Murasaki Shikibu

“It is a matter of profound regret that a woman’s name should be bandied about by the vulgar.”

“Bitterness is for the man who is sad and lonely, but I am not either of those.”

“One should not be too straightforward. A man of real merit will be liked at first sight, and a man of no merit will be disliked at first sight.”

“Nothing in this world is ever certain.”

“The dew of compassion is a tear.”

“To be a woman is to be constantly disdained.”

“It is a brave man... who is willing to deliberately behave like a fool.”

“There are as many sorts of women as there are women.”

“One ought not to be asking for a flower on a withered tree.”

“How cruel is the story of this world, how tragically unstable are its shifting fortunes.”

“In this world there is no place for what is perfect.”

“It is indeed in many ways a bad-hearted world.”

“What a vain, useless thing is a beautiful face.”

“Real things in the darkness seem no realer than dreams.”

“Not a shred of evidence exists in favor of the argument that life is serious.”

“The world, somebody wrote, is a tragic comedy.”