the soul of the far east-第2节

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stroyed　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　thrown　into　its　caldron　of　destiny；　as　no　affinity　existed　between　them；　no　combination　resulted。　　The　power　to　fuse　was　wanting。　　Capability　to　evolve　anything　is　not　one　of　the　marked　characteristics　of　the　Far　East。　　Indeed；　the　tendency　to　spontaneous　variation；　Nature's　mode　of　making　experiments；　would　seem　there　to　have　been　an　enterprising　faculty　that　was　exhausted　early。　　Sleepy；　no　doubt；　from　having　got　up　betimes　with　the　dawn；　these　dwellers　in　the　far　lands　of　the　morning　began　to　look　upon　their　day　as　already　well　spent　before　they　had　reached　its　noon。　　They　grew　old　young；　and　have　remained　much　the　same　age　ever　since。　　What　they　were　centuries　ago；　that　at　bottom　they　are　to…day。　　Take　away　the　European　influence　of　the　last　twenty　years；　and　each　man　might　almost　be　his　own　great…grandfather。　　In　race　characteristics　he　is　yet　essentially　the　same。　　The　traits　that　distinguished　these　peoples　in　the　past　have　been　gradually　extinguishing　them　ever　since。　　Of　these　traits；　stagnating　influences　upon　their　career；　perhaps　the　most　important　is　the　great　quality　of　impersonality。

If　we　take；　through　the　earth's　temperate　zone；　a　belt　of　country　whose　northern　and　southern　edges　are　determined　by　certain　limiting　isotherms；　not　more　than　half　the　width　of　the　zone　apart；　we　shall　find　that　we　have　included　in　a　relatively　small　extent　of　surface　almost　all　the　nations　of　note　in　the　world；　past　or　present。　Now　if　we　examine　this　belt；　and　compare　the　different　parts　of　it　with　one　another；　we　shall　be　struck　by　a　remarkable　fact。　The　peoples　inhabiting　it　grow　steadily　more　personal　as　we　go　west。　So　unmistakable　is　this　gradation　of　spirit；　that　one　is　tempted　to　ascribe　it　to　cosmic　rather　than　to　human　causes。　　It　is　as　marked　as　the　change　in　color　of　the　human　complexion　observable　along　any　meridian；　which　ranges　from　black　at　the　equator　to　blonde　toward　the　pole。　　In　like　manner；　the　sense　of　self　grows　more　intense　as　we　follow　in　the　wake　of　the　setting　sun；　and　fades　steadily　as　we　advance　into　the　dawn。　　America；　Europe；　the　Levant；　India；　Japan；　each　is　less　personal　than　the　one　before。　　We　stand　at　the　nearer　end　of　the　scale；　the　Far　Orientals　at　the　other。　　If　with　us　the　I　seems　to　be　of　the　very　essence　of　the　soul；　then　the　soul　of　the　Far　East　may　be　said　to　be　Impersonality。

Curious　as　this　characteristic　is　as　a　fact；　it　is　even　more　interesting　as　a　factor。　　For　what　it　betokens　of　these　peoples　in　particular　may　suggest　much　about　man　generally。　　It　may　mark　a　stride　in　theory；　if　a　standstill　in　practice。　　Possibly　it　may　help　us　to　some　understanding　of　ourselves。　　Not　that　it　promises　much　aid　to　vexed　metaphysical　questions；　but　as　a　study　in　sociology　it　may　not　prove　so　vain。

And　for　a　thing　which　is　always　with　us；　its　discussion　may　be　said　to　be　peculiarly　opportune　just　now。　　For　it　lies　at　the　bottom　of　the　most　pressing　questions　of　the　day。　　Of　the　two　great　problems　that　stare　the　Western　world　in　the　face　at　the　present　moment；　both　turn　to　it　for　solution。　　Agnosticism；　the　foreboding　silence　of　those　who　think；　socialism；　communism；　and　nihilism；　the　petulant　cry　of　those　who　do　not；　alike　depend　ultimately　for　the　right　to　be　upon　the　truth　or　the　falsity　of　the　sense　of　self。

For　if　there　be　no　such　actual　thing　as　individuality；　if　the　feeling　we　call　by　that　name　be　naught　but　the　transient　illusion　the　Buddhists　would　have　us　believe　it；　any　faith　founded　upon　it　as　basis　vanishes　as　does　the　picture　in　a　revolving　kaleidoscope；　less　enduring　even　than　the　flitting　phantasmagoria　of　a　dream。　If　the　ego　be　but　the　passing　shadow　of　the　material　brain；　at　the　disintegration　of　the　gray　matter　what　will　become　of　us？　　Shall　we　simply　lapse　into　an　indistinguishable　part　of　the　vast　universe　that　compasses　us　round？　　At　the　thought　we　seem　to　stand　straining　our　gaze；　on　the　shore　of　the　great　sea　of　knowledge；　only　to　watch　the　fog　roll　in；　and　hide　from　our　view　even　those　headlands　of　hope　that；　like　beseeching　hands；　stretch　out　into　the　deep。

So