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"Now that I thought about it, though, I realized that most people actually encourage you to turn bad. They seem to think that if you don't you'll never get anywhere in the world. And then on those rare occasions when they encounter somebody who's honest and pure-hearted, they look down on him and say he's nothing but a kid, a Botchan. If that's the way it is, it would be better if they didn't have those ethics classes in elementary school and middle school where the teacher is always telling you to be honest and not to lie. The schools might as well just go ahead and teach you how to tell lies, how to mistrust everybody, and how to take advantage of people. Wouldn't their students, and the world at large, be better off that way?"

Botchan
by Natsume Soseki

Original Publication
Jan. 1, 1906
Paperback edition
March 16, 2007
172 pages

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