Herein, we touch the core of Bismarck's strength, the measure of his greatness. When a man fights, on honor, for institutions which his forefathers slowly fostered and sustained through six hundred years of strife, the question of his rights or his wrongs is merged into the larger question of chivalry. ¶ If there were no other gift which might be set up to justify for Bismarck a commanding position among the world's great figures, his conception of National honor, based on powerful personal convictions, his inheritance, bone of his bone, flesh of his flesh--utterly apart from the French mob-rule idea of liberty expressed in license--Bismarck's plea for the National honor of Prussia, as the custodian of ancient German traditions, suffices to stamp Bismarck as the true custodian of German political tradition of his age. ¶ To this might reasonably be added another claim which in our broad view of Bismarck's character we here demand for him as one of the world's great men--courage of the bull-dog type, not altogether unselfish, but courage and remarkable consistency; standing the acid test of self-sacrifice during thirty-odd years' vexatious delays in attaining his goal; a period of probation certainly long enough to try the stoutest heart. ¶ With qualities of this supreme order, far outside average human nature, Bismarck at last prepared himself to win his surprising fight for a United Germany; incidentally stamping himself, his power and his purpose high among the great Germans of all time, from Charlemagne down. * * * * * ¶ To understand these ideas, let us for the moment look forward as well as backward. Let us speak in general terms, along the lines of the realistic politics, that Bismarck was maturing, as against the old-time German sentimental idealism, once the political hope of Unity. 47 Bismarck's whole message turns on the urgency of faith among the German people; his idea, that United Germany must be achieved by faith, alone! ¶ Bismarck had the well-nigh impossible task of organizing and inspiring a common political faith in 25,000,000 people, divided by religious, climatic and personal differences. That at times he utterly failed to meet the situation except by political hypocrisy, is merely to say that in addition to being a warrior and ultimately the conqueror of a continent, he always kept within hailing distance of human nature; for when he could not win his way with a kiss, he gained it with a curse. ¶ In the final analysis he won, largely because of stirring faith in the German states. With faith, what can a nation not do: If the United States, today, had deathless belief in the destiny of the Republic that Americans emphasize in their worship of the Golden Calf, a bloodless revolution for a higher standard of political thought would take place over night. The difficulty is that with the average American National faith is dead.