is no longer art; it is factory work, it is trade; and that no art dare
become. Through the much-misused word "freedom" and under her flag
one often falls into indefiniteness, boundlessness, conceit. However,
he who cuts loose from the law of beauty and from the feeling for
æsthetics and harmony which, whether he can express it or not, every
man feels in his heart; he who thinks the chief thing is to turn his
thoughts in a certain direction toward a definite solution of more
technical problems, sins against the very sources of his art.
Furthermore, art must help to educate the people; it must also give the
lower classes, after their cramping exertions, the opportunity to right
themselves again through ideals. To us, the German people, great ideals
are a lasting possession, while with other peoples they have been more
or less lost. It is now the German people whose special province it
is to protect these great ideas, to foster them, to set them forth;
and to these ideas belongs the duty of giving to those classes who
tire themselves out through labor the opportunity to raise themselves
through beautiful things and to work themselves out of and above their
ordinary circles of thought.
If, however, art, as often happens nowadays, does nothing more than to
make misery even more hideous than it already is, then it sins against
the German people. The fostering of the ideal is the greatest work
of culture; and if we wish to be and to remain a pattern in this for
other peoples, then we must all work together; and if culture is to
accomplish its full task, then it must penetrate through to the very
lowest strata of the people. That it can only do if art lends a hand,
if it raises up instead of drawing down into the gutter.
As ruler, I often feel very bitter that art, through her masters,
should not be energetic enough to make a stand against such tendencies.
I do not doubt for a moment but that many an earnest but misguided
character, perhaps filled with the best intentions, is to be found
among the devotees of this tendency. The real artist needs no
advertising, no press, no connections. I do not believe that your great
examples in the realm of science, either in ancient Greece or in Italy
or in the time of the Renaissance, used any such methods as are now
often practised through the press to bring their ideas especially into
the foreground. They worked as God directed them; for the rest they
allowed the world to criticise.
And that is the way an honorable, sincere artist must act. Art which
stoops to advertising is no longer art, were it praised to the skies.
Every one, be he never so simple, has a feeling for that which is
beautiful or ugly, and it is to foster this feeling further among
the people that I have need of all of you; and that you should have
accomplished such a piece of work in the Siegesallee, I, therefore,
thank you particularly.
I may now confide something to you. The impression which the
Siegesallee makes upon foreigners is quite overwhelming; everywhere
an immense respect for German sculpture is noticeable. May you remain
standing upon these heights; may also my children and my grandchildren,
if they shall one day be granted to me, keep the same masters by their
side! Then, I am convinced, our people will be in a position to love
the beautiful and to hold high the ideal.
I raise my glass and drink to the health of all of you; and, once more,
my heartiest thanks.
MONUMENT TO GENERAL VON ROSENBERG
APRIL 20, 1902
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.
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!
THE OLD ORDER CHANGETH
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.
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 the centuries 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 the _Imperium 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 desire for 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 that can 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.
This, gentlemen, justifies me in saying that both our churches,
standing side by side, must forever have before their eyes the idea of
strengthening and 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!
ALFRED KRUPP AND THE SOCIALISTS
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 the Social
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
the cheeks 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 of your 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.
THE WORKING MAN ONCE MORE
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] See footnote to "First Declaration of Polity," June 25, 1888.
On the ground of the great concern which your King has for your
condition I am justified in giving 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 of the 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."
SCHOLARSHIP AND RELIGION
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 the _Grenzboten_. 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
clearly understood 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 by step, 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.