“I don't want to die in darkness any thicker than this. I want to bring some kind of resolution in my life.” DeathResolutions Book:Scandal Source: Scandal
“What emotion had filled the breast of Christ when he ordered away the man who was to betray him for thirty pieces of silver. Was it anger? or resentment? Or did these words arise from his love? If it was anger, then at this instant Christ excluded from salvation this man alone of all the men in the world; and then our Lord allowed one man to fall into eternal damnation. But it could not be so. Christ wanted to save even Judas. If not, he would have never made him one of his disciples. And yet why did Christ not stop him when he began to slip from the path of righteousness? This was a problem I had not understood even as a seminarian......If it is not blasphemous to say so, I have the feeling that Judas was no more than the unfortunate puppet for the glory of that drama which was the life and death of Christ.” Theological Musings Book:Silence Source: Silence
“Over the years I have forged intimate familial ties with these characters, who are reflections of a portion of myself. Consequently, even a character who appeared only once in a short story waits now in the wings, concealed by the curtain, for his next appearance on-stage. Not one of them has ever broken free of his familial ties with me and disappeared for ever - at least, not within the confines of my heart.” YearsHeartCharacterStoriesNextWaitingStageBrokenMy HeartReflectionWingsAppearanceTiesIntimateShort StoryPortionsCurtainsConcealedForged Author:Shusaku Endo
“Sin, he reflected, is not what it is usually thought to be; it is not to steal and tell lies. Sin is for one man to walk brutally over the life of another and to be quite oblivious of the wounds he has left behind.” MenLyingLeftSinWalksBehindsWoundsStealingOne ManLeft BehindOblivious Author:Shusaku Endo
“True religion should be able to respond to the dark melodies, the faulty and hideous sounds that echo from the heart of men.” MenShouldHeartAbleSoundDarkMelodyEchoesHideousTrue Religion Author:Shusaku Endo
“A person never knows their own true face. Everybody thinks that the phoney, posed social mask they wear is their real face.” ThinkingKnowsLifePersonsRealFacesSocialMask Author:Shusaku Endo
“Christ did not die for the good and beautiful. It is easy enough to die for the good and beautiful; the hard thing is to die for the miserable and corrupt.” HardEnoughBeautifulDiesEasyChristMiserableHard Things Author:Shusaku Endo
“The smell of death was thick in the city of Vara?asi. And in Tokyo as well. And yet the birds blissfully sang their songs.” WellsSongCitiesBirdSmellThickTokyo Author:Shusaku Endo
