deal and practice of loyalty been
higher? The heroes most lauded by the Japanese to-day are those who
have proved their loyalty by the sacrifice of their lives. When
Masashige Kusunoki waged a hopeless war on behalf of one branch of the
then divided dynasty, and finally preferred to die by his own hand
rather than endure the sight of a victorious rebel, he is considered
to have exhibited the highest possible evidence of devoted loyalty.
One often hears his name in the sermons of Christian preachers as a
model worthy of all honor. The patriots of the period immediately
preceding the Meiji era, known as the "Kinnoka," some of whom lost
their lives because of their devotion to the cause of their then
impotent Emperor, are accorded the highest honor the nation can give.

The teachings of the Japanese concerning the relations that should
exist between parents, and children, and, in multitudes of instances,
their actual conduct also, can hardly be excelled. We can assert that
they have a keen moral faculty, however further study may compel us to
pronounce its development and manifestations to be unbalanced.

Better, however, than generalizations as to the ethical ideals of
Japan, past and present, are actual quotations from her moral
teachers. The following passages are taken from "A Japanese
Philosopher," by Dr. Geo. W. Knox, the larger part of the volume
consisting of a translation of one of the works of Muro Kyuso--who
lived from 1658 to 1734. It was during his life that the famous
forty-seven ronin performed their exploit, and Kyu-so gave them the
name by which they are still remembered, Gi-shi, the "Righteous
Samurai." The purpose of the work is the defense of the Confucian
faith and practice, as interpreted by Tei-shu, the philosopher of
China whom Japan delighted to honor. It discusses among other things
the fundamental principles of ethics, politics, and religion. Dr. Knox
has done all earnest Western students of Japanese ethical and
religious ideas an inestimable service in the production of this work
in English.

"The 'Way' of Heaven and Earth is the 'Way' of Gyo and Shun
[semi-mythical rulers of ancient China idealized by Confucius]; the
'Way' of Gyo and Shun is the 'Way' of Confucius and Mencius, and
the 'Way' of Confucius and Mencius is the 'Way' of Tei-Shu.
Forsaking Tei-Shu, we cannot find Confucius and Mencius; forsaking
Confucius and Mencius, we cannot find Gyo and Shun; and f