My Individualism and the Philosophical Foundations of Litera. Natsume Soseki

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      However, as far as I am concerned, after I left university I did not manage to extricate myself honorably from this situation until I was thirty. Obviously this caused me inevitable suffering, and it persisted year after year. That is why, if anyone among you is affected by a condition similar to my own, I cannot help hoping with all my heart that he will valiantly follow his chosen path. I permit myself to say this because, when you reach your final destination, you will finally discover a place of which you can say, “I can truly rest peacefully here!”; you will have peace of mind and you will gain confidence in yourself for your whole life.

      What I have told you up to now constitutes the first part of this lecture. Let us now embark on the second part. The Gakushōin is generally considered to be an institution that receives people who have the benefit of a comfortable social position, and that is certainly the strict truth. If, according to my assumption, the great mass of poor people do not enter this establishment but, rather, children from good families, or from the upper classes, are assembled here, the first thing that is appropriate to mention, of all the aspects of your life in the years to come, concerns the exercise of power. In other words, when you get a job, you will clearly have more power at your disposal than poor people.

      I said earlier that you must persevere until you reach, thanks to your efforts, a destination that brings you happiness and peace of mind. However, why do we thus strive for happiness and peace of mind? Well, in all probability, you will reach that stage when you find your chosen way and find yourself for the first time confronted by your individuality, which has been yours since your birth. Once you have found your path, if you pursue it with determination your individuality will develop little by little. When your individuality and your professional activity are in perfect harmony, you may say for the first time that you are satisfied with your life.

      When I analyze this notion of “power,” which I mentioned, I realize that what we call “power” is an instrument that allows us to infiltrate ourselves to some extent into the head of someone else. If the fact of describing power as an “instrument” seems too blunt to you, let us say that is something that can be used as an instrument.

      The power of money accompanies power in the strict sense of the term. It is inevitable, ladies and gentlemen, that you hold this power too, and in a much more clearly defined manner, than poor people. If I look at the power of money within the same framework that I used to analyze power in general, well, this seems to me to be an extremely useful instrument in enlarging the field of one’s own individuality by seducing or suborning others.

      We must thus consider that power in general, and the power of money, are extremely useful instruments which allow those who possess them to impose their own individuality on others or to cajole others to go in their desired direction, and they can do this with infinitely more ease than poor people. Those who have this strength may seem to be remarkable people. In fact, they are extremely dangerous. I have already told you that, in the general context of studies, literature, “liberal arts” and leisure, individuality can develop only when our Ego has fulfilled itself. However, to be frank, the application of this principle can be effected in a wider sense and is not limited to the arts and sciences.

      I know two brothers: the younger is happy to stay in the house and read books, while the elder is a fanatical angler. The timorous behavior of the younger brother, who does nothing but shut himself up in the house, disgusts the elder brother profoundly. Finally, believing that his brother has been steeped in misanthropy because he does not want to trouble the fish, the elder drags the younger off on a fishing trip. The sport deeply displeases the younger brother and he finds it intolerable. However, as the elder brother pushes him to accompany him to the fish pond and to carry the fishing rods and basket, he gives way, hoping that he will not catch anything. However, he spends the day pulling roach out of the water against his will and returns home completely disgusted.

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