"A truly brave man is ever serene; he is never taken by surprise; nothing ruffles the equanimity of his spirit. In the heat of battle he remains cool; in the midst of catastrophes he keeps level his mind. Earthquakes do not shake him, he laughs at storms. We admire him as truly great, who, in the menacing presence of danger or death, retains his self-possession; who, for instance, can compose a poem under impending peril or hum a strain in the face of death. Such indulgence betraying no tremor in the writing or in the voice, is taken as an infallible index of a large nature - of what we call a capacious mind (Yoyū), which, far from being pressed or crowded, has always room for something more." (Nitobe Inazö, "Bushidö: The Soul of Japan", 1900)
"Beneath the instinct to fight there lurks a diviner instinct to love." (Nitobe Inazö, "Bushidö: The Soul of Japan", 1900)
"Bushido as an independent code of ethics may vanish, but its power will not perish from the earth; its schools of martial prowess or civic honor may be demolished, but its light and its glory will long survive their ruins. Like its symbolic flower, after it is blown to the four winds, it will still bless mankind with the perfume with which it will enrich life." (Nitobe Inazö, "Bushidö: The Soul of Japan", 1900)
"It is a brave act of valor to contemn death, but where life is more terrible than death, it is then the truest valor to dare to live." (Nitobe Inazö, "Bushidö: The Soul of Japan", 1900)
"It is not the weapon that wins, it is the spirit of the wearer." (Nitobe Inazö, "Bushidö: The Soul of Japan", 1900)
"Knowledge becomes really such only when it is assimilated in the mind of the learner and shows in his character." (Nitobe Inazö, "Bushidö: The Soul of Japan", 1900)
"Rectitude is the power of deciding upon a certain course of conduct in accordance with reason, without wavering - to die when it is right to die, to strike when to strike is right." (Nitobe Inazö, "Bushidö: The Soul of Japan", 1900)
"Self-control, which was universally required of samurai. The discipline of fortitude on the one hand, inculcating endurance without a groan, and the teaching of politeness on the other, requiring us not to mar the pleasure or serenity of another by manifestations of our own sorrow or pain, combined to engender a stoical turn of mind, and eventually to confirm it into a national trait of apparent stoicism." (Nitobe Inazö, "Bushidö: The Soul of Japan", 1900)
"Spiritual service, be it of priest or teacher, was not to be repaid in gold or silver, not because it was valueless but because it was invaluable." (Nitobe Inazö, "Bushidö: The Soul of Japan", 1900)
"That calmness of mind, that serenity of temper, that composure and quietness of demeanor, which are the first essentials of Cha-no-yu, are without doubt the first conditions of right thinking and right feeling. The scrupulous cleanliness of the little room, shut off from sight and sound of the madding crowd, is in itself conducive to direct one’s thoughts from the world." (Nitobe Inazö, "Bushidö: The Soul of Japan", 1900)
"[...] the feeling of distress is the root of benevolence, therefore a benevolent man is ever mindful of those who are suffering and in distress." (Nitobe Inazö, "Bushidö: The Soul of Japan", 1900)
"The sens of honor which cannot bear being looked down upon as an inferior power, - that was the strongest of motives." (Nitobe Inazö, "Bushidö: The Soul of Japan", 1900)
"Tranquility is courage in repose. It is a statical manifestation of valor, as daring deeds are a dynamical. A truly brave man is ever serene; he is never taken by surprise; nothing ruffles the equanimity of his spirit." (Nitobe Inazö, "Bushidö: The Soul of Japan", 1900)
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