Itmaybesafelysaidthat，atanygivenmoment，heknowsdirectly，orwillshortlyknow，thepersonandworkofeverymaninhisempirewhoisreallytakingtheleadinanythingworthyofspecialstudyorcloseattention。TheGermancourtisconsideredveryexclusive，butoneconstantlysawatitsassemblagesmennotedinworthyfieldsfromeverypartofGermanyand，indeed，ofEurope。HereinisagreatdifferencebetweentheGermanandRussiancourts。If，duringmyofficiallifeatSt。Petersburg，I
wishedtomaketheacquaintanceofamannotedinscience，literature，orart，hemustbefoundatprofessorialgatheringsacrosstheNeva。Herarely，ifever，appearedinthethrongofmilitaryandcivilofficialsattheWinterPalace。ButatBerlinsuchmentookanhonoredplaceatthecourtamongthosewhomtherulersoughtoutandwasgladtoconversewith。
Astotheworldoutsidetheempire，Idoubtwhetheranyothersovereignequalshiminpersonalacquaintancewithleadersineveryfieldofworthyactivity。Itwasinterestingfromtimetotimetolookovertheofficiallistsofhisguestsatbreakfast，orluncheon，ordinner，orsupper，oratmilitaryexercises，oratthetheater;fortheyusuallyembracedmennotedincivil，ecclesiastical，ormilitaryaffairs，inliterature，science，art，commerce，orindustryfromeverynation。Oneclasswasconspicuousbyitsabsenceatallsuchgatherings，largeorsmall;namely，theMERELYrich。Richmentherewere，buttheywerealwaysmenwhohaddonesomethingofmarkedvaluetotheircountryortomankind;forthemere"fattytumors"ofthefinancialworldheevidentlycarednothing。
AspecialcharacteristicintheGermanrulerisindependenceofthought。Thisqualityshouldnotbeconfounded，asitoftenis，withmereoffhanddecisionbaseduponprejudicesorwhimsies。Oneexample，whichIhavegivenelsewhere，maybeherereferredtoasshowingthathisrapidjudgmentsarebaseduponclearinsight:
hisOWNinsight，andnotthatofothers。OnmygivinghimnewsofthedestructionoftheMaineatHavana，heatonceaskedmewhethertheexplosionwasfromtheoutside;andfromfirsttolast，againsttheopinionsofhisadmiralsandcaptains，insistedthatitmusthavebeenso。
Heiscertainly，intheopinionofallwhoknowhim，impulsive——indeed，averylargeproportionofhisactswhichstriketheattentionoftheworldseemtheresultofimpulse;
but，asarule，itwillbefoundthatbeneaththeseimpulsesisacalmjudgment。Evenwhenthisseemsnottobethecase，theyarelikelytoappealallthemorestronglytohumanityatlarge。
TypicalwashisimpulsiveproposaltomakeuptotheRegentofBavariatheartappropriationdeniedbysundryunpatrioticbigots。Itsimmediateresultwasatemporarytriumphforthecommonenemy，butitcertainlydrewtotheEmperortheheartsofanimmensenumberofpeople，notonlyinside，butoutsidehisempire;and，inthelongrun，itwilldoubtlessbefoundtohavewroughtpowerfullyforrightreason。Asanexampleofanutteranceofhiswhichtomanymightseemtobetheresultofamomentaryimpulse，butwhichrevealssobercontemplationofproblemsloominglargebeforetheUnitedStatesaswellasGermany，ImightcitearemarkmadelastyeartoanAmericaneminentinpublicaffairs。Hesaid，"YouinAmericamaydowhatyouplease，butIwillnotsuffercapitalistsinGermanytosuckthelifeoutoftheworkingmenandthenflingthemlikesqueezedlemon—skinsintothegutter。"
Anyonewhorunsthroughtheprintedvolumeofhisspeecheswillseethatheisfertileinideasonmanysubjects，andknowshowtoimpressthemuponhisaudiences。Hisvoiceandmanneraregood，andattimesthereareevidencesofdeepfeeling，showingthemanbeneaththegarbofthesovereign。Thiswasespeciallythecaseinhisspeechatthecomingofageofhisson。Theaudiencewasnoteworthy，therebeingpresenttheAustrianEmperor，membersofallthegreatrulinghousesofEuropetheforemostmenincontemporaryGermanhistory，andthediplomaticrepresentativesofforeignpowers——anaudiencerepresentingwidedifferencesinpointsofviewandinlinesofthought，yetnooneofthemcouldfailtobeimpressedbysundryreferencestothesignificanceoftheoccasion。
EventhemostrapidsketchoftheEmperorwouldbeinadequatewithoutsomereferencetohisreligiousviews。ItiscurioustonotethatwhileFredericktheGreatisoneofthegodsofhisidolatry，thetwomonarchsareseparatedbyawholeorbofthoughtintheirreligioustheoriesandfeelings。Whileaphilosophicalobservermayseeinthistheresultofcarefultraininginviewoftheevidentinterestsofthemonarchyinthesedays，hemustnonethelessacknowledgetherealityanddepthofthosefeelingsinthepresentsovereign。Noonewhohasobservedhisconductandutterances，andespeciallynoonewhohasreadhissermonandprayeronthedeckofoneofhiswar—shipsjustatthebeginningoftheChinesewar，candoubtthatthereisinhisthinkingagenuinesubstratumofreligiousfeeling。ItistruethatattimesoneisremindedoftheremarkmadetoanAmericanecclesiasticbyaneminentGermantheologicalprofessorregardingthattougholdmonarch，FrederickWilliamI;
namely，thatwhilehewasdeeplyreligious，hisreligionwas"ofanOldTestamenttype。"Ofcourse，thereligionofthepresentEmperorisofatypevastlyhigherthanthatofhisancestor，whoseharshnesstotheyouthwhoafterwardbecamethegreatFrederickhasbeendepictedinthe"Memoirs"oftheMargravineofBayreuth;butthereremainsclearlyinthereligionofthepresentEmperoracertain"OldTestament"character——afeelingofdirectrelianceupontheAlmighty，aconsciousnessofhisownpartinguidingachosenpeople，andareadiness，ifneedbe，tosmitethePhilistines。Onephaseofthisfeelingappearsinthemusicatthegreatanniversaries，whentheleadingmenoftheempirearebroughttogetherbeneaththedomeofthePalaceChurch。Theanthemsexecutedbythebandsandchoirs，andthegreatchoralssungbythecongregation，breatheanythingbutthespiritoftheSermonontheMount;theyseemrathertoechothegrimoldbattle—hymnsoftheThirtyYears’WarandthewarintheNetherlands。
Andyetitmustbesaidthattheregoeswiththisaremarkablefeelingofjusticetohissubjectsofotherconfessionsthanhisown，andastillmoreremarkablebreadthofviewasregardstherelationsofmodernsciencetowhatisgenerallyheldasorthodoxtheology。ThefearlessnesswithwhichherecentlysummonedProfessorDelitzschtounfoldtohimandtohisfamilyandcourtthenewlyrevealedrelationsofAssyrianresearchtobiblicalstudy，whichgavesuchalarminhighlyorthodoxcircles，andhisfairnessinestimatingtheseresearches，certainlyrevealedbreadthofmindaswellastrustinwhatheconsideredthefundamentalveritiesofreligion。
Agoodexampleofthecuriousunion，inhismind，ofreligiousfeeling，tolerance，andshrewdpolicyisshowninvariousdealingswithhisRomanCatholicsubjects。
OfcourseheisnotignorantthathisveryexistenceasKingofPrussiaandGermanEmperorisathorninthesideoftheRomanCuria;heknows，aseverythinkingGermanknows，that，withthepossibleexceptionoftheBritishmonarchy，nootherissohatedbytheVaticanmonsignoriashisown。Heisperfectlyawareoftheparttakeninthatquarteragainsthiscountryanddynastyatalltimes，andespeciallyduringtherecentwars;andyetallthisseemsnottoinfluencehimintheslightestasregardsjusticetohisRomanCatholicsubjects。Hedoesindeed，resistthereturnoftheJesuitsintotheempire，——hiskeeninsightforbidshimtoimitatethepolicyofFredericktheGreatinthisrespect，——buthisdealingswiththeRomanCatholicChurchatlargeshownotmerelywisdombutkindliness。Ifhefeltboundtoresist，anddidsuccessfullyresist，theeffortsofCardinalRampollatoundermineGermanruleandinfluenceinAlsaceandLorraine，therewasaquietfairnessandjusticeinhisactionwhichshowedavastdealoftolerantwisdom。HisvisitstotheoldAbbeyofLaach，hisformerrelationswithitsyoungabbot，hissettlementofavexedquestionbythetransferoftheabbottothebishopricofMetz，hisbringingofaloyalGermanintoepiscopalpoweratStrasburg，hisrecenttreatmentoftheprincebishopofBreslauandthearchbishopofCologne，allshowawisebreadthofview。PerhapsoneofthebrightestdiplomaticstrokesinhiscareerwashisdealingwithaVaticanquestionduringhisjourneyintheEast。ForyearstherehadbeengrowingupinworldpoliticsthetheorythatFrance，nomatterhowshemaydealwithmonksandnunsandultramontaneeffortswithinherownimmediateboundaries，istheirprotectorinalltheworldbeside，andespeciallyintheHolyLand。TherelationofthistheorytotheCrimeanWar，fiftyyearsago，isoneofthecuriousthingsofhistory，andfromthatdaytothisithasseemedtobehardeningmoreandmoreintoafixedpolicy——evenintosomethinglikeadoctrineofinternationallaw。Interestingwasit，then，toseetheEmperor，onhisvisittotheSultan，knockthegroundfromunderthefeetofallthisdoctrinebysecuringfortheRomanCatholicinterestatJerusalemwhattheFrenchhadneverbeenabletoobtain——thepieceofgroundattheHolyCity，solongcovetedbypiousCatholics，whereon，accordingtotradition，oncestoodthelodgingoftheVirginMary。ThistheEmperorquietlyobtainedoftheSultan，and，afterassistingatthededicationofaLutheranchurchatJerusalem，hetelegraphedtothePopeandtootherrepresentativesoftheolderchurchthathehadmadeagiftofthissacredsitetothosewhohadsolongandsoardentlydesiredit。
Considerablecriticismhasbeenmadeonthescoreofhisevidentappreciationofhisposition，andhistheoryofhisrelationtoit;butwhenhispointofviewiscited，oneperhapsappreciatesitmorejustly。Ihavealreadyshownthispointofviewintheaccountoftheparttakenbyhimatthetwo—hundredthanniversaryoftheRoyalAcademy，andofhisremark，afterward，contrastinghistheoryofmonarchywiththatofDomPedroofBrazil。Jocoseaswasthemannerofit，itthrowslightuponhisideaofhisdutyinthestate。Whileaconstitutionalmonarch，heisnotsointheBritishsense。Britishconstitutionalmonarchyismadepossiblebythe"silverstreak";butaroundtheGermanEmpire，aseveryGermanfeelsinhisheart，isno"silverstreak。"ThisfactshouldbeconstantlyborneinmindbythosewhocarereallytounderstandtheconditionsofnationalexistenceonthecontinentofEurope。HereinliestheanswertoonechargethathasbeensooftenmadeagainsttheGermanEmperor——ofunduesolicituderegardinghisofficialandpersonalposition，asshowninsundrypettytreasontrials。ThesimplefactisthatGermanpublicopinion，embodiedinGermanlaw，hasarrivedattheconclusionthatitisnotbesttoallowtheheadofthestatetobethesportofeverycrankorblackguardwhocanwieldapenorpencil。
TheAmericanview，whichallowedLincoln，Garfield，andMcKinleytobeattackedinallthemoodsandtensesofvituperation，andtobeartisticallyportrayedastyrants，drunkards，clowns，beastsofprey，andreptiles，hasnotyetbeenreceivedintoGermanmodesofthought。Luthersaidthathe"wouldnotsufferanymantotreattheGospelasasowtreatsasackofoats";andthatseemstobethefeelinginherentintheGermanmindregardingthetreatmentofthosewhorepresentthemajestyofthenation。
AndhereawordregardingtherelationofKaiserandpeople。InoneoftheletterstoJohnAdamswrittenbyThomasJeffersonastheybothwereapproachingthecloseoflife，thefounderofAmericandemocracydeclaredthathehadforeseenthefailureofFrenchpopularrule，andhadthereforefavoredinFrance，democratthoughhewas，aconstitutionalmonarchy。HadJeffersonlivedinourtime，hewoulddoubtlesshavearrivedatasimilarconclusionregardingGermany，forhewouldhavetakenaccountofthe...完整阅读请扫描二维码下载丁香书院APP免费看：