“I am an honest man by nature, but as I live in society I try not to arouse anyone's resentment and sometimes I am compelled to lie in this endeavour. As soon as honesty becomes compatible with daily social life,… — Natsume Sōseki Copy Share Image
“Daisuke was of course equipped with conversation that, even if they went further, would allow him to retreat as if nothing had happened. He had always wondered at the conversations recorded in Western novels, for to him they were too bald, too self indulgent, and moreover, too unsubtly rich. However they read in the original, he thought they reflected a… — Natsume Sōseki Copy Share
“His grin seemed to say, “It is, for some strange reason, considered proper to congratulate people on such occasions as this.” — Natsume Sōseki Copy Share Image
“He is totally abandoned in the way he buys book after book, never to read a single one. I wouldn't mind if he used his head and bought in moderation, but no. Whenever the mood takes him, he ambles off to the biggest bookshop in the city and brings back home as many books as chance to catch his fancy.… — Natsume Sōseki Copy Share
“Use your intellect to guide you, and you will end up putting people off. Rely on your emotions, and you will forever be pushed… — Natsume Sōseki Copy Share Image
“Living as I do with human beings, the more that I observe them, the more I am forced to conclude that they are selfish.” — Natsume Sōseki Copy Share Image
“One day, with his usual head (I do not mean to imply that one can change heads as one changes hats, wearing at will a party head or an everyday head or a Sunday-go-to-meeting head, but simply that on this occasion the head of Aeschylus was as bald as ever), this famous writer went out walking in the streets, where… — Natsume Sōseki Copy Share
“But do you imagine there’s a certain type of person in the world who conforms to the idea of a ‘bad person'? You’ll never find someone who fits that mold neatly, you know. On the whole, all people are good, or at least they’re normal. The frightening thing is that they can suddenly turn bad when it comes to the… — Natsume Sōseki Copy Share
“He had always been a middle-of-the-road sort. He had never submitted word for word to anyone's command, but neither had he passionately rebelled against… — Natsume Sōseki Copy Share Image
“You see, loneliness is the price we have to pay for being born in this modern age, so full of freedom, independence, and our… — Natsume Soseki Copy Share Image
“It is painfully easy to define human beings. They are beings who, for no good reason at all, create their own unnecessary suffering.” — Natsume Sōseki Copy Share Image
“That Seigo could go into geisha houses, accept luncheon invitations, drop in at the Club, see people off at Shimabashi, meet them at Yokohama, run out to Oiso to humor the elders—that he could put in his appearance at large gatherings from morning to evening without seeming either triumphant or dejected—this must be because he was thoroughly accustomed to this… — Natsume Sōseki Copy Share
“You seem to be under the impression that there is a special breed of bad humans. There is no such thing as a stereotype… — Natsume Soseki Copy Share Image
