ious representative. He will ever
remain a memorable example of the power for evil which may be wielded
by a noble and passionate temperament untrained in and unrestrained by
the realities of political life, who sees the State from the altitude
of the professional tripod. The war will have helped to break the
spell of the political professor, but the spell will continue to act
until all the spiritual forces of Germany, until the Press and the
Universities and the Churches, are emancipated from the intrusion of
the State, until the German democracy reveals both the spirit and
conquers the power to achieve its own salvation.

IV.--GENERAL VON BERNHARDI.[15]

[15] These pages were published in 1912.

As a rule the deliberate military policy of a nation remains the
secret of diplomacy and the afterthought of statecraft. As for the
military feeling and the military spirit, so far as they exist amongst
the people, they generally remain subconscious, unreasoned, and
instinctive. It is therefore a piece of rare good fortune to the
student of contemporary history when the designs of statesmen are
carefully thought out and revealed by one who has authority to speak,
and when the instinct of the masses is explained and made explicit by
one who has the gift of lucid statement, of philosophical
interpretation, and psychological insight. It is precisely those
qualities and characteristics that give importance and significance to
the recent book of General von Bernhardi on "Germany and the Coming
War." The author is a distinguished representative of that Prussian
Junkerthum which forms the mainstay of the military party and which
rules the German Empire. He therefore speaks from the inside. And his
previous works have earned him a high reputation as an exponent of the
science of war, and have worthily maintained the traditions of
Clausewitz and von der Goltz. Nor are these the only qualifications of
the author. General von Bernhardi's new book possesses other qualities
which entitle him to a respectful hearing. He writes with absolute
candour and sincerity; his tone is unexceptionable; he is earnest and
dignified; he is moderate and temperate; he is judicial rather than
controversial. Although the author believes, of course, that Germany
stands in the forefront of civilization and has a monopoly of the
highest culture, yet his book is singularly free from the one great
blemish which defaces most German books on international