e Chinese 'holy men' also invented the Book of Changes, by which
they pretended to discover the workings of the universe; a vain
attempt, since it is impossible for man with his limited intelligence
to discover the principles which govern the acts of the gods. In
imitation of them, the Chinese nation has since given itself up to
philosophizing, to which are to be attributed its constant internal
dissensions. When things go right of themselves, it is best to leave
them alone. In ancient times, although there was no prosy system in
Japan, there, were no popular disturbances, and the empire was
peacefully ruled. It is because the Japanese were truly moral in
their practice that they required no theory of morals, and the fuss
made by the Chinese about theoretical morals is owing to their laxity
in practice. It is not wonderful that students of Chinese literature
should despise their own country for being without a system of
morals, but that the Japanese, who were acquainted with their own
ancient literature, should pretend that Japan too had such a system,
simply out of a feeling of envy, is ridiculous.

"When Chinese literature was imported into Japan, the people adopted
many Chinese ideas, laws, customs, and practices, which they so mixed
up with their own that it became necessary to adopt a special name
for the ancient native customs, which were in consequence called Kami
no michi or Shinto, the word 'michi' being applied in the same sense
as the Chinese Tao, and Kami because of their divine origin. These
native customs survived only in ceremonies with which the native gods
are worshipped. Every event in the universe is the act of the gods.
They direct the changes of the seasons, the wind and the rain, the
good and bad fortune of States and individuals. Some of the gods are
good, others bad, and their acts partake of their own natures.
Buddhists attribute events to 'retribution' (Inga), while the Chinese
ascribe them to be the 'decree of heaven' (Tien ming). This latter is
a phrase invented by the so-called 'holy men' to justify murdering
sovereigns and seizing their dominions. As neither heaven nor earth
has a mind, they cannot issue decrees. If heaven really could issue
decrees, it would certainly protect the good rulers and take care to
prevent bad men from seizing the power, and, in general, while the
good would prosper, the bad would suffer misfortune. But in reality
we find many instances of the reverse. Whenever a