That was mere probing$$$ my eye was really turned on an invisible realm far beyond the horizon. What is it to see the invisible? That is the ultimate vision$$$ the denial at the end of all seeing$$$ the eye's denial of itself.
In Kyoto I never experienced an air raid$$$ but once when I was sent to the main factory in Osaka with some orders for spare parts for aircraft$$$ there happened to be an attack and I saw one of the factory workers being carried out on a stretcher with his intestines exposed. What is so ghastly about exposed intestines? Why$$$ when we see the insides of a human being do we have to cover our eyes in terror? Why are people so shocked by the sight of blood pouring out? Why are a man's intestines ugly? Is it not exactly the same in quality as the beauty of youthful$$$ glossy skin?
It was the sea that made me begin thinking secretly about love more than anything else; you know$$$ a love worth dying for$$$ or a love that consumes you. To a man locked up in a steel ship all the time$$$ the sea is too much like a woman. Things like her lulls and storms$$$ or her caprice$$$ or the beauty of her breast reflecting the setting sun$$$ are all obvious. More than that$$$ you're in a ship that mounts the sea and rides her and yet is constantly denied her. It's the old saw about miles and miles of lovely water and you cant quench your thirst.
Japanese people today think of money$$$ just money: Where is our national spirit today? The Jieitai must be the soul of Japan. The nation has no spiritual foundation. That is why you don't agree with me. You will just be American mercenaries. There you are in your tiny world. You do nothing for Japan. I salute the Emperor. Long live the emperor!
Only through the group$$$ I realised through sharing the suffering of the group could the body reach that height of existence that the individual alone could never attain. And for the body to reach that level at which the divine might be glimpsed$$$ a dissolution of individuality was necessary. The tragic quality of the group was also necessary$$$ the quality that constantly raised the group out of the abandon and torpor into which it was prone to lapse$$$ leading it to an ever-mounting shared suffering and so to death$$$ which was the ultimate suffering.
Human beings$$$ Isao realized$$$ could descend to communicating their feelings like dogs barking in the distance on a cold night.
As usual$$$ it occurred to me that words were the only thing that could possibly save me from this situation. This was a characteristic misunderstanding on my part. When action was needed$$$ I was absorbed in words; for words proceeded with such difficulty from my mouth that I was intent on them and forgot all about action. It seemed to me that actions$$$ which are dazzling$$$ varied things$$$ must always be accompanied by equally dazzling and equally varied words.
When I arrived at the house in the suburbs that night I seriously contemplated suicide for the first time in my life. But as I thought about it$$$ the idea became exceedingly tiresome$$$ and I finally decided it would be a ludicrous business. I had an inherent dislike of admitting defeat.
How soon hath Time$$$ the subtle thief of youth$$$ stol'n on his wing my three-and-twentieth year!
The divinization of Man$$$ when one abhors the order of the world as essentially evil$$$ is a risky and self-contradictory venture.