Burke says: "Our manners, our civilization, and all the good things
connected with manners and civilization have in this European world of ours
depended for ages upon two principles -- the spirit of a gentleman,
and the spirit of religion." We often hear people, especially Westerners,
calling themselves "highly civilized", and to some extent
they have good grounds for their claim, but do they really manifest
the qualifications mentioned by Burke? Are they indeed
so "highly civilized" as to be in all respects worthy paragons
to the so-called semi-civilized nations? Have not some of their policies
been such as can be characterized only as crooked and selfish actions
which less civilized peoples would not have thought of?
I believe that every disinterested reader will be able to supply
confirmatory illustrations for himself, but I will enforce the point
by giving a few Chinese ideals of a truly civilized man:
"He guards his body as if holding jade"; i.e., he will not contaminate himself
with mental or moral filth.
"He does not gratify his appetite, nor in his dwelling place
does he seek ease"; i.e., he uses the physical without being submerged by it.
"Without weapons he will not attack a tiger, nor will he dare to cross a river
without a boat"; in other words he will never ruin himself and his family
by purely speculative practices.
He will "send charcoal in a snowstorm, but he will not add flowers
to embroidery", meaning that he renders timely assistance when necessary,
but does not curry favor by presents to those who do not need them.
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