Page:Chinese Characteristics.djvu/44

34 the hand of the diligent maketh rich, the Chinese ought to be among the most prosperous of the peoples of the earth. And so they doubtless would be, if there were with them a balance of virtues, instead of a conspicuous absence of some of those fundamental qualities which, however they may be enumerated as "constant virtues," are chiefly "constant" in their absence. When, by whatever means, these qualities of honesty and sincerity shall have been restored to their theoretical place in the Chinese moral consciousness, then (and not sooner) will the Chinese reap the full reward of their unmatched Industry.