Man is the sublime essence of all things. Between heaven and earth there is no more honourable thing than man. Our country is specially called the Country of the Gods, and of all the countries in the world there is none the institutions of which excel those of our country. Is it not a disgrace past speaking of that the privileged being called man, who dwells in the excellent Country of the Gods, should pass his life in heedless vanity? Man differs from the birds and from the beasts in that he can discern the laws of reason, and in that he has a heart capable of gratitude and virtue. Loyalty and filial piety are also the essence of the heart of man. He who in ever so slight a degree is wanting in this heart has the face of a man but the soul of a beast, and though he be shaped as a man, yet is he even less than the birds and the beasts. If, then, a man wishes to fulfil his duties as a man, and having been born in the Country of the Gods desires not to turn his back upon the spirits of that country, let him above all things bear in mind the privilege of being born a Japanese, and set his heart upon repaying the debt of gratitude which he owes to his country. We have said that the institutions of the Country of the Gods excel those of other countries. Of old the heavenly ancestors of the Emperor created this country, and established the duties of men in their mutual relations. Since that time the line of Emperors has never been changed. Generation has succeeded generation in the rule of this country, and the Imperial heart has ever been penetrated by a tender love for the people. In their turn the people have reverenced and served generation after generation of Emperors. In foreign countries the lines of Princes have been frequently changed; the people owe their Sovereign a debt of gratitude which extends over two or three generations; the relations of Sovereign and subject last for a hundred or two hundred years; the Prince of yesterday is the foe of to-day; the minister of yesterday is the rebel of to-morrow. In our country we have no such folly. Since the creation of the world we have remained unmoved; since the creation of the world the Imperial line has been unchanged and the relations of Sovereign and subject have been undisturbed; hence it is that the spirit of gratitude has intensified and grown deeper and deeper. The especial point in which the institutions of our country excel those of the rest of the world is the creed which has been established by the heavenly ancestors of the Emperor, and which comprises the mutual duties between lord and servant. Even in foreign countries, where lords and servants have over and over again changed places, these mutual duties are handed down as a matter of weighty importance. How much the more does it behove us to pay a debt of deep and inexhaustible gratitude which extends over the ages.