the soul of the far east-第12节

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se。　　If；　however；　it　be　the　female　with　which　man　has　most　to　do；　she　is　allowed　to　bestow　her　name　upon　her　male　partner。　　Examples　of　the　latter　description　occur　in　the　use　of　〃cows〃　for　〃cattle；〃　and　〃hens〃　for　〃fowls。〃　A　Japanese　can　say　only　〃fowl；〃　defined；　if　absolutely　necessary；　as　〃he…fowl〃　or　〃she…fowl。〃

Now　such　a　slighting　of　one　of　the　most　potent　springs　of　human　action；　sex；　with　all　that　the　idea　involves；　is　not　due　to　a　pronounced　misogynism　on　the　part　of　these　people；　but　to　a　much　more　effective　neglect；　a　great　underlying　impersonality。　Indifference　to　woman　is　but　included　in　a　much　more　general　indifference　to　mankind。　　The　fact　becomes　all　the　more　evident　when　we　descend　from　sex　to　gender。　　That　Father　Ocean　does　not；　in　their　verbal　imagery；　embrace　Mother　Earth；　with　that　subtle　suggestion　of　humanity　which　in　Aryan　speech　the　gender　of　the　nouns　hints　without　expressing；　is　not　due　to　any　lack　of　poesy　in　the　Far　Oriental　speaker；　but　to　the　essential　impersonality　of　his　mind；　embodied　now　in　the　very　character　of　the　words　he　uses。　　A　Japanese　noun　is　a　crystallized　concept；　handed　down　unchanged　from　the　childhood　of　the　Japanese　race。　　So　primitive　a　conception　does　it　represent　that　it　is　neither　a　total　nor　a　partial　symbol；　but　rather　the　outcome　of　a　first　vague　generality。　　The　word　〃man；〃　for　instance；　means　to　them　not　one　man；　still　less　mankind；　but　that　indefinite　idea　which　struggles　for　embodiment　in　the　utterance　of　the　infant。　It　represents　not　a　person；　but　a　thing；　a　material　fact　quite　innocent　of　gender。　　This　early　state　of　semi…consciousness　the　Japanese　never　outgrew。　　The　world　continued　to　present　itself　to　their　minds　as　a　collection　of　things。　　Nor　did　their　subsequent　Chinese　education　change　their　view。　　Buddhism　simply　infused　all　things　with　the　one　universal　spirit。

As　to　inanimate　objects；　the　idea　of　supposing　sex　where　there　is　not　even　life　is　altogether　too　fanciful　a　notion　for　the　Far　Eastern　mind。

Impersonality　first　fashioned　the　nouns；　and　then　the　nouns；　by　their　very　impersonality；　helped　keep　impersonal　the　thought　and　fettered　fancy。　　All　those　temptings　to　poesy　which　to　the　Aryan　imagination　lie　latent　in　the　sex　with　which　his　forefathers　humanized　their　words；　never　stir　the　Tartar　nor　the　Chinese　soul。　They　feel　the　poetry　of　nature　as　much　as；　indeed　much　more　than；　we；　but　it　is　a　poetry　unassociated　with　man。　　And　this；　too；　curiously　enough；　in　spite　of　the　fact　that　to　explain　the　cosmos　the　Chinamen　invented；　or　perhaps　only　adapted；　a　singularly　sexual　philosophy。　　For　possibly；　like　some　other　portions　of　their　intellectual　wealth；　they　stole　it　from　India。　　The　Chinese　conception　of　the　origin　of　the　world　is　based　on　the　idea　of　sex。　According　to　their　notions　the　earth　was　begotten。　　It　is　true　that　with　them　the　cosmos　started　in　an　abstract　something；　which　self…produced　two　great　principles；　but　this　pair　once　obtained；　matters　proceeded　after　the　analogy　of　mankind。　　The　two　principles　at　work　were　themselves　abstract　enough　to　have　satisfied　the　most　unimpassioned　of　philosophers。　　They　were　simply　a　positive　essence　and　a　negative　one；　correlated　to　sunshine　and　shadow；　but　also　correlated　to　male　and　female　forces。　　Through　their　mutual　action　were　born　the　earth　and　the　air　and　the　water；　from　these；　in　turn；　was　begotten　man。　　The　cosmical　modus　operandi　was　not　creative　nor　evolutionary；　but　sexual。　　The　whole　scheme　suggests　an　attempt　to　wed　abstract　philosophy　with　primitive　concrete　mythology。

The　same　sexuality　distinguishes　the　Japanese　demonology。　　Here　the　physical　replaces　the　philosophical；　instead　of　principles　we　find　allegorical　personages；　but　they　show　just　the　same　pleasing　propensity　to　appear　in　pairs。

This　attributing　of　sexes　to　the　cosmos　is　not　in　the　least　incompatible　with　an　uninterested　disregard　of　sex　where　it　really　exists。　　It　is　one　thing　to　admit　the　fact　as　a　general　law　of　the　universe；　and　quite　another　to　dwell　upon　it　as　an　important　factor　in　every…day　affairs。

How　slight　is　the　Tartar　tendency　to　personification　can　be　seen　from　a　glance　at　these　same　Japanese　gods。　　They　are　a　combination　of　defunct　ancestors　and　deified　natural　phenomena。　　The　evolving　of　the　first　half　required　little　imagination；　for　fate　furnished　the　material　ready　made；　while　in　conjuring　up　the　second　moiety；　the　spirit…evokers　showed　even　less　originality。　　Their　results　were　neither　winsome　nor　sublime。　　The　gods　whom　they　created　they　invested　with　very　ordinary　humanity；　the　usual　endowment　of　aboriginal　deity；　together　with　the　customary　superhuman　strength。　If　these　demigods　differed　from　others　of　their　class；　it　was　only　in　being　more　commonplace；　and　in　not　meddling　much　with　man。　Even　such　personification　of　natural　forces；　simple　enough　to　be　self…suggested；　quickly　disappeared。　　The　various　awe…compelling　phenomena　soon　ceased　to　have　any　connection　with　the　anthropomorphic　noumena　they　had　begotten。　　For　instance；　the　sun…goddess；　we　are　informed；　was　one　day　lured　out　of　a　cavern；　where　she　was　sulking　in　consequence　of　the　provoking　behavior　of　her　younger　brother；　by　her　curiosity　at　the　sight　of　her　own　face　in　a　mirror；　ingeniously　placed　before　the　entrance　for　the　purpose。　But　no　Japanese　would　dream　now　of　casting　any　such　reflections；　however　flattering；　upon　the　face　of　the　orb　of　day。　　The　sun　has　become　not　only　quite　sexless　to　him；　but　as　devoid　of　personality　as　it　is　to　any　Western　materialist。　　Lesser　deities　suffered　a　like　unsubstantial　transformation。　　The　thunder…god；　with　his　belt　of　drums；　upon　which　he　beats　a　devil's　tattoo　until　he　is　black　in　the　face；　is　no　longer　even　indirectly　associated　with　the　storm。　As　for　dryads　and　nymphs；　the　beautiful　creatures　never　inhabited　Eastern　Asia。　　Anthropoid　foxes　and　raccoons；　wholly　lacking　in　those　engaging　qualities　that　beget　love；　and　through　love　remembrance；　take　their　place。　　Even　Benten；　the　naturalized　Venus；　who；　like　her　Hellenic　sister；　is　said　to　have　risen　from　the　sea；　is　a　person　quite　incapable　of　inspiring　a　reckless　infatuation。

Utterly　unlike　was　this　pantheon　to　the　pantheon　of　the　Greeks；　the　personifying　tendency　of　whose　Aryan　mind　was　forever　peopling　nature　with　half…human　inhabitants。　　Under　its　quickening　fancy　the　very　clods　grew　sentient。　　Dumb　earth　awoke　at　the　call　of　its　desire；　and　the　beings　its　own　poesy　had　begotten　made　merry　companionship　for　man。　　Then　a　change　crept　over　the　face　of　things。　Faith　began　to　flicker；　for　want　of　facts　to　feed　its　flame。　　Little　by　little　the　fires　of　devotion　burnt　themselves　out。　　At　last　great　Pan　died。　　The　body　of　the　old　belief　was　consumed。　　But　though　it　perished；　its　ashes　preserved　its　form；　an　unsubstantial　presentment　of　the　past；　to　crumble　in　a　twinkling　at　the　touch　of　science；　but　keeping　yet　to　the　poet's　eye　the　lifelike　semblance　of　what　once　had　been。　　The　dead　gods　still　live　in　our　language　and　our　art。　　Even　to…day　the　earth　about　us　seems　semiconscious　to　the　soul；　for　the　memories　they　have　left。

But　with　the　Far　Oriental　the　exorcising　feeling　was　fear。　　He　never　fell　in　love　with　his　own　mythological　creations；　and　so　he　never　embalmed　their　memories。　　They　were　to　him　but　explanations　of　facts；　and　had　no　claims　upon　his　fancy。　　His　ideal　world　remained　as　utterly　impersonal　as　if　it　had　never　been　born。

The　same　impersonality　reappears　in　the　matter　of　number。　Grammatically；　number　with　them　is　unrecognized。　　There　exist　no　such　things　as　plural　forms。　　This　singularity　would　be　only　too　welcome　to　the　foreign　student；　were　it　not　that　in　avoiding　the　frying…pan　the　Tartars　fell　into　the　fire。　　For　what　they　invented　in　place　of　a　plural　was　quite　as　difficult　to　memorize；　and　even　more　cumbrous　to　express。　　Instead　of　inflecting　the　noun　and　then　prefixing　a　number；　they　keep　the　noun　unchanged　and　add　two　numerals；　thus　at　times　actually　employing　more　words　to　express　the　objects　than　there　are　objects　to　express。　　One　of　these　numerals　is　a　simple　number；　the　other　is　what　is　known　as　an　auxiliary　numeral；　a　word　as　singular　in　form　as　in　function。　　Thus；　for　instance；　〃two　men〃　become　amplified　verbally　into　〃man　two　individual；〃　or；　as　the　Chinaman　puts　it；　in　pidgin　English；　〃two　piecey　man。〃　　For　in　this　respect　Chinese　resembles　Japanese；　though　in　very　little　else；　and　pidgin　English　is　nothing　but　the　literal　translation　of　the　Chinese　idiom　into　Anglo…Saxon　words。　　The　necessity　for　such　elaborate　qualification　arises　from　the　excessive　simplicity　of　the　Japanese　nouns。　　As　we　have　seen；　the　noun　is　so　indefinite　a　generality　that　simply　to　multiply　it　by　a　number　cannot　possibly　produce　any　definite　result。　　No　exact　counterpart　of　these　nouns　exists　in　English；　but　some　idea　of　the　impossibility　of　the　process　may　be　got　from　our　word　〃cattle；〃　which；　prolific　though　it　may　prove　in　fact；　remains　obstinately　incapable　of　verbal　multiplication。　All　Japanese　nouns　being　of　this　indefinite　description；　all　require　auxiliary　numerals。　　But　as　each　one　has　its　own　appropriate　numeral；　about　which　a　mistake　is　unpardonable；　it　takes　some　little　study　merely　to　master　the　etiquette　of　these　handles　to　the　nam