Sei Shonagon Quotes

A man who has nothing in particular to recommend him discusses all sorts of subjects at random as if he knew everything.

There is nothing in the whole world so painful as feeling that one is not liked.

One is telling a story about old times when someone breaks in with a little detail that he happens to know, implying that one's own version is inaccurate — disgusting behavior!

A good lover will behave just as elegantly at dawn as at any other time.

If someone with whom one is having an affair keeps on mentioning some woman whom he knew in the past, however long ago it is since they separated, one is always irritated.

To wash one's hair, make one's toilet, and put on scented robes; even if not a soul sees one, these preparations still produce an inner pleasure.