The Germanic idea in all its splendor was first revealed and preached to the astonished German people by Chamberlain in his _Foundations of the Nineteenth Century_. But, as is proved by the collapse of the German people, this was in vain. To be sure, there was much singing of "Deutschland über alles," but Germans, obeying the commands of their enemies, allowed the Emperor to fall and the Empire to be broken to pieces; and, placing themselves under the orders of Russian criminals vastly inferior to them in culture, they stabbed their own army in the back while it was still fighting valiantly. Had Germans of all classes and conditions been educated to feel joy and pride in their fatherland, such a degradation of a great nation would have been unimaginable. This degradation--which, it must be admitted, occurred under remarkable, extremely difficult circumstances--is all the more difficult to understand in view of the fact that the youth of Germany, although it was impaired in health by overstudy, and not so toughened by sports as the English, achieved brilliant feats in the World War, such as were nowhere equaled before. The years 1914-18 showed what might have been made out of the German people had it only developed its admirable qualities in the right direction. The 4th of August, 1914, the heroes of Langemark, countless splendid figures from all classes, rise up from the chaos of the long war to show what the German can do when he throws away Philistinism and devotes himself, with the enthusiasm which so seldom reveals itself completely in him, to a great cause. May the German people never forget these incarnations of its better self; may it emulate them with its full strength by inculcating in itself the true German spirit! In the post of Minister of Justice I found His Excellency Friedberg, the intimate, faithful friend of my father, whom I had known ever since my youth, when he was a welcome guest in the home of my parents. This simple, affable man enjoyed with me the same consideration which had been shown him by my parents. In later years I had frequent and welcome dealings with His Excellency Beseler, who also enabled me to hear informal discussion at his house of many an interesting legal problem by prominent lawyers, and to come into touch with legal luminaries. I felt no particular inclination toward the lawyers in themselves--since pedantry, remoteness from actualities and doctrinaire leanings often assert themselves in the domain of the law altogether too much for my taste--but the compilation of the _Citizens' Law Book_ interested me greatly. I was present at sessions dealing with it, and was proud that this fundamental German work should have been brought to completion in my reign.