o his son:
'There is such a thing as trade. See that you know nothing of it.
In trade the profit should always go to the other side.... To be
proud of buying high-priced articles cheap is the good fortune of
merchants, but should be unknown to samurai. Let it not be even so
much as mentioned.... Samurai must have a care of their words, and
are not to speak of avarice, cowardice, or lust.'"[BE]

A point of considerable interest to the student of Japanese ethical
ideals is the fact that the laws of Old Japan combined legal and moral
maxims. Loyalty and morality were conceived as inseparable. Ieyasu
(abdicated in 1605, and died in 1616), the founder of the Tokugawa
Shogunate, left a body of laws to his successors as his last will, in
accordance with which they should rule the land. These laws were not
made public, but were kept strictly for the guidance of the rulers.
They are known as the Testament or "Honorable Will" of Ieyasu, and
consist of one hundred rules. It will serve our purpose here to quote
some of those that refer to the moral ideal.

"No one is to act simply for the gratification of his own desires,
but he is to strive to do what may be opposed to his desires,
_i.e_., to exercise self-control, in order that everyone may be
ready for whatever he may be called upon by his superiors to do."

"The aged, whether widowers or widows, and orphans, and persons
without relations, every one should assist with kindness and
liberality; for justice to these four is the root of good
government."

"Respect the gods [or God], keep the heart pure, and be diligent in
business during the whole life."

"When I was young I determined to fight and punish all my own and
my ancestors' enemies, and I did punish them; but afterwards, by
deep consideration, I found that the way of heaven was to help the
people, and not to punish them. Let my successors follow out this
policy, or they are not of my line. In this lies the strength of
the nation."

"To insure the Empire peace, the foundation must be laid in the
ways of holiness and religion, and if men think they can be
educated, and will not remember this, it is as if a man were to go
to a forest to catch fish, or thought he could draw water out of
fire. They must follow the ways of holiness."

"Japan is the country of the gods [or God--'Shink