New York Times Current History: The European War, Vol 1, No. 1: From the Beginning to March, 1915, With IndexVarious
History
New York Times Current History: The European War, Vol 1, No. 1: From the Beginning to March, 1915, With Index
Various
World War, 1914-1918
gunboat to intrude upon a scene of action which had already by the
Treaty of Algeciras been allotted to France. How could an honest German
whose mind was undebauched by a controlled press justify such an
interference as that? He is or should be aware that, in annexing Bosnia,
Austria was tearing up a treaty without the consent of the other
signatories, and that his own country was supporting and probably
inciting her ally to this public breach of faith. Could he honestly
think that this was right? And, finally, he must know, for his own
Chancellor has publicly proclaimed it, that the invasion of Belgium was
a breach of international right, and that Germany, or, rather, Prussia,
had perjured herself upon the day that the first of her soldiers passed
over the frontier. How can he explain all this to himself save on a
theory that might is right, that no moral law applies to the Superman,
and that so long as one hews one's way through, the rest can matter
little? To such a point of degradation have public morals been brought
by the infernal teachings of Prussian military philosophy, dating back
as far as Frederick II., but intensified by the exhortations of press
and professors during our own times. The mind of the average kindly
German citizen has been debauched and yet again debauched until it
needed just such a world crisis as this to startle him at last from his
obsession and to see his position and that of his country in its true
relation with humanity and progress.
*The Final Stakes.*
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account