The Decay of the Angel - Yukio Mishima

“I think the Renaissance is just wonderful.”
“That’s it, that’s it. You give your table companion a
feeling of superiority and you seem all cute and
charming. And he has an opening for a long lecture on
things he only half understands. You must listen all
aglow with curiosity and admiration even though most
of what he says is wrong and the rest is old hat. What
the world asks of a young person is that he be a
devoted listener, nothing more. You’re the winner if
you let him do the talking. You must not forget that for
a moment.
“The world does not ask brilliance of a young
person, and at the same time too firm a steadiness
arouses suspicions. You should have a harmless little
eccentricity or two, something to interest him. You
must have little addictions, not too expensive and not
related to politics. Very abstract, very average.
Tinkering with machinery, or baseball or a trumpet.
Once he knows what they are, he feels safe. He
knows where your energies can go. You can even
seem a little carried away by your hobbies if you want
to.
“You should go in for sports but not let them
interfere with your studies, and they should be the
sports that show off your good health. It has the
advantage of making you look a bit stupid. There are