Pandora's Box Quotes

“Haven’t we known for a long time that it’s a mistake to attach meaning to each and every action of a person? Forced explanations often end in a distortion of lies.”
― Osamu Dazai, パンドラの匣

“I have no choice. I am a person with no reason to live. I know my lot. Yes, it would be great to die one day sooner.”
― Osamu Dazai, パンドラの匣

“By living this way, what will my fortune be? There is nothing. Am I simply a sickly man? What should I do? I had no direction, nothing. I thought that this reckless life of mine was only a nuisance to others and devoid of meaning. This was quite hard to bear.”
― Osamu Dazai, パンドラの匣

“Despair is impossible in humans. They often are deceived by hope, but are also deceived by the notion of despair.”
― Osamu Dazai, パンドラの匣

“Each day I deceived myself, unlike you who could never deceive yourself. Anxiety was trapped in the depths of my heart, like a formation of black clouds I could not break free of.”
― Osamu Dazai, パンドラの匣

“The smile of one flower permeates those who live next to death more than the problem of life and death.”
― Osamu Dazai, パンドラの匣

“no thought in the world is worse than the realization that, “My life is a nuisance to others. I am useless.”
― Osamu Dazai, パンドラの匣

“People depend on death to be complete. While alive, they are all incomplete.”
― Osamu Dazai, パンドラの匣

“Around that time, I lost interest in college. I could only see blackness before me, I didn’t know what to do. It was no easy matter to prevent my father from criticizing my loafing around the house and my mother from seeing me as unworthy.”
― Osamu Dazai, パンドラの匣

“Of course, I intended to die without telling a soul about my illness. Without anyone knowing, I would secretly deteriorate. Actually, I felt that there was nothing else I could do. I had no alternatives. Shouldn’t I be resolved to die as a peasant in my horribly confused final circumstance? I had no excuses. It was not because life suddenly became precious, but the forced pretense until yesterday had disappeared.”
― Osamu Dazai, パンドラの匣

“After that, there is nothing more to say. We will move straight ahead at the perfect pace, neither too fast nor too slow. Where does this road lead? Perhaps, you should ask a growing vine. The vine may answer. “I don’t know. But I grow toward the sunlight.”
― Osamu Dazai, パンドラの匣

“We continued to walk without talking. I thought that from now on I will carefully look at the faces of women I encounter, and to some degree, the innocent, transparent beauty of Mabo will appear in all of their faces. Women have become womanly. But the change is not in the women before the world war. The new womanliness has experienced the suffering of war”
― Osamu Dazai, パンドラの匣

“You see, Take-san loves you, Skylark. That’s why she cried,” she said and squeezed even harder.”
― Osamu Dazai, Pandora's Box

“Forced explanations often end in a distortion of lies.”
― Osamu Dazai, Pandora's Box

“My surroundings are becoming as bright as I am. Until now, usually, haven’t the places we appeared automatically become bright and splendid?”
― Osamu Dazai, パンドラの匣

“Devotion is nothing like mindlessly killing oneself with hopeless sentimentality. There is an immense difference. Devotion is to live a worthwhile life forever. Humanity is immortal only by relying on this pure devotion. However, there is no need to dress up for devotion. Today, I should offer everything as I am.
You cannot be an impostor. You’re not allowed to postpone devotion. Every moment of life must have devotion”
― Osamu Dazai, パンドラの匣

“But the planes have a new elegant shape. Not one unnecessary ornament.” “Yes,” said Mabo softly and watched the planes fly off through the sky with a childlike innocence. “A form with no unneeded ornaments is nice.”
― Osamu Dazai, パンドラの匣

“American planes circled the clear blue sky of late fall. We stood in front of the Miyoshino-style building and looked up at them. “They’re flying around in vain.” “Yeah,” Mabo said with a smile.”
― Osamu Dazai, パンドラの匣

“To begin with, I believe a fatal contradiction lies between women’s right to vote and lipstick. Those guys usually aren’t popular with the ladies. Without a doubt, this is a plan for revenge.”
― Osamu Dazai, パンドラの匣

“I think humanity is universal love and no one should be banished. The natural love of humanity is not to be forgotten under any circumstances.”
― Osamu Dazai, パンドラの匣

“The source of our laughter is the small stone that tumbled into a corner of Pandora’s box.”
― Osamu Dazai, パンドラの匣

“We all live a sheet of paper away from death, so we shouldn’t be surprised by death.”
― Osamu Dazai, パンドラの匣

“He’s probably quite good at mathematical calculations, but he doesn’t seem to have ever handled accounts of money. Because we have always been poor,”
― Osamu Dazai, パンドラの匣

“Now, I will make better use of my body and be useful by increasing food production just a little, then I will bid farewell to this world. It would be good to lighten the burden on this country. That is my path to best serve my country as a useless invalid. I want to die soon.”
― Osamu Dazai, パンドラの匣

“I slept quietly so that I would breathe without coughing, and felt a curious indifference. I even felt like I had been waiting for that night for a long time. The words “heart’s desire” came to mind.”
― Osamu Dazai, パンドラの匣

“Around that time, I lost interest in college. I could only see blackness”
― Osamu Dazai, パンドラの匣

“I entered this Health Dojo because the war ended and life suddenly became precious.”
― Osamu Dazai, パンドラの匣

“This cry was old until yesterday. Today, however, this is the newest free thought. The reason of then years ago differs from the reason of today. That is not mysticism after all. It is the innate love of humanity.”
― Osamu Dazai, Pandora's Box

“The mother of that child is bad.” Everything is the mother’s fault.”
― Osamu Dazai, パンドラの匣

“Para quienes convivimos con la muerte a diario, la sonrisa de una flor llega más adentro que cualquier sesuda disquisición sobre la vida y la muerte. No hay nada como el sutil aroma de una flor, no hay mejor estímulo para lanzarse a la aventura y dejarse mecer por corrientes marinas celestiales, y confiarse a estas para que te arrastren hasta donde nadie ha llegado antes, a parajes desconocidos en los que debemos depositar nuestra fe.”
― Osamu Dazai, Pandora's Box