“At last we see each other as we are, and that is the indescribable something—­the birth of this great time.  Never have we been so earnest and never so glad.  Every other thought, every other feeling has gone.  What we have thought and felt before was all unreality, mere ghosts; day has dawned and they have fled.  The whole land bristles with arms and every German heart is filled with trust.  If we were always as we are to-day—­one heart and one voice—­then the whole world would have to bow before us.  But we no longer knew ourselves, we had forgotten our real nature.  We were so many and so divided, and each wanted only to be himself.  How was it that such madness could have blinded us, and discord weakened us?

“Now we realize our strength and see what we can achieve, for in spite of all we have retained our integrity; we have suffered no injury to the soul.  Germany’s soul had slept awhile and now awakes like a giant refreshed, and we can hardly recollect what it was all like only three weeks ago, when each lived for himself, when we were at best only parties, not a people.  Each knew not the other, because he knew not himself.  In unholy egoism everyone had forgotten his highest will.  Now each has found his true will again, and that is proved—­for we have only one.

“In all German hearts flames the same holy wrath.  A sacred wrath which sanctifies and heals.  Every wound heals; we are again healthy and whole.  Praise be to God for this war which delivered us on the first day from German quarrelsomeness!  When the days of peace return we must prove that we deserve to have lived through this holy German war.  Then no word must be spoken, no deed done on German soil which would be unworthy of these sublime days.

“Groups stand at the street corners reading the latest news.  One counts aloud how many enemies we have:  there are already six.  A silence ensues, till someone says:  ’Many enemies, great honour, and we shall win, for our cause is just!’ Such utterances can be heard every day.  That is German faith; human might does not decide, but God’s justice!  That is the Supreme blessing of this great time; we put our trust in the spirit.  Modern Germans have never breathed before so pure an atmosphere, for Germany’s soul has appeared to us.

* * * * *

“I am going to pronounce a blessing on this war, the blessing which is on all lips, for we Germans, no matter in what part of the world we are, all bless, bless and bless again this world war.  I do not intend to become lyrical.  Lyric is so far from me that in all these three months I have not composed a single war poem.  No, I shall endeavour to count up quite calmly, unlyrically, what we have seen during these three months:  point for point, the whole list of surprises, for they have all been surprises, one after the other.

“Only a few days ago a high State official said to me:  ’Let us confess at once that in all Europe nobody believed in this war; everybody had prepared for it, but nobody thought it possible—­not even those who wanted war.’