Power goes to the head of a nation like strong wine. The true test of the greatness of a nation is its ability to use its power for the good of the world rather than for selfish ends. Prussia had always been selfish. She had fought a number of successful wars, against Denmark, against Austria, and against France, and each time she had taken territory from her adversary. Her statesmen regarded her power only as a means to gain greater material strength, and from the birth of the empire they trained the people to think only of that end. It was inevitable that the forces of freedom and those of autocracy should come into conflict some day. Germany knew this, and her autocrats carefully prepared themselves for the coming strife with the lovers of freedom. They paid little or no attention to programs for peace offered by other nations, they refused to agree to limit their armaments, they openly showed their contempt for the conferences at the Hague. Like a fighter who feels his strength they were constantly wanting to force other people to acknowledge their power; time and again they could barely restrain themselves from leaping at some opponent; they only waited for the most auspicious moment to strike. What they regarded as the right moment came in July, 1914. The assassination of the heir apparent to the Austrian throne by a Servian gave the rulers of Germany a pretext to make war on the world. Austria, always haughty, always greedy, always weak and blind, was simply the catspaw of the Hohenzollerns. Austria sent an overbearing message to Servia, and Russia, taking the rôle of protector of the small Balkan states, made it clear that she sided with Servia. Germany pretended to take fright and warned Russia not to attempt to oppose Austria. England and France tried to keep peace in Europe by suggesting a conference to discuss the matter. But the Kaiser of Germany and his generals did not want peace; they wanted to show the world how strong they were, they wanted the world to bow down absolutely before them; they precipitated the crisis and, pretending that they acted in self-defense, declared war on Russia, France, and England.