Soseki Natsume

A joke carried too far

His curt and cold ways were not designed to express his dislike of me, but they were meant rather as a warning to me that I would not want him as a friend. It was because he despised himself that he refused to accept openheartedly the intimacy of others. I feel great pity for him

“Why is it, Sensei, that you are not as interested in books as you once were?”

“There is no particular reason . . . Well, perhaps it is because I have decided that no matter how many books I may read, I shall never be a very much better man than I am now. And . . .”

“And?”

“This is not very important, but to tell you the truth, I used to consider it a disgrace to be found ignorant by other people. But now, I find that I am not ashamed of knowing less than others, and I am less inclined to force myself to read books. In short, I have grown old and decrepit.”

he feeling angry or lighthearted, or simply seeking solace in the scribblings of some dead philosopher?

he feeling angry or lighthearted, or simply seeking solace in the scribblings of some dead philosopher?

One just can’t tell whether he’s mocking the world or yearning to be accepted into its frivolous company

I the time to keep a diary, I’d use that time to better effect; sleeping on the veranda.

He does not even understand that love can never grow unless there is at least a complete and mutual understanding.

There is nothing more difficult than understanding human mentality.

You know, our hands reach out by themselves for the things we like. There’s no way to stop them