Page:Wilhelm Liebknecht - Socialism; What It Is and What It Seeks to Accomplish - tr. Mary Wood Simons (1899).djvu/38

 of rough practice, and theoretical education was frequently made to suffer in the practical conflict, but through the elite of the party, that is to say the best prepared combatants—immaterial in what position and wholly the same whether a former Lassallian or Eisenacher—its scientific development and its education in scientific socialism, alike under the period of anti-socialist legislation and under the most severe conflict, has not ceased for a moment, but has made encouraging advance.

The unity of the theoretical views was demonstrated at Halle. It was a great moment when at the convention there, after it had been explained that we must break with the last remnant of Lassallianism and must elaborate a new platform adequate to present knowledge, all the delegates enthusiastically agreed and not the slightest opposition was audible.

All were at one in this, that whatever was not in keeping with the spirit of the age and whatever was opposed to science must be done away with.

I have now to speak on the principles that have guided us in this platform that lies before you. Before all things it must not be lost sight of that a platform should be written in clear and universally understood language; it must be short and correct; it must not be scientifically disputable. All of these properties, clear language, conciseness and logic, it is extremely difficult to unite. One is inclined to say more in a platform than belongs there. We must not confuse a platform with a manifesto. The latter, a bill of indictment, reflects present society, as though a mirror was held before it, as did the communist manifesto forty-three years ago.

This manifesto should, moreover, be rewritten—or rather a new one must be written and fitted to the old