foreigners would learn with astonishment what cutting sarcasms are capable of being expressed in “the politest language in the world that has no swear-word in it.” Apropos of “swear-words,” their absence in a language is, it may be observed, no criterion of the gentleness of the people speaking that tongue. The suave diction of diplomacy can convey a threat far more effectively than the bluster of Billingsgate; innuendo is a much more telling weapon in polemics than a direct attack; and courteous or veiled language gives no key to the moral character of the speaker. And so it does not necessarily follow that a nation whose language is rich in honorifics and other terms of respect and reverence is of a gentler disposition or less robust than one which does not recognise such niceties of speech; the only difference between the two lies in the manner in which they give vent to their passion or emotion. For the former can convey any degree of discourtesy or insult by a wilful omission of these honorifics in a way which would be well nigh incomprehensible to people to whom such discrimination is foreign. There is no need to resort to blasphemy or profanity to express strong feeling since these honorifics, by their absence or ironical use, serve all purposes of emotional language. In fact, the words of insult which are used in common speech sound very mild when translated into English. An Englishman would probably smile at a Japanese hurling at his opponent’s head words like fool, beast, and dunderhead as opprobrious terms, while the Japanese would be equally amused at the Englishman’s readiness to invoke God’s curse upon everybody and everything that may fail to please him. Since, then, honorifics play an important part in Japanese speech, their proper use requires considerable art and tact. The blunders of the labouring classes in their use are stock jokes with professional story-tellers; but with the educated classes solecisms of the kind are of comparatively rare occurrence. From long practice their right use has become a settled habit. It would be difficult to explain precisely the force of these honorifics in common speech; but suffice it to state that words, or rather syllables, signifying respect are prefixed or affixed to the words directly referring to the person addressed or spoken of, if he is a superior or an equal whom it is customary to treat with consideration. There are also special words and phrases to be used on such occasions.