Blank life

“Like a snail I have lived in a small shell, which I found snug and comfortable, yet longed to desert often to inhale outside atmosphere. Each time I thrust my tentacle out, I felt it touching something unfriendly and drew it back to the old hole. Thus I have led a blank life and seem to be destined to it. Archery and Chinese penmanship take most of my time, though I am not good at them.” –Yutaka Maeshima, 15th anniversary report of the Harvard class of 1923