the soul of the far east-第35部分

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y　sayings　and　doings；　and　more　directly　in　every　branch　of　thought。　　Originality　is　not　their　strong　point。　　Their　utter　ignorance　of　science　shows　this；　and　paradoxical　as　it　may　seem；　their　art；　in　spite　of　its　merit　and　its　universality；　does　the　same。　　That　art　and　imagination　are　necessarily　bound　together　receives　no　very　forcible　confirmation　from　a　land　where；　nationally　speaking；　at　any　rate；　the　first　is　easily　first　and　the　last　easily　last；　as　nations　go。　　It　is　to　quite　another　quality　that　their　artistic　excellence　must　be　ascribed。　　That　the　Chinese　and　later　the　Japanese　have　accomplished　results　at　which　the　rest　of　the　world　will　yet　live　to　marvel；　is　due　to　theirtaste。　　But　taste　or　delicacy　of　perception　has　absolutely　nothing　to　do　with　imagination。　　That　certain　of　the　senses　of　Far　Orientals　are　wonderfully　keen；　as　also　those　parts　of　the　brain　that　directly　respond　to　them；　is　beyond　question；　but　such　sensitiveness　does　not　in　the　least　involve　the　less　earth…tied　portions　of　the　intellect。　A　peculiar　responsiveness　to　natural　beauty；　a　sort　of　mental　agreement　with　its　earthly　environment；　is　a　marked　feature　of　the　Japanese　mind。　　But　appreciation；　however　intimate；　is　a　very　different　thing　from　originality。　　The　one　is　commonly　the　handmaid　of　the　other；　but　the　other　by　no　means　always　accompanies　the　one。

So　much　for　the　cause；　now　for　the　effect　which　we　might　expect　to　find　if　our　diagnosis　be　correct。

If　the　evolving　force　be　less　active　in　one　race　than　in　another；　three　relative　results　should　follow。　　In　the　first　place；　the　race　in　question　will　at　any　given　moment　be　less　advanced　than　its　fellow；　secondly；　its　rate　of　progress　will　be　less　rapid；　and　lastly；　its　individual　members　will　all　be　nearer　together；　just　as　a　stream；　in　falling　from　a　cliff；　starts　one　compact　mass；　then　gradually　increasing　in　speed；　divides　into　drops；　which；　growing　finer　and　finer　and　farther　and　farther　apart；　descend　at　last　as　spray。　　All　three　of　these　consequences　are　visible　in　the　career　of　the　Far　Eastern　peoples。　　The　first　result　scarcely　needs　to　be　proved　to　us；　who　are　only　too　ready　to　believe　it　without　proof。　　It　is；　nevertheless；　a　fact。　　Viewed　unprejudicedly；　their　civilization　is　not　so　advanced　a　one　as　our　own。　　Although　they　are　certainly　our　superiors　in　some　very　desirable　particulars；　their　whole　scheme　is　distinctly　more　aboriginal　fundamentally。　It　is　more　finished；　as　far　as　it　goes；　but　it　does　not　go　so　far。　Less　rude；　it　is　more　rudimentary。　　Indeed；　as　we　have　seen；　its　surface…perfection　really　shows　that　nature　has　given　less　thought　to　its　substance。　　One　may　say　of　it　that　it　is　the　adult　form　of　a　lower　type　of　mind…specification。

The　second　effect　is　scarcely　less　patent。　　How　slow　their　progress　has　been；　if　for　centuries　now　it　can　be　called　progress　at　all；　is　world…known。　　Chinese　conservatism　has　passed　into　a　proverb。　The　pendulum　of　pulsation　in　the　Middle　Kingdom　long　since　came　to　a　stop　at　the　medial　point　of　rest。　　Centre　of　civilization；　as　they　call　themselves；　one　would　imagine　that　their　mind…machinery　had　got　caught　on　their　own　dead　centre；　and　now　could　not　be　made　to　move。　Life；　which　elsewhere　is　a　condition　of　unstable　equilibrium；　there　is　of　a　fatally　stable　kind。　　For　the　Chinaman's　disinclination　to　progress　is　something　more　than　vis　inertiae；　it　has　become　an　ardent　devotion　to　the　status　quo。　　Jostled；　he　at　once　settles　back　to　his　previous　condition　again；　much　as　more　materially；　after　a　lifetime　spent　in　California；　at　his　death　his　body　is　punctiliously　embalmed　and　sent　home　across　five　thousand　miles　of　sea　for　burial。　With　the　Japanese　the　condition　of　affairs　is　somewhat　different。　Their　tendency　to　stand　still　is　of　a　purely　passive　kind。　　It　is　a　state　of　neutral　equilibrium；　stationary　of　itself　but　perfectly　responsive　to　an　impulse　from　without。　　Left　to　their　own　devices；　they　are　conservative　enough；　but　they　instantly　copy　a　more　advanced　civilization　the　moment　they　get　a　chance。　　This　proclivity　on　their　part　is　not　out　of　keeping　with　our　theory。　　On　the　contrary；　it　is　precisely　what　was　to　have　been　expected；　for　we　see　the　very　same　apparent　contradiction　in　characters　we　are　thrown　with　every　day。　　Imitation　is　the　natural　substitute　for　originality。　The　less　strong　a　man's　personality　the　more　prone　is　he　to　adopt　the　ideas　of　others；　on　the　same　principle　that　a　void　more　easily　admits　a　foreign　body　than　does　space　that　is　already　occupied；　or　as　a　blank　piece　of　paper　takes　a　dye　more　brilliantly　for　not　being　already　tinted　itself。

The　third　result；　the　remarkable　homogeneity　of　the　people；　is　not；　perhaps；　so　universally　appreciated；　but　it　is　equally　evident　on　inspection；　and　no　less　weighty　in　proof。　　Indeed；　the　Far　Eastern　state　of　things　is　a　kind　of　charade　on　the　word；　for　humanity　there　is　singularly　uniform。　　The　distance　between　the　extremes　of　mind…development　in　Japan　is　much　less　than　with　us。　　This　lack　of　divergence　exists　not　simply　in　certain　lines　of　thought；　but　in　all　those　characteristics　by　which　man　is　parted　from　the　brutes。　In　reasoning　power；　in　artistic　sensibility；　in　delicacy　of　perception；　it　is　the　same　story。　　If　this　were　simply　the　impression　at　first　sight；　no　deductions　could　be　drawn　from　it；　for　an　impression　of　racial　similarity　invariably　marks　the　first　stage　of　acquaintance　of　one　people　by　another。　　Even　in　outward　appearance　it　is　so。　We　find　it　at　first　impossible　to　tell　the　Japanese　apart；　they　find　it　equally　impossible　to　differentiate　us。　　But　the　present　resemblance　is　not　a　matter　of　first　impressions。　　The　fact　is　patent　historically。　The　men　whom　Japan　reveres　are　much　less　removed　from　the　common　herd　than　is　the　case　in　any　Western　land。　　And　this　has　been　so　from　the　earliest　times。　　Shakspeares　and　Newtons　have　never　existed　there。　　Japanese　humanity　is　not　the　soil　to　grow　them。　The　comparative　absence　of　genius　is　fully　paralleled　by　the　want　of　its　opposite。　　Not　only　are　the　paths　of　preeminence　untrodden；　the　purlieus　of　brutish　ignorance　are　likewise　unfrequented。　　On　neither　side　of　the　great　medial　line　is　the　departure　of　individuals　far　or　frequent。　　All　men　there　are　more　alike；so　much　alike；　indeed；　that　the　place　would　seem　to　offer　a　sort　of　forlorn　hope　for　disappointed　socialists。　　Although　religious　missionaries　have　not　met　with　any　marked　success　among　the　natives；　this　less　deserving　class　of　enthusiastic　disseminators　of　an　all…possessing　belief　might　do　well　to　attempt　it。　　They　would　find　there　a　very　virgin　field　of　a　most　promisingly　dead　level。　　It　is　true；　human　opposition　would　undoubtedly　prevent　their　tilling　it；　but　Nature；　at　least；　would　not　present　quite　such　constitutional　obstacles　as　she　wisely　does　with　us。

The　individual's　mind　is；　as　it　were；　an　isolated　bit　of　the　race　mind。　　The　same　set　of　traits　will　be　found　in　each。　　Mental　characteristics　there　are　a　sort　of　common　property；　of　which　a　certain　undifferentiated　portion　is　indiscriminately　allotted　to　every　man　at　birth。　　One　soul　resembles　another　so　much；　that　in　view　of　the　patriarchal　system　under　which　they　all　exist；　there　seems　to　the　stran