he saw a bright, very sweet, very clever face, a bright red mouth like a freshly cut fig, artful eyebrows painted in a high arch, dark eyes, clever and observant, and a clear slender neck above her green and gold gown.
  10. trifle
    something of small importance
    There is not much more that is lacking, most excellent lady: fine clothes, fine shoes and money in my purse. Siddhartha has undertaken to achieve more difficult things than these trifles and has attained them.
  11. apt
    mentally quick and resourceful
    You will find me an apt pupil, Kamala. I have learned more difficult things than what you have to teach me.
  12. indolent
    disinclined to work or exertion
    Kamaswami is beginning to grow old and indolent.
  13. prudent
    marked by sound judgment
    Kamaswami came in, a supple, lively man, with graying hair, with clever, prudent eyes and a sensual mouth.
  14. servile
    submissive or fawning in attitude or behavior
    And remembering Kamala’s words, he was never servile to the merchant, but compelled him to treat him as an equal and even more than his equal.
  15. indifferent
    showing no care or concern in attitude or action
    Kamaswami followed his advice, but Siddhartha was little concerned about it. If he made a profit, he accepted it calmly; if he suffered a loss, he laughed and said, "Oh well, this transaction has gone badly.”
    He did, in fact, seem indifferent about business.
  16. consignment
    the delivery of goods for sale or disposal
    If a transaction threatened to be unsuccessful, if a consignment of goods was lost, if a debtor appeared unable to pay, Kamaswami could never persuade his colleague that it served any purpose to utter troubled or angry words, to form wrinkles on the forehead and sleep badly.
  17. toil
    work hard
    He saw them toiling, saw them suffer and grow gray about things that to him did not seem worth the price—for money, small pleasures and trivial honors.
  18. lament
    express grief verbally
    He saw them scold and hurt each other; he saw them lament over pains at which the Samana laughs, and suffer at deprivations which a Samana does not feel.
  19. concede
    be willing to yield
    Kamaswami came to him and told him his troubles or made him reproaches about a transaction, he listened curiously and attentively, was amazed at him, tried to understand him, conceded to him a little where it seemed necessary and turned away from him to the next one who wanted him.
  20. elicit
    call forth, as an emotion, feeling, or response
    And many people came to him—many to trade with him, many to deceive him, many to listen to him, many to elicit his sympathy, many to listen to his advice.
  21. derive
    obtain
    Like a player who plays with his ball, he played with his business, with the people around him, watched them, derived amusement from them; but with his heart, with his real nature, he was not there.
  22. inertia
    a disposition to remain inactive
    Slowly, like moisture entering the dying tree trunk, slowly filling and rotting it, so did the world and inertia creep into Siddhartha’s soul; it slowly filled his soul, made it heavy, made it tired, sent it to sleep.
  23. dainty
    something considered choice to eat
    He had learned to eat sweet and carefully prepared foods, also fish and meat and fowl, spices and dainties, and to drink wine which made him lazy and forgetful.
  24. disdain
    lack of respect accompanied by a feeling of intense dislike
    But he had always felt different from and superior to the others; he had always watched them a little scornfully, with a slightly mocking disdain, with that disdain which a Samana always feels towards the people of the world.
  25. imperceptibly
    in a manner that is difficult to discern
    But slowly and imperceptibly, with the passing of the seasons, his mockery and feeling of superiority diminished.
  26. covetous
    showing extreme greed for material wealth
    The world had caught him; pleasure, covetousness, idleness, and finally also that vice that he had always despised and scorned as the most foolish—acquisitiveness. Property, possessions and riches had also finally trapped him.
  27. acquisitiveness
    strong desire to obtain and possess
    The world had caught him; pleasure, covetousness, idleness, and finally also that vice that he had always despised and scorned as the most foolish—acquisitiveness. Property, possessions and riches had also finally trapped him.
  28. declivity
    a downward slope or bend
    Siddhartha wandered along a strange, twisted path of this last and most base declivity through the game of dice.
  29. fervor
    the state of being emotionally aroused and worked up
    Since the time he had stopped being a Samana in his heart, Siddhartha began to play dice for money and jewels with increasing fervor, a game in which he had previously smilingly and indulgently taken part as a custom of the ordinary people.
  30. formidable
    inspiring fear or dread
    He was a formidable player; few dared play with him for his stakes were so high and reckless.
  31. squander
    spend thoughtlessly; throw away
    He derived a passionate pleasure through the gambling away and squandering of wretched money.
  32. deity
    a supernatural being worshipped as controlling the world
    In no other way could he show more clearly and mockingly his contempt for riches, the false deity of businessmen.
  33. oppressive
    weighing heavily on the senses or spirit
    He loved that anxiety, that terrible and oppressive anxiety which he experienced during the game of dice, during the suspense of high stakes.
  34. tepid
    feeling or showing little interest or enthusiasm
    He loved this feeling and continually sought to renew it, to increase it, to stimulate it, for in this feeling alone did he experience some kind of happiness, some kind of excitement, some heightened living in the midst of his satiated, tepid, insipid existence.
  35. insipid
    lacking interest or significance or impact
    He loved this feeling and continually sought to renew it, to increase it, to stimulate it, for in this feeling alone did he experience some kind of happiness, some kind of excitement, some heightened living in the midst of his satiated, tepid, insipid existence.
  36. procurement
    the act of getting possession of something
    And after every great loss he devoted himself to the procurement of new riches, went eagerly after business and pressed his debtors for payment, for he wanted to play again, he wanted to squander again, he wanted to show his contempt for riches again.
  37. incipient
    only partly in existence; imperfectly formed
    Weariness was written on Kamala’s beautiful face, weariness from continuing along a long path which had no joyous goal, weariness and incipient old age, and concealed and not yet mentioned, perhaps a not yet conscious fear—fear of the autumn of life, fear of old age, fear of death.
  38. outstrip
    be or do something to a greater degree
    When had he really experienced joy? Well, he had experienced this several times. He had tasted it in the days of his boyhood, when he had won praise from the Brahmins, when he far outstripped his contemporaries, when he excelled himself at the recitation of the holy verses, in argument with the learned men, when assisting at the sacrifices.
  39. engender
    call forth
    And again as a youth when his continually soaring goal had propelled him in and out of the crowd of similar seekers, when he had striven hard to understand the Brahmins’ teachings, when every freshly acquired knowledge only engendered a new thirst, then again, in the midst of his thirst, in the midst of his efforts, he had thought: Onwards, onwards, this is your path.
  40. desolate
    crushed by grief
    How flat and desolate his path had been! How many long years he had spent without any lofty goal, without any thirst, without any exaltation, content with small pleasures and yet never really satisfied!
Created on Sat Mar 23 21:48:36 EDT 2013 (updated Tue Jul 18 18:54:30 EDT 2023)

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