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> 戯れに触れれば融け行き、悪戯に払えば散りゆく。 かといって、お為ごかしに見過ごせばいずれは消えていく。

For context we're talking about snow here.

From what I know, に when used with a verb stem indicates a purpose. So
「戯れに触れれば融け行き、」 would translate to "If we touch it to play it's going to melt".

「悪戯に」 is giving me more trouble. I think the に is turning it into an adverb so
the second part of that sentence would loosely translate to "If we casually
dust it off it's going to dissolve."

I don't understand the function of the に in the third sentence. It looks like
it means "On the other hand, if we overlook it under the pretense of being
kind it's eventually going to disappear." but what is the usage of に here?

I'm pretty sure I'm making mistakes so any clarification is appreciated. Thank
you.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-02-21T23:15:08.830
56795
2018-02-22T00:42:07.147
25509
question
grammar translation meaning particle-に
Understanding に correctly in these two sentences
> 「戯{たわむ}れ **に** 触{ふ}れれば融{と}け行き、悪戯{いたずら} **に** 払{はら}えば散{ち}りゆく。 かといって、お為{ため}ごかし
> **に** 見過{みす}ごせばいずれは消{き}えていく。」

You state:

> "From what I know, に when used with a verb stem indicates a purpose."

But 「戯れ」、「悪戯」 and 「お為ごかし」 are all _**nouns**_ ; therefore, the "Verb in
連用形{れんようけい} (continuative form) + に" construct you speak of is not applicable
here.

Instead, what you need to be looking into are the basic golden rules:

> 「Noun + **の** 」 functions _**adjectivally**_ and
>
> 「Noun + **に** 」 functions _**adverbially**_.

Thus, 「戯れに触れる」 means " **to touch out of mere caprice** " or simply " **to
touch just for fun** ".

Likewise, 「悪戯に払う」 means " **to brush off mischieviously** ".

And 「お為ごかしに見過ごす」, " **to let pass ostensibly (for your own good)** "
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-02-22T00:42:07.147
56798
2018-02-22T00:42:07.147
2020-06-17T08:18:27.500
-1
56795
answer