Bushido, The Soul of Japan
BY INAZO NITOBE, A.M., Ph.D.
—"That way
Over the mountain, which who stands upon,
Is apt to doubt if it be indeed a road;
While if he views it from the waste itself,
Up goes the line there, plain from base to brow,
Not vague, mistakable! What's a break or two
Seen from the unbroken desert either side?
And then (to bring in fresh philosophy)
What if the breaks themselves should prove at last
The most consummate of contrivances
To train a man's eye, teach him what is faith?"
— ROBERT BROWNING, Bishop Blougram's Apology
"There are, if I may so say, three powerful spirits, which have from time to
time, moved on the face of the waters, and given a predominant impulse to
the moral sentiments and energies of mankind. These are the spirits of
liberty, of religion, and of honor."
— HALLAM, Europe in the Middle Ages
"Chivalry is itself the poetry of life."
— SCHLEGEL, Philosophy of History
TO MY BELOVED UNCLE
TOKITOSHI OTA
WHO TAUGHT ME TO REVERE THE PAST
AND
TO ADMIRE THE DEEDS OF THE SAMURAI
I DEDICATE THIS WORK
Original text by Inazo Nitobe, edited and revised by
Dainial MacÀdhaimh - this text © 2005-2006.
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