His Eighteen Merits
In this brief and wry character sketch, Akutagawa Ryunosuke lists eighteen “merits” of an unnamed acquaintance, presenting them in crisp, numbered observations. The piece balances praise with irony: each virtue is noted with a faintly amused detachment, and even compliments are edged with qualification. Akutagawa’s eye is drawn not to grand heroics but to habits of mind and manner, from answering letters and revising prose to arguing boldly and possessing legible handwriting. The result is both portrait and performance, revealing as much about the speaker’s sharp intelligence as about the man described. Beneath its lightness lies a subtle study of character, where sincerity, vanity, discipline, and charm coexist in delicately comic tension.
1. He can manage languages such as English, Russian, and German. Just how well, however, I do not know.
2. He is meticulous. For example, if you send him a letter, he will always reply.
3. He loves his family. He seems especially devoted to his mother.
4. He is bold in argument.
5. He is earnest in polishing his work. His slow writing comes from revising it over and over.
6. He is modest in his assessment of his own work. Of most of it he says, “Oh, that’s no good.”
7. He is conscientious about monthly reviews.
8. He does not put on the airs of a half-baked connoisseur or indulge in affected, knowing extravagance.
9. His appearance and bearing are by no means unbecoming.
10. He is not lacking in the will to apply himself. For instance, he will decide to undertake a major work, or buy books he is not likely to finish reading.
11. He does not recklessly give himself over to dissipation.
12. He has good eyesight. When we walk down the street together, he will spot things in the distance for me, which is extremely convenient.
13. He has taste in painting and music as well. Though it seems he does not understand either of them all that deeply.
14. There is something youthful about him.
15. He does not speak with sarcasm or quibble over trifles.
16. His handwriting, in both letters and manuscripts, is pleasantly easy to read.
17. He is well versed in army and navy terminology. I hear that in his boyhood he hoped to become a military man.
18. He is honest. I do not mean that he never lies. On the rare occasions when he does lie, they are the sort of lies that only make his honesty stand out all the more.