se
call benevolence, modesty, filial piety, propriety, love, fidelity,
and truth really constituted the duty of man, they would be so
recognized and practised without any teaching; but since they were
invented by the so-called 'holy men' as instruments for ruling a
viciously inclined population, it became necessary to insist on more
than the actual duty of man. Consequently, although plenty of men
profess these doctrines, the number of those that practise them is
very small. Violations of this teaching were attributed to human
lusts. As human lusts are a part of man's nature, they must be a part
of the harmony of the universe, and cannot be wrong according to the
Chinese theory. It was the vicious nature of the Chinese that
necessitated such strict rules, as, for instance, that persons
descended from a common ancestor, no matter how distantly related,
should not intermarry. These rules, not being founded on the harmony
of the universe, were not in accordance with human feelings and were
therefore seldom obeyed.

"In ancient times, Japanese refrained from intermarriage among
children of the same mother, but the distance between the noble and
the mean was duly preserved. Thus, the country was spontaneously well
governed, in accordance with the 'way' established by the gods. Just
as the Mikado worshipped the gods in heaven and earth, so his people
pray to the good gods in order to obtain blessings, and perform rites
in honour of the bad gods in order to avert their displeasure. If
they committed crimes or denied themselves, they employed the usual
methods of purification taught them by their own hearts. Since there
are bad as well as good gods, it is necessary to propitiate them with
offerings of agreeable food, playing the lute, blowing the flute,
singing and dancing, and whatever else is likely to put them in good
humour.

"It has been asked whether the Kami no michi is not the same as the
Taoism of Laotzu. Laotzu hated the vain conceits of the Chinese
scholars, and honoured naturalness, from which a resemblance may be
argued; but as he was born in a dirty country not under special
protection of the Sun goddess, he had heard only the theories of the
succession of so-called 'holy men,' and what he believed to be
naturalness was simply what they called natural. He did not know that
the gods are the authors of every human action, and this ignorance
constituted a cause of radical difference. To have acquired the
knowledg