Since the founding of the empire, for forty-three years it has been the earnest aim of my ancestors and myself to maintain peace with the world and to further our powerful advance in peace. But our opponents envy us the fruit of our labors. In the consciousness of our responsibility and our strength, we must endure overt and covert hostility from east and west and from across the sea. But now they wish to humble us. They demand that with folded arms we should watch our enemies prepare themselves for an underhand attack. They do not wish to allow us in loyal determination to stand by our ally, who is fighting for his position as a great power and with whose humiliation our own power and honor will also be lost. So the sword must decide! The enemy surprises us while we are entirely at peace. Therefore, to arms! Any wavering, any hesitation would be treachery to the Fatherland. We must fight for the existence or non-existence of our empire, which our fathers lately founded for themselves; for the existence or non-existence of German power and German life. We shall fight to the last breath of man and horse, and we shall continue this conflict against a world of enemies. Germany has never yet been conquered as long as she was united. Go forward with God, who will be with us as He was with our fathers. (Signed) WILLIAM, I. R. BERLIN, August 6, 1914. Transcriber's Note Obvious printer errors have been fixed. Variations in spelling have been retained except in clear cases of typographical error (see list below). Page xiv - Tangiers changed to Tangier Page 167 - unforgetable changed to unforgettably End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The German Emperor as Shown in his Public Utterances, by Christian Gauss