Ihara Saikaku Quotes

There is always something to upset the most careful of human calculations.

And why do so many people wilfully exhaust their strength in promiscuous living, when their wives are on hand from bridal night till old age - to be taken when required, like fish from a private pond.

Though mothers and fathers give us life, it is money alone which preserves it.

Men take their misfortunes to heart and keep them there.

To make a fortune some assistance from fate is essential. Ability alone is insufficient.

If making money is a slow process, losing it is quickly done.

No longer can a young woman feel at ease; for she is ever concerned with the impression that she may be making on others.