Human Bullets: A Soldier's Story of Port ArthurSakurai, Tadayoshi
History
Human Bullets: A Soldier's Story of Port Arthur
Sakurai, Tadayoshi
Lüshun (China) -- History -- Siege, 1904-1905
2. Soldiers must be polite in their behavior and ways. In the army and
navy, there are hierarchical ranks from the Marshal to the private or
bluejacket which bind together the whole for purposes of command, and
there are also the gradations of seniority within the same rank. The
junior must obey the senior, the inferior must take orders from the
superior, who transmits to them Our direct command, and inferior and
junior officers and men must pay respect to their superiors and seniors,
even though they be not their direct superiors and seniors. Superiors
must never be haughty or proud towards those of a lower rank, and
severity of discipline must be reserved for exceptional cases. In all
other cases superiors must treat those beneath them with kindness and
especial clemency, so that all men may unite as one man in the service
of the country. If you do not observe courtesy of behavior, if inferiors
treat their superiors with disrespect, or superiors their inferiors with
harshness, if, in a word, the harmonious relations between superiors and
inferiors be lost, you will be not only playing havoc with the army, but
committing serious crimes against the country.
3. It is incumbent on soldiers to be brave and courageous. These two
virtues have in this country been always held in very high esteem, and
are indeed indispensable to Our nation: soldiers, whose profession it is
to fight against the foe, should never for one instant forget that they
must be brave. But there is a true bravery and a false one, which is
totally different, and the rough behavior of youth cannot be called true
bravery. A man of arms must always act with reason and make his plans
with _sang-froid_ and care. You must never despise even a small body of
the enemy; on the other hand, you must never be afraid of large numbers;
it is in the accomplishment of duty that true bravery lies. Those who
thus appreciate true bravery will always behave with moderation towards
others and will earn the respect of all men. If you act with violence
you are not truly brave, and will be hated by others like a tiger or a
wolf.
4. Soldiers are required to be faithful and righteous. Faithfulness and
righteousness are among the ordinary duties of men: the man of arms
can scarcely exist in the army without them. By the former is meant
the keeping of one’s word, by the latter, the accomplishment of duty.
Hence, if you wish to be faithful and righteous, you must first consider
whether a thing may be done or not. If you promise to do something the
nature of which is uncertain, and so entangle yourself with others,
you will be in an embarrassing situation which may drive you to become
unfaithful or unrighteous; and in such a case you will have no remedy,
but only vain regrets.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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