ABSTRACT
That the rise and fall of nations, their peaceful prosperity or their adversity in time of war arise from the strength or weakness, the relative superiority or inferiority of the elements which compose them, becomes abundantly clear as we examine the pages of human history. The short-lived prosperity of Greece,
and the fact that the power which spread the Roman civilisation over the world soon declined leaving nothing but monuments of its grandeur behind, are excellent examples of this contention. The wealth and power for which England and America are famed has not been a mere spontaneous growth. Nevertheless, they too illustrate this view. It is an error to argue from their present condition that their prosperity will endure for ever. Their history has been full of tragiC misery, usurpations, and dynastic strife. These incidents crowd one upon the other. Dynasty succeeds dynasty and clan wrests power from its rival clans. There is in these nations a constant variation of power and they are utterly unable to avoid that working of the natural law by which the new ever supplants the old. Among these people there is but slight interest taken in observing the formalities of ancestral worship or in maintaining the integrity of the state. They are content merely to serve the reigning family of the hour and to cling to the powerful faction. Such a state of affairs is clearly exemplified in the case of China and Korea. There is, indeed, no greater danger to be encountered by the state than this inherent weakness of its component elements, and their inability to cohere. If the elements are weak in this sense the nation will surely be overthrown. Those who are responsible for maintaining the national organisation must study the matter closely, for failure here will render any plan for perpetuating it as foolishly ineffective as though a man were to paint a cat and imagine that he had produced a tiger. It would be like dreaming of a dragon and finding a snake. In the history of foreign powers errors of this nature are clearly evident. What words, therefore, are adequate to describe our unique Empire, unchanged and unchangeable, blest on the one hand with a single immutable Imperial Line and on the other with courageously devoted subjects, who ceaselessly fulfil their duties and overthrow the enemies of the Empire I This phenomenon is due to the aid of heaven mediated to us through our Emperor, coupled with that loyal service rendered by the people of Yamato, which shall continue unaltered as long as heaven and earth shall endure.
