The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1894-11-04
THE SUN, SUNDAY. NOVEMBER 4, 1894

or insolenco; II means, assured that I am
satisfied with the great Justice of your honor
able sentence, and that ! am now aware of the
gravity Of my fault. Yet my sorrow and
my necessitys have caused me TO in
dulRc the unreasonable hope that ! may
be forgiven for my great rudeness in asking
pardon" The youth or girl, beyond the age of
childish fesrs. when punished for some error,
receives tho punishment with a smile which
says: N evil feeling arises in my heart; much
worse than this my fault has deserved" II
should be understood, however. that the poorest
and humblest Japanese IL rarely submissive
under injustice. His apparent docility Is due
chiefly TO his moral sense. The foreigner who
strikes a native for sport may have reason 20
find that ho has made n serlous mistake. The
Japanese are not TO be trifed with. and brutal
attempts TO trife with them have cost several
worthless lives.
Tbs smile which Eliminates Japanese CONVEX
sation Is in itself but a small detail Of the tradi-
tional courtesy. We are told that, u you happen
TO have a japanese friend who has remained in
all things truly Japanese, you will observe that,
as a rule, he never speaks Of himself, and that,
in reply to searching personal questions. he will
answer as vaguely and briefly a. possible with n
polite bow Of thanks. On the other hand he will
ask many questions about YOURSELF; your opin-
ions, your idens. even trifling details of yourdaily
life, appear to have deep interest for him; and
you will probably have occasion to note that no
never forgets anything which he has learned
concerning you. There are. at the same time,
certain rigid limits to his kindly curiosity, and,
perhaps, even to his observation; he
will never refer to any disagreeable or
painful matter, and he will seem to
remain blind to eccentricities o. small
weaknesses, II you have any. To your face
he will never praise you, but he will never
laugh Mt you nor criticise you. Indeed, you will
find that he never criticises persons. but only
actions and their results. As "A private adviser.
he will not even directly c~riticisc a plan of which
he disapproves, but Is apt to suggest a now one
In some such guarded language as: Perhaps II
might be more to your immediate interest To do
thus and so.' When obliged to speak of others
he will refer TO them in a curious. indirect
fashion by citing and combining a number of
incidents sufficiently characteristic 10 form a
picture. But in that event the incidents mar
rated will almost certainly be of n nature to
awaken interest and to create a favorable i'm
preston. This indirect way OF conveying infor-
nation Is essentially Confucian: Even when
you have no doubts says the Li-Ki, do not let
what you say appear as your own view" Mr..
Hearn thinks that any one may notice many other
traits In the Japanese requiring some knowledge
of the Chinese classics to comprehend. No such
sho"i VhbN, hoNtNtIs ~ Ht'tSShlg W ''IN llNt
you Of their exquisite consideration of Others
and their studied suppression of self. Among
no other civi''"ed people il the secret of happy
so thuo'y hly recognized; b. mother race
Is the truth so ~ldely understood that our pleas
ure In this life must depend upon the happiness
Of those about us, and consequently on the Guilt
walton in ourselves Of unselnshncss and patience.
this reason, in Japanese society. sarcasm,
irony, and cruel wit are not INDUCED; indeed,
they scarcely have any existence in refined life.
A personal failing is not made the subject of
ridicule and reproach; an eccentricity Is not
upon; an involuntary mistake ey-
,ites no laughter. In fine. Mr.. Hearn agrees
with Sir Edwin Arnold in affirming that, in the
mind Of one who even partly understands the
japanese, there can remain no doubt that they
IRE the best people in the world to live among.
rhe Intellectual loss, II there be any, Is more
han compensated by the social charm.