the soul of the far east-第14章

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ern；　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　names　of　things。

Nouns　are　not　inflected；　their　cases　being　expressed　by　postpositions；　which；　as　the　name　implies；　follow；　in　becoming　Japanese　inversion；　instead　of　preceding　the　word　they　affect。　　To　make　up；　nevertheless；　for　any　lack　of　perplexity　due　to　an　absence　of　inflections；　adjectives；　en　revanche；　are　most　elaborately　conjugated。　　Their　protean　shapes　are　as　long　as　they　are　numerous；　representing　not　only　times；　but　conditions。　　There　are；　for　instance；　the　root　form；　the　adverbial　form；　the　indefinite　form；　the　attributive　form；　and　the　conclusive　form；　the　two　last　being　conjugated　through　all　the　various　voices；　moods；　and　tenses；　to　say　nothing　of　all　the　potential　forms。　　As　one　change　is　superposed　on　another；　the　adjective　ends　by　becoming　three　or　four　times　its　original　length。　　The　fact　is；　the　adjective　is　either　adjective；　adverb；　or　verb；　according　to　occasion。　　In　the　root　form　it　also　helps　to　make　nouns；　so　that　it　is　even　more　generally　useful　than　as　a　journalistic　epithet　with　us。　　As　a　verb；　it　does　duty　as　predicate　and　copula　combined。　　For　such　an　unnecessary　part　of　speech　as　a　real　copula　does　not　exist　in　Japanese。　　In　spite　of　the　shock　to　the　prejudices　of　the　old　school　of　logicians；　it　must　be　confessed　that　the　Tartars　get　on　very　well　without　any　such　couplings　to　their　trains　of　thought。　　But　then　we　should　remember　that　in　their　sentences　the　cart　is　always　put　before　the　horse；　and　so　needs　only　to　be　pushed；　not　pulled　along。

The　want　of　a　copula　is　another　instance　of　the　primitive　character　of　the　tongue。　　It　has　its　counterpart　in　our　own　baby…talk；　where　a　quality　is　predicated　of　a　thing　simply　by　placing　the　adjective　in　apposition　with　the　noun。

That　the　Japanese　word　which　is　commonly　translated　〃is〃　is　in　no　sense　a　copula；　but　an　ordinary　intransitive　verb；　referring　to　a　natural　state；　and　not　to　a　logical　condition；　is　evident　in　two　ways。　　In　the　first　place；　it　is　never　used　to　predicate　a　quality　directly。　　A　Japanese　does　not　say；　〃The　scenery　is　fine；〃　but　simply；　〃Scenery；　fine。〃　Secondly；　wherever　this　verb　is　indirectly　employed　in　such　a　manner；　it　is　followed；　not　by　an　adjective；　but　by　an　adverb。　　Not　〃She　is　beautiful；　but　〃She　exists　beautifully；〃　would　be　the　Japanese　way　of　expressing　his　admiration。　　What　looks　at　first；　therefore；　like　a　copula　turns　out　to　be　merely　an　impersonal　intransitive　verb。

A　negative　noun　is；　of　course；　an　impossibility　in　any　language；　just　as　a　negative　substantive；　another　name　for　the　same　thing；　is　a　direct　contradiction　in　terms。　　No　matter　how　negative　the　idea　to　be　given；　it　must　be　conveyed　by　a　positive　expression。　　Even　a　void　is　grammatically　quite　full　of　meaning；　although　unhappily　empty　in　fact。　　So　much　is　common　to　all　tongues；　but　Japanese　carries　its　positivism　yet　further。　　Not　only　has　it　no　negative　nouns；　it　has　not　even　any　negative　pronouns　nor　pronominal　adjectives；　those　convenient　keepers　of　places　for　the　absent。　　〃None〃　and　〃nothing〃　are　unknown　words　in　its　vocabulary；　because　the　ideas　they　represent　are　not　founded　on　observed　facts；　but　upon　metaphysical　abstractions。　　Such　terms　are　human…born；　not　earth…begotten　concepts；　and　so　to　the　Far　Oriental；　who　looks　at　things　from　the　point　of　view　of　nature；　not　of　man；　negation　takes　another　form。　Usually　it　is　introduced　by　the　verbs；　because　the　verbs；　for　the　most　part；　relate　to　human　actions；　and　it　is　man；　not　nature；　who　is　responsible　for　the　omission　in　question。　　After　all；　it　does　seem　more　fitting　to　say；　〃I　am　ignorant　of　everything；〃　than　〃I　know　nothing。〃　It　is　indeed　you　who　are　wanting；　not　the　thing。

The　question　of　verbs　leads　us　to　another　matter　bearing　on　the　subject　of　impersonality；　namely；　the　arrangement　of　the　words　in　a　Japanese　sentence。　　The　Tartar　mode　of　grammatical　construction　is　very　nearly　the　inverse　of　our　own。　　The　fundamental　rule　of　Japanese　syntax　is；　that　qualifying　words　precede　the　words　they　qualify；　that　is；　an　idea　is　elaborately　modified　before　it　is　so　much　as　expressed。　　T