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extirpation
Good word
perfidy.
Good word
They seemed to him doomed to yearn desperately for that which they could not have, for the parental love with which they were never blessed.
To be lonely, she thought, is to sense that one lacks something, something vitally necessary, but what she knew not.
“That’s what I meant when I said it’s a pity about you. You were born with physical strength and fortitude, but you lack both knowledge and wisdom. While you managed to master a few of the more unfortunate features of the Way of the Samurai, you made no effort to acquire learning or virtue. People talk about combining the Way of Learning with the Way of the Samurai, but when properly combined, they aren’t two—they’re one. Only one Way, Takezō.”
All I can do is give you some advice. Face death bravely and quietly. Say a prayer and hope someone bothers to listen. And for the sake of your ancestors, Takezō, have the decency to die with a peaceful look on your face!”
“Learn to fear that which is fearsome….Brute strength is child’s play, the mindless strength of beasts….Have the strength of the true warrior…real courage….Life is precious.”
“No, I don’t think so. I did die, Takuan, and I do feel reborn. I don’t think that now is the time to return to the past. What I have to do is take a resolute step forward, into the future. I’ve barely found the way along which I’ll have to travel. When I’ve made some progress toward the knowledge and self-perfection I’m seeking, perhaps I’ll take the time to relax and look back. Not now.”
“It has to do with a man and a woman….” Takuan’s words to Otsū sat heavily on Musashi’s mind. It was a burden for which he was ill prepared, since in all the mountains of books he’d pored over those three years, there wasn’t one word about the situation he was in now. Even Takuan had shrunk from becoming involved in this matter between him and Otsū. Had Takuan meant that relationships between men and women had to be worked out alone by the people involved? Did he mean that no rules applied, as they did in the Art of War? That there was no foolproof strategy, no way to win? Or was this meant as
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“I told you. I’ve just become a new man. I stayed in that musty hole for three years. I read books. I thought. I screamed and cried. Then suddenly the light dawned. I understood what it means to be human. I have a new name, Miyamoto Musashi. I want to dedicate myself to training and discipline. I want to spend every moment of every day working to improve myself. I know now how far I have to go. If you chose to bind your life to mine, you’d never be happy. There will be nothing but hardship, and it won’t get easier as it goes along. It’ll get more and more difficult.” “When you talk like that,
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supplication
Good word
“When it was only a matter of physical strength, I won, but I left there feeling defeated. Why? Did I win outwardly only to lose inwardly?”
“Yes, but make sure you don’t come dressed the way you are now.” “If that’s the way you feel about it, I don’t want to go. I don’t like places where they make a fuss about things.”
He was miserable, yet there was something in him that couldn’t surrender to these feelings, something that told him it was wrong. He was two different men, one longing to call out to Otsū, the other telling him he was a fool. He couldn’t be sure which was his real self.
mendicant
Good word
imperious,
Good word
You’ll find, my friend, that in the gutters of this floating world, much of the trash consists of fallen flowers.”
You shouldn’t give the impression you’d be satisfied with just anything.”
mettle,
Good word
trollop
Good word
magniloquently,
Good word
choler
Good word
apoplexy.
Good word
sardonic
Good word
To Musashi, the icy plunge into the sacred stream was necessary. If his body could not withstand the cold, how could it survive in the face of life’s more threatening obstacles?
Musashi wasn’t yet able to reply to these questions in the affirmative. He felt that somewhere deep inside himself there was a weakness, the knowledge of his immaturity. He was painfully aware that he had not attained the state of mind of the true master, that he was still far short of being a complete and perfect human. When he compared himself with Nikkan, or Sekishūsai, or Takuan, he could not avoid the simple truth: he was still green. His own analysis of his abilities and traits unveiled not only weaknesses in some areas but virtual blind spots in others.
incorrigible,
Good word
harridan.
Good word
limpid,
Good word
If only the world could be rid of silly misunderstandings, how much less people would suffer.”
“It’s the same with people. In life, we must have flexibility. Our spirits must be able to move freely. To be too stiff and rigid is to be brittle and lacking in responsiveness.”
“There’s no end to the path of discipline.”
“If the talents I was born with are the right ones, I may someday achieve my goal. If not, I may go through life being as stupid as I am now.
“That’s the kind of man I am. What else can I say? I think of my sword, and you disappear into some dark corner of my mind—no, disappear altogether, leaving no trace. At times like that I’m happiest and most satisfied with my life. Do you understand? All this time you’ve suffered, you’ve risked body and soul on a man who loves his sword more than he loves you. I’ll die to vindicate my sword, but I wouldn’t die for the love of a woman. Not even you. As much as I’d like to fall on my knees and beg your forgiveness, I can’t.”
imprecations
Good word
You won’t make a name for yourself just doing what the next man does. You’ll have to distinguish yourself in some way.”
rectitude,
Good word
calumnies
Good word
virile,
Good word
vouchsafed
Good word
sutra,
Good word
They say the longer a man goes without facing a challenge, the weaker he becomes.
For the first time, he asked whether it was possible for an insignificant human being to become one with the universe.
convivial
Good word
How could a man so easily deceived by his inferiors effectively command an army?
frenetic.
Good word
votive
Good word
maudlin,
Good word
if a man dwells only on the dangers ahead, he cannot advance a single step, let alone make his way through life successfully.
“Do not attempt to oppose the way of the universe. But first make sure you know the way of the universe.”
