A monument was erected to the famous cavalry general Von Rosenberg, in Hanover. After the unveiling of the monument the Emperor responded to Count von Waldersee’s toast as follows:
A monument was erected to the famous cavalry general Von Rosenberg, in Hanover. After the unveiling of the monument the Emperor responded to Count von Waldersee’s toast as follows:
To-day I greet all the cavalry of the German army. Even from his grave the general’s personality has issued so magic and so powerful an appeal that it has called the horsemen together from all quarters of the German Empire and from the contingents of my affiliated rulers, so that to-day for the first time our German cavalry is gathered together in a single great cohort.
We wish to draw a lesson from this day. As the general recognized only his service and the call of duty, may we do likewise! The highest reward that can come to an officer through his service in life is to fill his position to his own complete satisfaction. Looking back over the life of General von Rosenberg, we can compose a proverb which should apply to us also, now and for all time: “Know your aim, and then exert every effort.” Let that be the standard for our cavalry!
So may we also create for ourselves from this simple monument a symbol and an example. A block of granite from the mark bears the features of the general inlaid in bronze; so may we hedge and protect that piece of granite of our army which we call the cavalry and allow it to harden, so that he who bites upon it may lose his teeth![37]
[37]A phrase of Frederick the Great which Count Bülow had used in the Reichstag January 8, 1902, in speaking of the English Colonial Secretary Chamberlain’s attack on the German army.
[37]A phrase of Frederick the Great which Count Bülow had used in the Reichstag January 8, 1902, in speaking of the English Colonial Secretary Chamberlain’s attack on the German army.
With this wish I raise my glass and drink to the memory of the general, to the German cavalry, and to its most conspicuous representative, the General Field-Marshal, Count von Waldersee. Hurrah!
Aix, June 19, 1902
The Emperor, accepting an invitation from the city, came to Aix with the Empress and the Crown Prince. It was here that Charlemagne was probably born and here that he died. The present Rathaus was built upon the ruins of his palace, and it was in the so-called Coronation Room that the Emperor delivered his address.
The Emperor, accepting an invitation from the city, came to Aix with the Empress and the Crown Prince. It was here that Charlemagne was probably born and here that he died. The present Rathaus was built upon the ruins of his palace, and it was in the so-called Coronation Room that the Emperor delivered his address.
In the name of her Majesty, the Empress, and in my name I thank you particularly for the indescribably patriotic and enthusiastic reception which has been prepared for us by all classes of the city of Aix. I earnestly desired to visit the city of Aix, and I thank you for the opportunity which you have given me through your invitation.
Who would not be deeply moved on such historic ground as that of Aix by the breath and murmur of the past and of the present? Who would not think of the providential guidance of Heaven as he looks back over the history of thecenturies which our Fatherland has lived through in its connection with Aix?
Aix is the cradle of German imperialism, for it was here that Charlemagne erected his throne, and the city of Aix shone in his reflected glory. So important, so imposing was the figure of this great German prince that from Rome the dignity of the Roman Cæsars was bestowed upon him, and he was chosen to enter into the inheritance of theImperium Romanum—certainly a splendid recognition of the capability of our German stock as it appeared for the first time in history. For the Roman sceptre had fallen from the hands of the Cæsars and their successors. Crumbling and decayed, the Roman edifice was tottering to its fall, and only the appearance of the victorious Germans with their virtuous dispositions made it possible to point a new and as yet untrodden road for the history of the world. It goes without saying that the mighty Charles, the great King of the Franks, drew upon himself the gaze of Rome which looked to him as to its bulwark and protector.
But the task of combining the office of Roman Emperor with the dignity and burden of the German King was too severe. What he was able to accomplish through his powerful personality Fate denied to his followers; and through their desirefor a world-empire, the Emperors of the later generations lost sight of the German people and country. They turned toward the south in order to maintain the world-empire, and in so doing forgot the Germans. So gradually our German country and people perished.
Just as the blossoming aloe gathers up all the strength of the plant for this task and, striving upward, develops flower on flower and fascinates the eye of the astonished beholder, while the plant itself withers and its roots shrivel away, so it was with the Roman Empire of the German Nation.
Another empire has now arisen. The German people are now blessed with another Emperor, whom they had themselves gone out to seek. Sword in hand, on the field of battle, the crown was won, and the flag of the empire flutters high in the breeze once more. With the same enthusiasm and love with which the German people held to the imperial idea has the new empire entered into being; but the tasks are now different. Limited from without by the boundaries of our country, it became our duty to steel ourselves from within in preparation for the duties which were then laid upon our people and which could not be discharged in the Middle Ages.
And so we see the empire, although still young, growing strong within itself from year to year,while confidence in it is becoming more and more secure on every side. The powerful German army, however, affords a support to the peace of Europe. In keeping with the character of the Germans, we limit ourselves from without in order to remain free within. Far away over the sea our speech is spreading, and far away flows the stream of our knowledge and research. There is no work in the realm of later research which is not written in our language, and no thought is born of science which is not first utilized by us in order later to be taken over by other nations. And this is that world-empire which the German spirit strives for. If we, then, wish to discharge adequately our further great responsibilities, we dare not forget that the foundation on which the empire was built is based upon simplicity and the fear of God as well as the lofty moral conceptions of our ancestors. Heavily, indeed, was the hand of our God laid upon us at the beginning of the previous century, and mighty was the arm of Providence which shaped the steel and welded it in the furnace of misery until the weapon was finished.
And so I expect of you all that, whether churchmen or laymen, you will help me to maintain religion among the people. We must work together in order to preserve the moral foundations and the healthy strength of the German stock. But thatcan only be done if we preserve its religion, and this is true equally of Catholics and Protestants.
I am, therefore, the more pleased to-day, to bring to the leaders of the church who are here represented a bit of news of which I am proud to be the bearer. Beside me stands General von Loë, a faithful servant of his Kings. He was sent to Rome to the jubilee of the Holy Father, and when he delivered to him my gift and my congratulations and in private conversation had explained how things stood in our German country the Holy Father answered him that he was happy to be able to say that he had always thought highly of the piety of the Germans and of the German army; he said he could even go further and commissioned General von Loë to report the following to his Emperor: The German Empire is the only[38]country in Europe in which training, order, and discipline rule, in which respect for authority and reverence for the church exist, and in which every Catholic can live freely and undisturbed in his faith, and for this he thanked the German Emperor.
[38]The word “only” has not received official sanction, but is printed by Penzler.
[38]The word “only” has not received official sanction, but is printed by Penzler.
This, gentlemen, justifies me in saying that both our churches, standing side by side, must forever have before their eyes the idea of strengtheningand preserving the fear of God and respect for religion. The fact that we are modern men and that we work in this or that field makes no difference. Whoever does not base his life upon religion is lost.
And as it is fitting on this day and in this place not merely to speak but also to make a pledge, I hereby express my vow that I set myself and my house, the entire empire, the entire people, and my army, symbolically represented by this baton, under the cross and under the protection of Him of whom the great apostle said, “Neither is there salvation in any other; for there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved,” and who has said of Himself: “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My words shall not pass away.”
I drink to the health of the city of Aix in the firm conviction that the words which I have spoken will here fall upon good ground, just as I am assured from what I have seen among both the older and younger citizens of this city that our house and our throne will in the future likewise find firm support within their walls. Long live the city of Aix!
November 26, 1902
The present speech and the one which follows it, to the working men in Breslau, may conveniently be taken together, as they both concern the Emperor’s attitude toward the Socialists. Of all his policies, his attempt to destroy this political party has been least successful. It had increased from 763,000 in 1887 to 4,250,000 in 1912, when it numbered more than twice as many voters as its nearest competitor, the Centre party, 1,996,000. The Emperor had tried to introduce repeatedly subversion acts which would have made for the persecution of this the largest political party in his empire. When, on October 13, 1895, a manufacturer was murdered in Mülhausen by a workman who had been repeatedly convicted of theft, William II telegraphed to his widow: “Another sacrifice to the revolutionary movement engendered by the Socialists.” This hostile attitude was unavailing and aroused the criticism of the greatest German historian, Mommsen:“It is unfortunately true that at the present time the Social Democracy is the only great party which has any claim to political respect. It is not necessary to refer to talent. Everybody in Germany knows that with brains like those of Bebel it would be possible to furnish forth a dozen noblemen from east of the Elbe in a fashion that would make them shine among their peers.“The devotion, the self-sacrificing spirit of theSocial Democratic masses, impresses even those who are far from sharing their aims. Our Liberals might well take a lesson from the discipline of the party.” And again, only about a week after this speech of the Emperor’s Mommsen wrote:“There must be an end of the superstition, as false as it is perfidious, that the nation is divided into parties of law and order on the one hand and a party of revolution on the other, and that it is the prime political duty of citizens belonging to the former category to shun the labor party as if it were in quarantine for the plague and to combat it as the enemy of the state.”The Emperor has had many friends among the leaders in the industrial world. Alfred Krupp had stood in close relation to his sovereign and had been one of the founders and prime movers in the German Navy League, which, more than anything else, had made possible the realization of the imperial naval policy. The Emperor is altogether mistaken in ascribing the stories circulated about Krupp to the malignity of Social Democratic editors. Very ugly rumors, whether true or false, had long before this time circulated about this industrial leader; they could have been heard in other countries of Europe, especially in Italy, and most particularly in Tiberius’s island of Capri, where he is said to have had a villa.The address was delivered in the waiting-room of the station at Essen on the day of Krupp’s funeral.
The present speech and the one which follows it, to the working men in Breslau, may conveniently be taken together, as they both concern the Emperor’s attitude toward the Socialists. Of all his policies, his attempt to destroy this political party has been least successful. It had increased from 763,000 in 1887 to 4,250,000 in 1912, when it numbered more than twice as many voters as its nearest competitor, the Centre party, 1,996,000. The Emperor had tried to introduce repeatedly subversion acts which would have made for the persecution of this the largest political party in his empire. When, on October 13, 1895, a manufacturer was murdered in Mülhausen by a workman who had been repeatedly convicted of theft, William II telegraphed to his widow: “Another sacrifice to the revolutionary movement engendered by the Socialists.” This hostile attitude was unavailing and aroused the criticism of the greatest German historian, Mommsen:
“It is unfortunately true that at the present time the Social Democracy is the only great party which has any claim to political respect. It is not necessary to refer to talent. Everybody in Germany knows that with brains like those of Bebel it would be possible to furnish forth a dozen noblemen from east of the Elbe in a fashion that would make them shine among their peers.
“The devotion, the self-sacrificing spirit of theSocial Democratic masses, impresses even those who are far from sharing their aims. Our Liberals might well take a lesson from the discipline of the party.” And again, only about a week after this speech of the Emperor’s Mommsen wrote:
“There must be an end of the superstition, as false as it is perfidious, that the nation is divided into parties of law and order on the one hand and a party of revolution on the other, and that it is the prime political duty of citizens belonging to the former category to shun the labor party as if it were in quarantine for the plague and to combat it as the enemy of the state.”
The Emperor has had many friends among the leaders in the industrial world. Alfred Krupp had stood in close relation to his sovereign and had been one of the founders and prime movers in the German Navy League, which, more than anything else, had made possible the realization of the imperial naval policy. The Emperor is altogether mistaken in ascribing the stories circulated about Krupp to the malignity of Social Democratic editors. Very ugly rumors, whether true or false, had long before this time circulated about this industrial leader; they could have been heard in other countries of Europe, especially in Italy, and most particularly in Tiberius’s island of Capri, where he is said to have had a villa.
The address was delivered in the waiting-room of the station at Essen on the day of Krupp’s funeral.
I feel the need of expressing to you how deeply my heart is moved by the death of this man. Her Majesty, the Empress and Queen, wishes me to express to you her grief also, and she has already expressed it in writing to Frau Krupp. I have often, with my wife, been a guest in the Krupp house and have felt the charm of his lovable personality. Our relations have become so well established in the course of the years that I dare call myself a friend of the deceased and of his house. On this account I have not wished to deny myself the privilege of appearing here to-day at his funeral, and I hold it to be my duty to stand at the side of the widow and daughters of my friend.
The peculiar circumstances which accompanied the sad event also make it incumbent upon me to be here as the head of the German Empire, to hold the shield of the German Emperor over the house and the memory of this man. Whoever knew the deceased intimately knows with what a sensitive and delicate nature he was endowed and that this was the one vulnerable point through which to deal him a death-blow. He was the victim of his unimpeachable integrity.
An event has occurred within the German countries so degrading and low that it has aroused all hearts and must bring the blush of shame to thecheeks of every German patriot, because of the disgrace brought upon our entire people. The honor of a man, German to the core, who lived only for others, who had in his mind only the welfare of the Fatherland, but above all that of his employees, has been assailed.
This deed, with its consequences, is nothing less than murder; for there is no difference between him who mixes a poisonous drink and offers it to another and him who from the safe ambush of his editor’s office destroys the honorable name of a fellow man with the poisoned arrows of his slanders and kills him through the torment of soul caused by them.
Who was it that began this shameful attack upon our friend? Men who up to the present have been counted as Germans, but who are now unworthy of this name, who sprang from the classes of the German working people, who have such a tremendous amount to thank Krupp for and of whom thousands in the streets with tearful faces waved a last farewell to the bier of their benefactor.
You, Krupp’s workmen, have ever held faithfully to your employer and have clung to him; gratitude is not wiped out of your hearts. With pride I have seen everywhere abroad the name of the Fatherland honored through the work ofyour hands. Men who wish to be the leaders of the German workmen have robbed you of your dear master. It remains for you to shield and protect him and to preserve his memory from disgrace.
I trust, therefore, that you will find the proper means of making it clear to the body of German working men that it is important hereafter to make it impossible for good and honorable working men to have any community of interest or close relationship with the perpetrators of this shameful deed; for it is the honor of the working man that has been besmirched. Whoever will sit at the same table with these people deliberately lays himself open to a charge of moral participation in the crime.
I have sufficient confidence in the German laborers to believe that they are conscious of the extreme seriousness of the present moment and that, as German men, they will find a solution for this difficult question.
Breslau, December 5, 1902
That the working men of Breslau have decided to come to me, their King and father, fills me with the greatest satisfaction, for two reasons.In the first place, you have not disappointed the expectations which I expressed in Essen; in the second, you have helped thereby to maintain free from reproach the memory of my late friend Krupp.
From my heart I thank the spokesman for his cordial, patriotic words. You show thereby that an honorable attitude and a dependence upon the King and the Fatherland are taking firm root among you. Your condition has indeed become the object of my deepest interest and consideration, for I observed with pride in foreign lands how the German working man was considered above all others, and with justice. Your hearts may exult and you may well rejoice in your work and your condition.
Led by the remarkable message[39]of the great Emperor William I, I have improved the social legislation so that a good and secure condition of existence has been created for the working men through old age, and this has been accomplished often at great sacrifice to the employer. And our Germany is the only country in which legislation relating to the welfare of the working classes has developed to any great degree.
[39]Seefootnoteto “First Declaration of Polity,” June 25, 1888.
[39]Seefootnoteto “First Declaration of Polity,” June 25, 1888.
On the ground of the great concern which your King has for your condition I am justified ingiving you also a word of warning. For years you and your brothers have allowed yourselves to be deluded by the agitators of the Socialists into thinking that if you do not belong to this party and acknowledge it no one pays any attention to you and that you will not be in a position to obtain a hearing for your just interests in the amelioration of your condition.
This is a gross lie and a serious error. Instead of representing you directly, the agitators seek to stir you up against your employers, against the other classes, against the throne, and against the church, and have in this way taken advantage of you, terrorized you, and flattered you in order to strengthen their own power. And to what end is this power used? Not for furthering your welfare, but for sowing hatred between the classes and for disseminating cowardly slanders that respect nothing as sacred; and finally they have outraged the Almighty Himself.
As honor-loving men you cannot and dare not have anything more to do with such people, and you must no longer be led by them. No! Send us as representatives your friends and comrades from your own ranks, the simple, plain man from the shop who has your confidence. Such a man stands for your interests and your wishes, and we will gladly welcome him as the representative ofthe German working classes, not as a Social Democrat. With such representatives of the working classes, no matter how many there may be, we will gladly work together for the good of the people and of the country.
In this way your future will be well cared for, especially since it naturally and closely depends upon loyalty to the King, upon respect for law and for the state, for the honor of one’s fellow men and brothers, true to the proverb: “Fear God, love your brothers, and honor the King.”
Berlin, February 15, 1903
As a result of a lecture before the Oriental Society of Berlin, a very serious controversy arose in religious circles in Germany. The Emperor gave his opinion in the following open letter, which was printed in theGrenzboten. It is said that this very significant letter shows the influence of the court chaplain, Doctor Dryander. Certain of the ideas are, however, thoroughly characteristic of the Emperor.
As a result of a lecture before the Oriental Society of Berlin, a very serious controversy arose in religious circles in Germany. The Emperor gave his opinion in the following open letter, which was printed in theGrenzboten. It is said that this very significant letter shows the influence of the court chaplain, Doctor Dryander. Certain of the ideas are, however, thoroughly characteristic of the Emperor.
My Dear Hollmann:
My telegram to you must have removed the doubts which you still entertained regarding the conclusion of the lecture. It was perfectly clearlyunderstood by the audience and therefore had to stand as it does; but I am very pleased that through your inquiry the matter of this second lecture was again taken up, and I am glad to take this occasion, after reading through the section again, to present my position in a clear light.
During an evening meeting among ourselves Professor Delitzsch had the opportunity, with her Majesty, the Empress, and General Superintendent Dryander, to confer and discuss thoroughly for several hours, during which I remained a passive listener. He, unfortunately, departed from the standpoint of the thoroughgoing historian and Assyriologist and penetrated into the region of theological and religious conclusions and hypotheses, which were hazy and bold. When, however, he came to the New Testament it soon became evident that I could not agree with him in the ideas which he developed concerning the person of the Redeemer, and I was compelled to state my own standpoint, which was diametrically opposed to his. He does not recognize the divinity of Christ and therefore concludes in regard to the Old Testament that it does not refer to Him as the Messiah. Here the Assyriologist and investigating historian ceases and the theologian with all his lights and shades steps in. In this province I can only advise him to go very carefully, step bystep, and in any case to ventilate his theories only in theological publications and in the circles of his colleagues and to spare us laymen and especially the Oriental Society, before whose forum all this is out of place. We excavate and read whatever we find and publish it for the advancement of knowledge and history, but not in order to help justify or combat the religious hypotheses of any one of many learned men.
In Delitzsch’s case the theologian has run away with the historian, and the latter serves merely as a point of departure for the former. I think it unfortunate that Delitzsch should not have stuck to his original programme, which he developed in former years, namely, on the basis of the discoveries of our society, to ascertain through scientifically approved translations of the Scriptures how far these offer an illustration of the chronicle of the people of Israel; that is, enlightenment as to historical events, customs, and uses, traditions, politics, legislation, etc.; in other words, how far the undeniably highly developed Babylonian culture came into contact with the Israelites, could work upon them, yes, even impress its stamp upon them, and thereby accomplish, from a purely human point of view, a sort of rehabilitation for the Babylonians, who were, according to the Old Testament at least, a very crude, shameful,and one-sided people. That was his original intention, at least as I understood it, and a province very fruitful and interesting to us all, the investigation, explanation, and exposition of which must have interested us laymen to the highest degree and would have demanded our deepest gratitude. But he should have stuck to this. Unfortunately, however, in his zeal he has overshot the mark. As was to be expected, the excavations brought to light communications which bear in a religious way upon the Old Testament. He should have collated this material and pointed out and explained coincidences, when such occurred, but he should have left it to the listener to draw for himself all purely religious conclusions. In this way his discourse would have commanded the interest and good-will of the lay public. That, unfortunately, he has not done. Pretending that he could explain it all on historical and purely human grounds, he has attacked the question of revelation in a very polemical manner and more or less denied it. That was a serious mistake, because he touched many of his hearers in what was deepest and most sacred to them. And whether he was right or wrong—that for the moment is all one, since we are concerned not with a purely scientific gathering of theologians but with laymen of all kinds and conditions—he hasoverturned and rudely shaken many favorite conceptions and images with which these people connect sacred and cherished ideas and has ruthlessly shaken the foundation of their belief, if he has not swept it away altogether, a thing which only a mighty genius dare be bold enough to undertake and which the study of Assyriology alone does not justify. Goethe also once treated this subject and pointed out especially that one must be careful before a great, general public to break down only “Terminologiepagoden” [the pagodas of terminology]. The excellent professor, in his zeal, has overlooked the principle that it is very necessary to distinguish between what is and what is not fitting to the place, the public, etc. As a theological specialist he can, through the avenue of special publications, express for his circle of colleagues his theses, hypotheses, and theories as well as his convictions, which it would not do to express in a popular lecture or book.
I would like now to come back once more to my own personal standpoint in regard to the doctrine or view of revelation, as I have often explained it to you, my dear Hollmann, and to other gentlemen. I distinguish between two different kinds of revelation: one a continuous and in a manner historical revelation; the other a purely religiousone, preparing for the later appearance of the Messiah.
In the first place, let me say, there is not the slightest doubt in my mind but that God reveals Himself, always and permanently, through the human race which He created. He has “blown the breath of His nostrils” into man; that is, He has given him a piece of Himself—a soul. With fatherly love and interest He follows the development of mankind; in order to lead and advance it further, He “reveals” Himself in this or that great sage or priest or king, be he heathen, Jew, or Christian. Hammurabi was one, so were Moses, Abraham, Homer, Charlemagne, Luther, Shakespeare, Goethe, Kant, Emperor William the Great. These He has sought out and made worthy, through His grace, to accomplish according to His will splendid and imperishable deeds for their people in the spiritual as well as in the physical world. How often has my grandfather expressly said that he was only an instrument in the hand of the Lord. The works of great spirits are given to the people by God in order that they may imitate them and feel their way further through the intricacies of the unexplored regions of this life. Certainly God has “revealed” Himself in different ways at different times, according to the condition and culture of the people, and still doesso to-day. For, as we are overcome by the greatness and power of the magnificent nature of creation and are astounded to see in it the revealed greatness of God, so, just as surely, do we thankfully recognize in every really great and splendid thing which a man or a god does the splendor of the revelation of God. He works directly upon and among us!
The second kind of revelation, the more religious, is that which relates to the coming of our Lord. From the time of Abraham on it is introduced slowly but prophetically—the coming of the All-wise, the All-knowing; for mankind would otherwise have been lost. And now begins the most wonderful phenomenon of all, the revelation of God. The seed of Abraham and the people who developed from it regard as the most sacred thing in the world a rigorous belief in a single God. They must cherish it—. Separated during the Egyptian exile, the scattered portions, welded together a second time by Moses, strove ever to hold fast to their belief in a single God. It was the direct working of God upon these people which allowed them to rise again. And so it continues further down the centuries until the Messiah, who was announced and foretold by the prophets and psalmists, finally appears. The greatest revelation of God in the world! For Heappeared in the person of His Son; Christ is God; God in human form. He redeemed us, He inspires us, He draws us on to follow Him, we feel His fire burning within us, His pity strengthens us, His dissatisfaction destroys us, but His intercession saves us. Sure of victory, building only upon His Word, we go through work, scorn, sorrow, misery, and death, for we have in Him the revealed Word of God and He never deceives.
That is the way I look at these questions. The Word of God has, through Luther, become everything, especially for us Evangelicals; and as a good theologian Delitzsch should not have forgotten that our great Luther taught us to sing and to believe: “Ye shall let the Word stand!” For me it goes without saying that the Old Testament contains a great number of extracts which are of purely human origin and not “the revealed Word of God.” There are purely historical descriptions of events of all kinds which took place in the life of the people of Israel in the realm of political, religious, moral, and spiritual matters. So, for instance, the giving of the law on Mount Sinai may be looked upon as inspired by God in only a symbolical sense; for Moses was compelled to have recourse to some means of giving new force to old and well-known portions of the law (which were probably derived from the Codex of Hammurabi). Otherwise he might not have been able to unite and weld together a people whose organization had become lax and incapable of resistance. Here the historian can perhaps construe from the sense and the run of the words some relation to the laws of Hammurabi, the friend of Abraham, which would perhaps be perfectly logical; that would, however, in no way detract from the fact that God inspired Moses to do it and in so far revealed Himself to the people of Israel.
As I see it, therefore, our good professor ought hereafter to avoid handling and bringing forward religion, as such, in his addresses to our society. On the other hand, he may continue unmolested to bring forward whatever connections there may be between the religion, customs, etc., of the Babylonians, etc., and the Old Testament. From which I derive the following conclusions:
(a) I believe in one God, and one only.
(b) In order to teach this we need a form, especially for our children.
(c) This form has been up to the present time the Old Testament in its present state. Through investigation, inscriptions, and excavations, this form will certainly change materially; that does not matter, and even the fact that much will be lost from the nimbus of the chosen people does notmatter. The kernel and the content remain ever the same: God and His work!
Religion was never the result of science but the outpouring of the heart and being of man in his intercourse with God.
With heartiest thanks and many greetings,
Your true friend,
(Signed)William, I. R.
P. S. You may make the fullest use of these lines; whoever wants to may read them.
Döberitz, May 29, 1903
After conducting the manœuvres of the guard the Emperor dedicated the obelisk to Frederick the Great. The character and achievements of Frederick have been summarized in chapter I.
After conducting the manœuvres of the guard the Emperor dedicated the obelisk to Frederick the Great. The character and achievements of Frederick have been summarized in chapter I.
One hundred and fifty years ago, on these same fields, his Majesty, Frederick II, who even in his lifetime was called “the Great,” gathered together a considerable part of his army in order to train and steel it for the mighty struggles which he foresaw in spirit through his prophetic vision. So important was this preparation for him that he did not hesitate to trust his columns to the direction of his experienced field-marshals. Here the great soldier King, working restlessly, notoverlooking details in his interest for the greater concerns of history, trained his regiments for the difficult tasks of the Seven Years’ War, which was soon to set in, and created that inner bond between himself and his soldiers which inspired them to the greatest deeds of daring, while he infused his spirit into his generals and so laid the foundation for the unmatched results which found their crowning achievement in the victorious overthrow of a world in arms united against him. Let these achievements be unforgotten; unforgotten the names of the heroes of that great time.
Frederick’s enemies derisively called his little army the “Potsdamer Wachtparade” [the “Potsdam Guard’s Parade”]! Well, he showed them what he could do at the head of it! And in later times likewise the “Potsdam Guard’s Parade” fittingly showed the way to every one who tried to cultivate too close an acquaintance with it. This obelisk of northern granite is erected in memory of that time. A memorial to “Fredericus Rex, the King and Hero,” to be emulated by us all in working with unabated strength to the end that we may be ready to strike in any emergency. When in a moment the curtain shall fall, when the flags and standards dip in greeting, swords are lowered, and presented bayonets glisten—all this is done in honor not only of this block of stone but of him,the great King, his generals and field-marshals; of his great successor, William the Great, and his paladins, who now, assembled around the Great Ally above, look down upon us; and in honor of Prussia’s glorious martial history and tradition. Attention, present arms!
Hamburg, June 20, 1903
The equestrian statue of Emperor William I was dedicated in Hamburg, June 20, 1903. The Emperor’s interest in glorifying and occasionally even in sanctifying his ancestors is frequently noticeable. He has tried to assure to his grandfather the title of William the Great, and the Emperor’s friend Ballin, of the Hamburg-American Line, has given this title as well as that of Imperator to the well-known transatlantic steamers. It is perhaps significant that Bismarck is not mentioned. The pedestal of this monument was left blank. As has been noted, rumor has it that the citizens of Hamburg were unwilling to bestow this title and feared to offend with the simpler “William I.”
The equestrian statue of Emperor William I was dedicated in Hamburg, June 20, 1903. The Emperor’s interest in glorifying and occasionally even in sanctifying his ancestors is frequently noticeable. He has tried to assure to his grandfather the title of William the Great, and the Emperor’s friend Ballin, of the Hamburg-American Line, has given this title as well as that of Imperator to the well-known transatlantic steamers. It is perhaps significant that Bismarck is not mentioned. The pedestal of this monument was left blank. As has been noted, rumor has it that the citizens of Hamburg were unwilling to bestow this title and feared to offend with the simpler “William I.”
It has often been my task to express my thanks to great cities and their enthusiastic citizens; never have I found it so difficult to find the correct, pertinent, and adequate expression for what I feel and what I have seen and experienced.
If, first of all, I may speak as grandson of the great Emperor, whose bronze likeness the city of Hamburg has just unveiled, I would like to give utterance to the gratitude which so stirs my heart, that the citizens of Hamburg have been able in such a brilliant, handsome, and noble manner to show their feeling for Germany and their gratitude to the old hero. As his grandson, this has pleased me greatly and has stirred me deeply.
For the rest, I cannot forbear to emphasize the truly overwhelming reception which was accorded me here by great and small, young and old, high and low. The many thousand faces which lighted toward me to-day gave evidence that the greeting came from the heart and from feelings which were deeply moved, and I beg the senate and the citizens to accept my heartiest, sincerest, and warmest thanks and to communicate them to the city.
Indeed, for the younger generation which stood with us about the bronze portrait to-day the great Emperor is already a historical personage, and the events which weave themselves about his person and the time in which he worked are already described in history.
I believe that I am not presuming if I prophesy that some time in future centuries the awe-inspiring figure of my grandfather will stand forthbefore the German people, surrounded by at least as many legends and as powerful and as conspicuous for all time as once the figure of the Emperor Barbarossa was. Truly, the younger generation is accustomed to look upon what we call the empire, together with what it has brought us, without thinking what it has cost to arrive at this point.
And I believe we recognize the hand of Providence when we look upon that awe-inspiring figure which stands yonder in its peaceful attitude before the Rathaus, with its earnestness and its silent tranquillity of old age. It was precisely, this man whom Providence sought out to accomplish this hardest of all tasks—the uniting of the German races. For no one could resist the charm of the personality, the simple modesty, the winning lovableness of the lofty ruler; and so it was permitted to him, surrounded by his powerful paladins who were devoted to him and who worked with him, to smooth the way and reconcile the differences; while he kept ever before his eyes the goal, the union of the Fatherland. During a long time of peace, in quiet work his thoughts ripened and the plans of the already gray-haired man were ready when the mighty task came to him of once more reviving the empire. I hope that the youth of Hamburg, when they pass this monument, will never forget thetime of preparation through which this noble ruler lived.
With justice you speak of the time of Emperor William as great and powerful—powerful in its impulses, mighty in its flaming enthusiasm. Gentlemen, I think that our time is also great. The tasks which were assigned to the great Emperor have been accomplished; yet when things for a while seem dark and the tasks which are assigned us seem too hard we must not forget what that noble ruler endured. Let us not forget that he lived through and remembered Jena and Tilsit, and that, nevertheless, he never despaired of the future of the Fatherland. From Tilsit we travelled to Versailles!
And even so is it destined to be in the future; there remain tasks for our time also. The great Emperor with his great aides has laid the basis, the corner-stone of the building; it is for us to build upon it! Therefore it is my opinion and firm conviction that a great future awaits us also, if we are but determined to make it so. Tasks are assigned to us, and, whether they are light or heavy, we must face them as well as we are able and enlist all our strength. Then we shall be able to accomplish them and I am convinced that now as then the German Empire and the German people will never lack the right sort of men.
For this reason I turn to-day to that place where formerly from the depths of my heart I issued an earnest appeal to the German people; and I repeat again to-day: “May it remain true to its ideals and to itself!” Then, as the block of granite yonder bears the great Emperor, so will the German people, true to their traditions, bear upon their hearts and discharge with their strength the new tasks and undertakings which come to them. May they enter with decision upon the work which Heaven assigns them without asking whether it be easy or difficult, without worrying as to how they shall accomplish it, provided only they are going forward!
Raise your eyes! Lift up your heads! Look to the heights, bend your knee before the Great Ally, who has never forsaken the Germans, and who, if he has at times allowed them to be sorely tried and discouraged, has again raised them from the dust. Put your hand on your heart, direct your gaze into the distance, and from time to time give a backward glance for memory to the old Emperor and his time, and I am convinced that, as Hamburg is progressing in the world, so will our Fatherland progress along the road of enlightenment, the road of improvement, the road of practical Christianity: a blessing for mankind, a bulwark of peace, the wonder of all countries!
I give this as my firm hope and conviction, and to this wish I empty my glass: Long life to the city of Hamburg!—Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah!
March 9, 1905
It will have been noted that the Emperor usually addresses his recruits in very simple language. On the occasion of administering the oath to the naval recruits at Wilhelmshaven, he was concerned about explaining to them the reasons for the Japanese victory, for he had repeatedly told them that only a good Christian can be a good soldier.The speech was reported through a letter of one of the recruits.
It will have been noted that the Emperor usually addresses his recruits in very simple language. On the occasion of administering the oath to the naval recruits at Wilhelmshaven, he was concerned about explaining to them the reasons for the Japanese victory, for he had repeatedly told them that only a good Christian can be a good soldier.
The speech was reported through a letter of one of the recruits.
The Emperor spoke, among other things, of the heroic deeds of the Japanese and explained that they had sprung from the Japanese love of country and children, which had begotten a splendid manliness in the army and navy. He said that we must not conclude, however, from the Japanese victories—the victories of a heathen over a Christian people—that Buddha was superior to our Lord Christ. If Russia was beaten, it was due for the most part, according to his opinion, to the fact that Christianity in Russia was in a pretty bad way; and then, too, there were manyChristian virtues among the Japanese. A good Christian is synonymous with a good soldier!
But Christianity is poorly off among the Germans also, and he—the Emperor—doubted whether we Germans in case of a war would have any special right to pray God for victory, to wrest it from Him in prayer as Jacob did in his struggle with the angel. The Japanese were the scourge of God just as once Attila and Napoleon were.
And so we must take care lest God should have to chastise us with such a scourge, etc. The Emperor spoke very earnestly but very impressively and simply, so that he could be understood by every one.
Bremen, March 22, 1905
The following address was delivered at the Rathaus in Bremen on the occasion of the dedication of the monument to Emperor Frederick III. The Emperor here presents his views on the mission of Germany in much the same spirit in which it is expounded in a number of his addresses of this time. He has become increasingly conscious of her “manifest destiny” in the decade which had passed after the celebrations of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Franco-Prussian War. Germany had entered upon a period of great prosperity and had begun to possess the sense of latentpower. The Emperor gives us here the purely historical reasons which have led him to refrain from pretensions to world-dominion. It is significant that his next address will be delivered at Morocco. The question naturally arises, what hopes or aspirations were in the minds of the audience before whom the Emperor made thisgran rifiuto. It was in a time of insistent agitation by the Navy League and the Colonial party.
The following address was delivered at the Rathaus in Bremen on the occasion of the dedication of the monument to Emperor Frederick III. The Emperor here presents his views on the mission of Germany in much the same spirit in which it is expounded in a number of his addresses of this time. He has become increasingly conscious of her “manifest destiny” in the decade which had passed after the celebrations of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Franco-Prussian War. Germany had entered upon a period of great prosperity and had begun to possess the sense of latentpower. The Emperor gives us here the purely historical reasons which have led him to refrain from pretensions to world-dominion. It is significant that his next address will be delivered at Morocco. The question naturally arises, what hopes or aspirations were in the minds of the audience before whom the Emperor made thisgran rifiuto. It was in a time of insistent agitation by the Navy League and the Colonial party.
My Honored Burgomaster:
Will you allow me first, with a heart deeply moved, to perform the duty of a son and thank you sincerely for having transmitted to me the wish of your countrymen that I should participate in this festive day and be present at the unveiling of the unique and splendid statue which the free Hanseatic city of Bremen has erected to my father?
I can assure you that it stirred me deeply to-day as my eye wandered over the masses of people to think that the former Prussian Crown Prince, subsequently the first Crown Prince of the German Empire, and, finally, second Hohenzollern Emperor, should be fêted in a free German city just as though this were his home. It is a proof that his figure, as well as that of his great and illustrious father, has become a common possession of the entire German people.
I sincerely thank the city of Bremen that it has honored my father and his memory in such a magnificent manner. You have created a work of art, the like of which is not often seen in German lands. And I am convinced that in later generations his powerful personality, which will have become surrounded by the glamour of legend, will through this statue be brought nearer to the hearts of the people. And I am sure that the generations of Bremen which are to follow, from father to son, will never forget the second Emperor, whose noble Siegfried figure led the German army to victory and whom we have to thank for our unity.
And so, now, beautiful statues of both my father and my grandfather stand in this loyal German city and furnish mile-stones for the history of our Fatherland as well as for the city of Bremen.
Truly, the historical retrospect which you have been good enough to present us shows magnificently the leadership of God and the grace which Providence has bestowed upon our people and our country. The portion of time which is represented by both of these two noble leaders who stand here in bronze has, like a foundation-stone, been firmly laid in history. It remains for later times and their generations to build uponthe foundation which these great rulers have set down.
You have had the goodness to express the thoughts which stirred you upon a former occasion in this same place. They correspond entirely to what I myself thought at that time. When, as a lad, I stood before the model of the Brommy[40]ship, I bitterly felt the disgrace which our fleet and our flag had been forced to suffer. And perhaps, since on my mother’s side a bit of sea blood flowed into my veins, this was the thing which was to give me my cue for the manner in which I would envisage the tasks which henceforth were to confront the empire.