second is the
possession of a strong idealizing tendency. Prof. G.T. Ladd has called
them a "sentimental" people, in the sense that they are powerfully
moved by sentiment. This is a conspicuous trait of their character
appearing in numberless ways in their daily life. The passion for
group-photographs is largely due to this. Sentimentalism, in the sense
given it by Prof. Ladd, is the emotional aspect of idealism.

The new order of society is reacting on the older ideal of a hero and
is materially modifying it. The old-fashioned samurai, girded with two
swords, ready to kill a personal foe at sight, is now only the ideal
of romance. In actual life he would soon find himself deprived of his
liberty and under the condemnation not only of the law, but also of
public opinion. The new ideal with which I have come into most
frequent contact is far different. Many, possibly the majority, of the
young men and boys with whom I have talked as to their aim in life,
have said that they desired to secure first of all a thorough
education, in order that finally they might become great "statesmen"
and might guide the nation into paths of prosperity and international
power. The modern hero is one who gratifies the patriotic passion by
bringing some marked success to the nation. He must be a gentleman,
educated in science, in history, and in foreign languages; but above
all, he must be versed in political economy and law. This new ideal of
a national hero has been brought in by the order of society, and in
proportion as this order continues, and emphasis continues to be laid
on mental and moral power, rather than on rank or official position,
on the intrinsic rather than on the accidental, will the old ideal
fade away and the new ideal take its place. Among an idealizing and
emotional people, such as the Japanese, various ideals will naturally
find extreme expression. As society grows complex also and its various
elements become increasingly differentiated, so will the ideals pass
through the same transformations. A study of ideals, therefore, serves
several ends; it reveals the present character of those whose ideals
they are; it shows the degree of development of the social organism in
which they live; it makes known, likewise, the degree of the
differentiation that has taken place between the various elements of
the nation.

VIII

LOVE FOR CHILDREN

An aspect of Japanese life widely remarked and praised by foreign
write