The Decay of the Angel - Yukio Mishima

he had taken a liking? What did you think when we
first came with the proposal? We made all sorts of
excuses to you and to your superiors, of course. But
what did you really think? It puffed you up, I should
imagine. People like to think they have their strong
points. You thought that your childish dreams and our
proposal matched admirably? That your strange
childish confidence had been justified? That’s what
you thought?”
Tōru was for the first time afraid of Keiko. He felt
not the slightest constraint because of class, but there
are persons endowed with a special nose for
scenting out worth. They are the angel-killers.
The conversation was interrupted by dessert. Tōru
had let the moment for an answer pass. He knew that
he had underestimated his adversary.
“Do you think that your hopes and those of
someone else coincide, that your hopes can be
smoothly realized for you by someone else? People
live for themselves and think only of themselves. You
who more than most think only of yourself have gone
too far and let yourself be blinded.
“You thought that history has its exceptions. There
are none. You thought that the race has its exceptions.
There are none.
“There is no special right to happiness and none to