Page:The Spirit of the Chinese People.djvu/24

 machen, bis sic dahin gelangte, auch gegen Schuldige gelind, gegen Verbrecher schonend, gegen auch Unmenschliche menschlich zu sein. Gewiss waren as Manner gottlicher Natur, die dies zuerst lehrten, die ihr Leben damit zubrachten, die Ausubung moglich zu machen und zu beschleunigen.)"

With those words of their great Goethe I will enture here to appeal to the German people, to the German nation and say to them that, unless they find a way to put down their narrow, hard, rigid, excessive hatred of unrighteousness which makes them believe so absolutely in and worship might, unless they put away their absolute belief in and worship of might—they, the German nation, like the Jewish nation, will perish and what is more, the modern civilisation of Europe for want of a strong guardian, will collapse and pass away just as the ancient civilisation of Europe passed away. For it is this over-intense, narrow hard, rigid hatred of unrighteousness which matkesmakes [sic] the German people, the German nation believe in and worship might; and it is this absolute belief in and worship of might which makes the German nation, the German diplomats, German officials and the German people so inconsiderate and tactless in their behaviour towards other people. When my German friends have asked me to show them a proof of the German worship of might, of German tactlessness, I have simply pointed the Kettler memorial in Peking to them. The Kettler memorial