“I am a lonely man,' Sensei said. 'And so I am glad that you come to see me. But I am also a melancholy man, and so I asked you why you should wish to visit me so often.” LonelinessJapanJapanese LiteratureJapanese Book:Kokoro Source: Kokoro
“From then on, my thesis hung over me like a curse, and with bloodshot eyes, I worked like a madman.” JapanJapanese LiteratureJapaneseStudying Book:Kokoro Source: Kokoro
“A person who enjoys looking at twisted plants or bamboo might as well just be proud of having a hunchbacked lover or lame husband.” JapanJapanese LiteratureJapaneseBotchanIkebana Book:Botchan Source: Botchan
“When I came here, Porcupine was the first to treat me to ice water. To be treated by such a fellow, even if it is so trifling a thing as ice water, affects my honor. I had only one glass then and had him pay only one sen and a half. But one sen or half sen, I shall not die in peace if I accept a favor from a swindler. I will pay it back tomorrow when I go to the school. I borrowed three yen from Kiyo. That three yen is not paid yet to-day, though it is five years since. Not that I could not pay, but that I did not want to. Kiyo never looks to my pocket thinking I shall pay it back by-the-bye. Not by any means. I myself do not expect to fulfill cold obligation like a stranger by meditating on returning it. The more I worry about paying it back, the more I may be doubting the honest heart of Kiyo. It would be the same as traducing her pure mind. I have not paid her back that three yen not because I regard her lightly, but because I regard her as part of myself. Kiyo and Porcupine cannot be compared, of course, but whether it be ice water or tea, the fact that I accept another’s favor without saying anything is an act of good-will, taking the other on his par value, as a decent fellow. Instead of chipping in my share, and settling each account, to receive munificence with grateful mind is an acknowledgment which no amount of money can purchase” JapaneseNatsume SosekiBotchan Book:Botchan Source: Botchan
“No wonder we never see the end of war in the world. Among individuals, it is, after all, the question of superiority of the fist.” JapaneseNatsume SosekiBotchan Book:Botchan Source: Botchan