Untitled (10/6/1916)

I spurn Christianity, spurn Buddhism, spurn Confucianism.
My sole indulgence in life is hawking my writings like flowers
            on quaint backstreets.
What aromas did I absorb from man’s circles of arts and letters?
How many shades of greens did I roam through in the open
            plains of poetry?
I know it is only through the burning of books that books
            can be restored,
I understand it is only through lawlessness that the law
            can be rekindled,
And it is only through the killing of the gods that the shadows
            can be dispelled –
Then, in the ensuing abyss, the wise and the dumb shall arise
            certainly.

NATSUME SŌSEKI

Translated by Ryan Choi

Natsume Sōseki (1867–1916) was a Japanese novelist

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