erity than it deserves, and in
whose history--if there can be any history in the barbarism which will
then begin--succeeding generations will rejoice when it perishes and
will praise fate that it is just; or whether you will be the beginning
and the point of development of a new age which will be glorious
beyond all your expectations, and become those from whom posterity
will date the year of their salvation. Bethink yourselves that you
are the last in whose power this great change lies. You have heard
the Germans called a unit; you have still a visible sign of their
unity--an Empire and an Imperial League--or you have heard of it;
among you even yet, from time to time, voices have been audible which
were inspired by this higher patriotism. After you become accustomed
to other concepts and will accept alien forms and a different course
of occupation and of life--how long will it then be before no one
longer lives who has seen Germans or who has heard of them?

What is demanded of you is not much. You should only keep before you
the necessity of pulling yourselves together for a little time and of
reflecting upon what lies immediately and obviously before your eyes.
You should merely form for yourselves a fixed opinion regarding
this situation, remain true to it, and utter and express it in your
immediate surroundings. It is the presupposition, yea, it is our firm
conviction, that this reflection will lead to the same result in all
of you; that, if you only seriously consider, and do not continue in
your previous heedlessness, you will think in harmony; and that,
if you can bring your intelligence to bear, and if only you do not
continue to vegetate, unanimity and unity of spirit will come of
themselves. If, however, matters once reach this point, all else that
we need will result automatically.

This reflection is, moreover, demanded from each one of you who can
still consider for himself something lying obviously before his eyes.
You have time for this; events will not take you unawares; the records
of the negotiations conducted with you will remain before your eyes.
Lay them not from your hands until you are in unity with your selves.
Neither let, oh, let not yourselves be made supine by reliance upon
others or upon anything whatsoever that lies outside yourselves, nor
yet through the unintelligent belief of our time that the epochs of
history are made by the agency of some unknown power without any aid
from man. Th