the soul of the far east-第8章

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in。　　For　the　man　who　can　write　the　most　scholastic　essay　on　the　classics　is　forthwith　permitted　to　amass　much　honor　and　more　wealth　by　wronging　his　less　accomplished　fellow…citizens。　　China　is　a　student's　paradise　where　the　possession　of　learning　is　instantly　convertible　into　unlimited　pelf。

In　Japan　the　study　of　the　classics　was　never　pursued　professionally。　It　was；　however；　prosecuted　with　much　zeal　en　amateur。　　The　Chinese　bureaucratic　system　has　been　wanting。　　For　in　spite　of　her　students；　until　within　thirty　years　Japan　slumbered　still　in　the　Knight…time　of　the　Middle　Ages；　and　so　long　as　a　man　carried　about　with　him　continually　two　beautiful　swords　he　felt　it　incumbent　upon　him　to　use　them。　　The　happy　days　of　knight…errantry　have　passed。　　These　same　cavaliers　of　Samurai　are　now　thankful　to　police　the　streets　in　spectacles　necessitated　by　the　too　diligent　study　of　German　text；　and　arrest　chance　disturbers　of　the　public　peace　for　a　miserably　small　salary　per　month。

Our　youth　has　now　reached　the　flowering　season　of　life；　that　brief　May　time　when　the　whole　world　takes　on　the　rose…tint；　and　when　by　all　dramatic　laws　he　ought　to　fall　in　love。　　He　does　nothing　of　the　kind。　　Sad　to　say；　he　is　a　stranger　to　the　feeling。　　Love；　as　we　understand　the　word；　is　a　thing　unknown　to　the　Far　East；　fortunately；　indeed；　for　the　possession　there　of　the　tender　passion　would　be　worse　than　useless。　　Its　indulgence　would　work　no　end　of　disturbance　to　the　community　at　large；　beside　entailing　much　misery　upon　its　individual　victim。　　Its　exercise　would　probably　be　classed　with　kleptomania　and　other　like　excesses　of　purely　personal　consideration。　　The　community　could　never　permit　the　practice；　for　it　strikes　at　the　very　root　of　their　whole　social　system。

The　immense　loss　in　happiness　to　these　people　in　consequence　of　the　omission　by　the　too　parsimonious　Fates　of　that　thread；　which；　with　us；　spins　the　whole　of　woman's　web　of　life；　and　at　least　weaves　the　warp　of　man's；　is　but　incidental　to　the　present　subject；　the　effect　of　the　loss　upon　the　individuality　of　the　person　himself　is　what　concerns　us　now。

If　there　is　one　moment　in　a　man's　life　when　his　interest　for　the　world　at　large　pales　before　the　engrossing　character　of　his　own　emotions；　it　is　assuredly　when　that　man　first　falls　in　love。　Then；　if　never　before；　the　world　within　excludes　the　world　without。　　For　of　all　our　human　passions　none　is　so　isolating　as　the　tenderest。　　To　shut　that　one　other　being　in；　we　must　of　necessity　shut　all　the　rest　of　mankind　out；　and　we　do　so　with　a　reckless　trust　in　our　own　self…sufficiency　which　has　about　it　a　touch　of　the　sublime。　The　other　millions　are　as　though　they　were　not；　and　we　two　are　alone　in　the　earth；　which　suddenly　seems　to　have　grown　unprecedentedly　beautiful。　　Indeed；　it　only　needs　such　judicious　depopulation　to　make　of　any　spot　an　Eden。　　Perhaps　the　early　Jewish　myth…makers　had　some　such　thought　in　mind　when　they　wrote　their　idyl　of　the　cosmogony。　The　human　traits　are　true　to…day。　　Then　at　last　our　souls　throw　aside　their　conventional　wrappings　to　stand　revealed　as　they　really　are。　Certain　of　comprehension；　the　thoughts　we　have　never　dared　breathe　to　any　one　before；　find　a　tongue　for　her　who　seems　fore…destined　to　understand。　　The　long…closed　floodgates　of　feeling　are　thrown　wide；　and　our　personality；　pent　up　from　the　time　of　its　inception　for　very　mistrust；　sweeps　forth　in　one　uncontrollable　rush。　　For　then　the　most　reticent　becomes　confiding；　the　most　self…contained　expands。　　Then　every　detail　of　our　past　lives　assumes　an　importance　which　even　we　had　not　divined。　　To　her　we　tell　them　all；our　boyish　beliefs；　our　youthful　fancies；　the　foolish　with　the　fine；　the　witty　with　the　wise；　the　little　with　the　great。　　Nothing　then　seems　quite　unworthy；　as　nothing　seems　quite　worthy　enough。　　Flowers　and　weeds　that　we　plucked　upon　our　pathway；　we　heap　them　in　her　lap；　certain　that　even　the　poorest　will　not　be　tossed　aside。　　Small　wonder　that　we　bring　as　many　as　we　may　when　she　bends　her　head　so　lovingly　to　each。

As　our　past　rises　in　reminiscence　with　all　its　oldtime　reality；　no　less　clearly　does　our　future　stand　out　to　us　in　mirage。　　What　we　would　be　seems　as　realizable　as　what　we　were。　　Seen　by　another　beside　ourselves；　our　castles　in　the　air　take　on　something　of　the　substance　of　stereoscopic　sight。　　Our　airiest　fancies　seem　solid　facts　for　their　reality　to　her；　and　gilded　by　lovelight；　they　glitter　and　sparkle　like　a　true　palace　of　the　East。　　For　once　all　is　possible；　nothing　lies　beyond　our　reach。　　And　as　we　talk；　and　she　listens；　we　two　seem　to　be　floating　off　into　an　empyrean　of　our　own　like　the　summer　clouds　above　our　heads；　as　they　sail　dreamily　on　into　the　far…away　depths　of　the　unfathomable　sky。

It　would　be　more　than　mortal　not　to　believe　in　ourselves　when　another　believes　so　absolutely　in　us。　　Our　most　secret　thoughts　are　no　longer　things　to　be　ashamed　of；　for　she　has　sanctioned　them。　Whatever　doubt　may　have　shadowed　us　as　to　our　own　imaginings　disappears　before　the　smile　of　her　appreciation。　　That　her　appreciation　may　be　prejudiced　is　not　a　possibility　we　think　of　then。　　She　understands　us；　or　seems　to　do　so　to　our　own　better　understanding　of　ourselves。　　Happy　the　man　who　is　thus　understood！　Happy　even　he　who　imagines　that　he　is；　because　of　her　eager　wish　to　comprehend；　fortunate；　indeed；　if　in　this　one　respect　he　never　comes　to　see　too　clearly。

No　such　blissful　infatuation　falls　to　the　lot　of　the　Far　Oriental。　　He　never　is　the　dupe　of　his　own　desire；　the　willing　victim　of　his　self…illusion。　　He　is　never　tempted　to　reveal　himself；　and　by　thus　revealing；　realize。　　No　loving　appreciation　urges　him　on　toward　the　attainment　of　his　own　ideal。　　That　incitement　to　be　what　he　would　seem　to　be；　to　become　what　she　deems　becoming；　he　fails　to　feel。　Custom　has　so　far　fettered　fancy　that　even　the　wish　to　communicate　has　vanished。　　He　has　now　nothing　to　tell；　she　needs　no　ear　to　hear。　For　she　is　not　his　love；　she　is　only　his　wife；what　is　left　of　a　romance　when　the　romance　is　left　out。　　Worse　still；　she　never　was　anything　else。　　He　has　not　so　much　as　a　memory　of　her；　for　he　did　not　marry　her　for　love；　he　may　not　love　of　his　own　accord；　nor　for　the　matter　of　that　does　he　wish　to　do　so。　　If　by　some　mischance　he　should　so　far　forget　to　forget　himself；　it　were　much　better　for　him　had　he　not　done　so；　for　the　choice　of　a　bride　is　not　his；　nor　of　a　bridegroom　hers。　　Marriage　to　a　Far　Oriental　is　the　most　important　mercantile　transaction　of　his　whole　life。　　It　is；　therefore；　far　too　weighty　a　matter　to　be　entrusted　to　his　youthful　indiscretion；　for　although　the　person　herself　is　of　lamentably　little　account　in　the　bargain；　the　character　of　her　worldly　circumstances　is　most　material　to　it。　　So　she　is　contracted　for　with　the　same　care　one　would　exercise　in　the　choice　of　any　staple　business　commodity。　The　particular　sample　is　not　vital　to　the　trade；　but　the　grade　of　goods　is。　　She　is　selected　much　as　the　bride　of　the　Vicar　of　Wakefield　chose　her　wedding…gown；　only　that　the　one　was　at　least　cut　to　suit；　while　the　other　is　not。　　It　is　certainly　easier；　if　less　fitting；　to　get　a　wife　as　some　people　do　clothes；　not　to　their　own　order；　but　ready　made；　all　the　more　reason　when　the　bargain　is　for　one's　son；　not　one's　self。　　So　the　Far　East；　which　looks　at　the　thing　from　a　strictly　paternal　standpoint　and　ignores　such　trifles　as　personal　preferences；　takes　its　boy　to　the　broker's　and　fits　him　out。　That　the　object　of　such　parental　care　does　not　end　by　murdering　his　unfortunate　spouse　or　making　way　with　himself　suggests　how　dead　already　is　that　individuality　which　we　deem　to　be　of　the　very　essence　of　the　thing。

Marriage　is　thus　a　species　of　investment　contracted　by　the　existing　family　for　the　sake　of　the　prospective　one；　the　actual　participants　being　only　lay　figures　in　the　affair。　　Sometimes　the　father　decides　the　matter　himself；　sometimes　he　or　the　relative　who　stands　in　loco　parentis　calls　for　a　plebiscit　on　the　subject；　for　such　an　extension　of　the　suffrage　has　gradually　crept　even　into　patriarchal　institutions。　　The　family　then　assemble；　sit　in　solemn　conclave　on　the　question；　and　decide　it　by　vote。　　Of　course　the　interested　parties　are　not　asked　their　opinion；　as　it