the soul of the far east-第2部分

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rls　are　models　of　refinement；　and　common　coolies；　when　not　at　work；　play　chess　for　pastime。

If　Japanese　ways　look　odd　at　first　sight；　they　but　look　more　odd　on　closer　acquaintance。　　In　a　land　where；　to　allow　one's　understanding　the　freer　play　of　indoor　life；　one　begins；　not　by　taking　off　his　hat；　but　by　removing　his　boots；　he　gets　at　the　very　threshold　a　hint　that　humanity　is　to　be　approached　the　wrong　end　to。　　When；　after　thus　entering　a　house；　he　tries　next　to　gain　admittance　to　the　mind　of　its　occupant；　the　suspicion　becomes　a　certainty。　　He　discovers　that　this　people　talk；　so　to　speak；　backwards；　that　before　he　can　hope　to　comprehend　them；　or　make　himself　understood　in　return；　he　must　learn　to　present　his　thoughts　arranged　in　inverse　order　from　the　one　in　which　they　naturally　suggest　themselves　to　his　mind。　　His　sentences　must　all　be　turned　inside　out。　　He　finds　himself　lost　in　a　labyrinth　of　language。　　The　same　seems　to　be　true　of　the　thoughts　it　embodies。　The　further　he　goes　the　more　obscure　the　whole　process　becomes；　until；　after　long　groping　about　for　some　means　of　orienting　himself；　he　lights　at　last　upon　the　clue。　　This　clue　consists　in　〃the　survival　of　the　unfittest。〃

In　the　civilization　of　Japan　we　have　presented　to　us　a　most　interesting　case　of　partially　arrested　development；　or；　to　speak　esoterically；　we　find　ourselves　placed　face　to　face　with　a　singular　example　of　a　completed　race…life。　　For　though　from　our　standpoint　the　evolution　of　these　people　seems　suddenly　to　have　come　to　an　end　in　mid…career；　looked　at　more　intimately　it　shows　all　the　signs　of　having　fully　run　its　course。　　Development　ceased；　not　because　of　outward　obstruction；　but　from　purely　intrinsic　inability　to　go　on。　The　intellectual　machine　was　not　shattered；　it　simply　ran　down。　To　this　fact　the　phenomenon　owes　its　peculiar　interest。　　For　we　behold　here　in　the　case　of　man　the　same　spectacle　that　we　see　cosmically　in　the　case　of　the　moon；　the　spectacle　of　a　world　that　has　died　of　old　age。　　No　weak　spot　in　their　social　organism　destroyed　them　from　within；　no　epidemic；　in　the　shape　of　foreign　hordes；　fell　upon　them　from　without。　　For　in　spite　of　the　fact　that　China　offers　the　unique　example　of　a　country　that　has　simply　lived　to　be　conquered；　mentally　her　masters　have　invariably　become　her　pupils。　　Having　ousted　her　from　her　throne　as　ruler；　they　proceeded　to　sit　at　her　feet　as　disciples。　　Thus　they　have　rather　helped　than　hindered　her　civilization。

Whatever　portion　of　the　Far　East　we　examine　we　find　its　mental　history　to　be　the　same　story　with　variations。　　However　unlike　China；　Korea；　and　Japan　are　in　some　respects；　through　the　careers　of　all　three　we　can　trace　the　same　life…spirit。　　It　is　the　career　of　the　river　Jordan　rising　like　any　other　stream　from　the　springs　among　the　mountains　only　to　fall　after　a　brief　existence　into　the　Dead　Sea。　For　their　vital　force　had　spent　itself　more　than　a　millennium　ago。　Already；　then；　their　civilization　had　in　its　deeper　developments　attained　its　stature；　and　has　simply　been　perfecting　itself　since。　We　may　liken　it　to　some　stunted　tree；　that；　finding　itself　prevented　from　growth；　bastes　the　more　luxuriantly　to　put　forth　flowers　and　fruit。　　For　not　the　final　but　the　medial　processes　were　skipped。　In　those　superficial　amenities　with　which　we　more　particularly　link　our　idea　of　civilization；　these　peoples　continued　to　grow。　　Their　refinement；　if　failing　to　reach　our　standard　in　certain　respects；　surpasses　ours　considering　the　bare　barbaric　basis　upon　which　it　rests。　For　it　is　as　true　of　the　Japanese　as　of　the　proverbial　Russian；　though　in　a　more　scientific　sense；　that　if　you　scratch　him　you　will　find　the　ancestral　Tartar。　　But　it　is　no　less　true　that　the　descendants　of　this　rude　forefather　have　now　taken　on　a　polish　of　which　their　own　exquisite　lacquer　gives　but　a　faint　reflection。　　The　surface　was　perfected　after　the　substance　was　formed。　　Our　word　finish；　with　its　double　meaning；　expresses　both　the　process　and　the　result。

There　entered；　to　heighten　the　bizarre　effect；　a　spirit　common　in　minds　that　lack　originalitythe　spirit　of　imitation。　　Though　consequent　enough　upon　a　want　of　initiative；　the　results　of　this　trait　appear　anything　but　natural　to　people　of　a　more　progressive　past。　　The　proverbial　collar　and　pair　of　spurs　look　none　the　less　odd　to　the　stranger　for　being　a　mental　instead　of　a　bodily　habit。　Something　akin　to　such　a　case　of　unnatural　selection　has　there　taken　place。　　The　orderly　procedure　of　natural　evolution　was　disastrously　supplemented　by　man。　　For　the　fact　that　in　the　growth　of　their　tree　of　knowledge　the　branches　developed　out　of　all　proportion　to　the　trunk　is　due　to　a　practice　of　culture…grafting。

From　before　the　time　when　they　began　to　leave　records　of　their　actions　the　Japanese　have　been　a　nation　of　importers；　not　of　merchandise；　but　of　ideas。　　They　have　invariably　shown　the　most　advanced　free…trade　spirit　in　preferring　to　take　somebody　else's　ready…made　articles　rather　than　to　try　to　produce　any　brand…new　conceptions　themselves。　　They　continue　to　follow　the　same　line　of　life。　A　hearty　appreciation　of　the　things　of　others　is　still　one　of　their　most　winning　traits。　　What　they　took　they　grafted　bodily　upon　their　ancestral　tree；　which　in　consequence　came　to　present　a　most　unnaturally　diversified　appearance。　　For　though　not　unlike　other　nations　in　wishing　to　borrow；　if　their　zeal　in　the　matter　was　slightly　excessive；　they　were　peculiar　in　that　they　never　assimilated　what　they　took。　　They　simply　inserted　it　upon　the　already　existing　growth。　　There　it　remained；　and　throve；　and　blossomed；　nourished　by　that　indigenous　Japanese　sap；　taste。　　But　like　grafts　generally；　the　foreign　boughs　were　not　much　modified　by　their　new　life…blood；　nor　was　the　tree　in　its　turn　at　all　affected　by　them。　Connected　with　it　only　as　separable　parts　of　its　structure；　the　cuttings　might　have　been　lopped　off　again　without　influencing　perceptibly　the　condition　of　the　foster…parent　stem。　　The　grafts　in　time　grew　to　be　great　branches；　but　the　trunk　remained　through　it　all　the　trunk　of　a　sapling。　In　other　words；　the　nation　grew　up　to　man's　estate；　keeping　the　mind　of　its　childhood。

What　is　thus　true　of　the　Japanese　is　true　likewise　of　the　Koreans　and　of　the　Chinese。　　The　three　peoples；　indeed；　form　so　many　links　in　one　long　chain　of　borrowing。　　China　took　from　India；　then　Korea　copied　China；　and　lastly　Japan　imitated　Korea。　　In　this　simple　manner　they　successively　became　possessed　of　a　civilization　which　originally　was　not　the　property　of　any　one　of　them。　　In　the　eagerness　they　all　evinced　in　purloining　what　was　not　theirs；　and　in　the　perfect　content　with　which　they　then　proceeded　to　enjoy　what　they　had　taken；　they　remind　us　forcibly　of　that　happy…go…lucky　class　in　the　community　which　prefers　to　live　on　questionable　loans　rather　than　work　itself　for　a　living。　　Like　those　same　individuals；　whatever　interest　the　Far　Eastern　people　may　succeed　in　raising　now；　Nature　will　in　the　end　make　them　pay　dearly　for　their　lack　of　principal。

The　Far　Eastern　civilization　resembles；　in　fact；　more　a　mechanical　mixture　of　social　elements　than　a　well　differentiated　chemical　compound。　For　in　spite　of　the　great　variety　of　ingredients　throw