Gems (?) of German Thought Part 4

94a. The fury of our gunners at the enemy's unprincipled use of the cathedral of Rheims as a means of defence, was doubtless mingled with indignation and disgust at being _compelled_ to do injury to a priceless work of art. But no phrase-making aestheticism, thank G.o.d, such as our neighbours cultivate, rendered us untrue to the conviction that, when all is said and done, every drop of blood of the meanest of our brave soldiers is worth more than any individual work of artistic Kultur.--K. ENGELBRECHT, D.D.D.K., p. 14.

_See also Nos. 7, 30, 46, 62, 115, 123, 151, 160, 186, 187, 232, 239a, 242, 248a, 262-268._

=Der deutsche Gott.=[12]

(AFTER JULY, 1914.)

95. If G.o.d is for us, who can be against us? It is enough for us to be a part of G.o.d.--"On the German G.o.d," by PASTOR W. LEHMANN, quoted in H.A.H., p. 77.

96. We have become a nation of wrath; we think only of the war.... We execute G.o.d's Almighty will, and the edicts of His justice we will fulfil, imbued with holy rage, in vengeance upon the unG.o.dly. G.o.d calls us to murderous battles, even if worlds should thereby fall to ruins.... We are woven together like the chastening lash of war; we flame aloft like the lightning; like gardens of roses our wounds blossom at the gates of Heaven.--F. PHILIPPI, quoted in H.A.H., p. 52.

97. The principle which the Kaiser impressed on his soldiers lives in his own soul: "Each must so do his duty that, when he shall one day answer the heavenly bugle-call, he may stand forth with a good conscience before his G.o.d and his old Kaiser."--PASTOR M. HENNIG, D.K.U.W., p. 21.

_Compare No. 247._

98. Thou who dwellest high in Thy Heaven, above Cherubim, Seraphim, and Zeppelins, Thou who art enthroned as a G.o.d of thunder in the midst of lightning from the clouds, and lightning from sword and cannon, send thunder, lightning, hail and tempest hurtling upon our enemy ...

and hurl him down to the dark burial-pits.--_Battle Prayer_, by PASTOR D. VORWERK, quoted in H.A.H., p. 40.

99. Is the living G.o.d, the G.o.d whom one can only have and understand in the spirit of Jesus Christ, is He the G.o.d of those others? No; they serve at best Satan, the father of lies!--"War Sermons," by PASTOR H.

FRANCKE, quoted in H.A.H., p. 72.

100. England is our worst enemy, and we will fight her till we have overthrown her! So may it please our Great Ally, who stands behind the German battalions, behind our ships and U-boats, and behind our blessed "militarism"!--E. v. HEYKING, D.W.E., p. 23.

101. The German soul is the world's soul, G.o.d and Germany belong to one another.--"On the German G.o.d," by PASTOR W. LEHMANN, quoted in H.A.H., p. 83.

102. On this planet, as a result of millenniums of development, has it come to this, that Germany--and in a wider sense _Germanism_, within and without the Empire--has become an instrument of G.o.d, an indispensable, irreplaceable instrument of G.o.d? This question I ask, and I answer it in the affirmative.--H.S. CHAMBERLAIN, D.Z., p. 15.

103. The French, of course, count on the possibility that Germany may be weakened in the further course of the war, and at last beaten by the Russian Army and the English Fleet. This we do not believe, because we know Germany and hold the alliance between Providence and our people to be a matter of necessity.--F. NAUMANN, Member of the Reichstag, D.U.F., p. 19.

104. The difficult Christian commandment, "Love your enemies," is nowhere more easily obeyed than in war! There is much talk about "hate" against England. But how do our warriors greet each other?

"Gott strafe England!" They thus invoke G.o.d, but not the G.o.d of hatred, of vengeance, but the G.o.d of justice. It is the just G.o.d at whose hands we hope for the punishment of the unjust man or nation.--H. v. WOLZOGEN, G.Z.K., p. 19.

105. It might come to pa.s.s that we succ.u.mbed in this fight of righteousness and purity against falsehood and deceit. That could only happen, I am sure, over the dead body of the last German--but should it happen, I a.s.sert that we should all die happy in the consciousness of having defended G.o.d against the world.--"On the German G.o.d," by PASTOR W. LEHMANN, quoted in H.A.H., p. 79.

106. We are beginning slowly, humbly, and yet with a deep gladness, to divine G.o.d's intentions. It may sound proud, my friends, but we are conscious that it is also in all humbleness that we say it: the German soul is G.o.d's soul: it shall and will rule over mankind.--"On the German G.o.d," by PASTOR W. LEHMANN, quoted in H.A.H., p. 83.

107. The German G.o.d is not only the theme of some of our poets and prophets, but also a historian like Max Lenz has, with fiery tongue and in deep thankfulness, borne witness to the revelation of the German G.o.d in our holy war. The German, the national, G.o.d!... Has war in this case impaired, or has it steeled religion? I say it has steeled it.... This is no relapse to a lower level, but a mounting up to G.o.d Himself.--PROF. A. DEISSMANN, D.R.S.Z., No. 9, p. 16.

108. [Extract from a letter[13] to Chamberlain.] "It is my firm belief that the country to which G.o.d gave Luther, Goethe, Bach, Wagner, Moltke, Bismarck and William I., has still a great mission before it, to work for the welfare of humanity. G.o.d has put us to a hard probation ... that we may the better serve as His instrument for the saving of mankind; for we were on the point of becoming untrue to our old-established nature (_Wesen_). He who has imposed upon us this ordeal will also help us out of it."--H.S. CHAMBERLAIN, D.Z., p. 13.

109. What a difference is there between armies, one of which carries its G.o.d in its heart, whilst the others think they can conquer by the weight of their numbers, by cunning tricks of devilish cruelty, by shameless contempt for the provisions of International Law.--"War Devotions," by PASTOR J. RUMP, quoted in H.A.H., p. 121.

110. Even the Crusaders with their cry of "G.o.d wills it!" were not so penetrated by the Christian spirit as our warriors whose motto is, "As G.o.d will!"--H. v. WOLZOGEN, G.Z.K., p. 19.

111.

Ortelsburg und Gilgenburg, Dazu als Sieger Hindenburg, Das sind der Burgen drei, Die vierte, die ist auch dabei: Die macht der Feinde Tun zu Spott, Ein' feste Burg ist unser Gott.

Translation: Ortelsburg and Gilgenburg [two places in East Prussia]

with victory for Hindenburg--that makes three "Burgs" in all. Nor is a fourth "Burg" wanting: one that puts to shame the efforts of our enemies: for "Ein' feste Burg ist unser Gott."--Quoted by M. HENNIG, D.K.U.W., p. 82.

112. On us Germans the eye of G.o.d, we take it, must especially rest in this war: we must be His ultimate purpose.--"On the German G.o.d," by PASTOR W. LEHMANN, quoted in H.A.H., p. 89.

113. For a just cause, the German is ready to sacrifice life, blood, gold and goods. Once more, as of old, David goes forth against Goliath. The German people says with David: "Thou comest to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin; but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of Hosts," in the name of faith, right and truth.

Great is his might who has these powers on his side; for the living G.o.d stands behind him.--PASTOR M. HENNIG, D.K.U.W., p. 65.

114. The kingdom of G.o.d must now a.s.sert itself against the kingdom of all that is base, evil and vile: the kingdom of light against the kingdom of darkness. Against a world of superhuman evil ... the power of superhuman justice, truth and love goes out to battle.--"War Devotions," by PASTOR J. RUMP, quoted in H.A.H., p. 125.

115. One thing, I think, is clear, G.o.d must stand on our side. We fight for right and truth, for Kultur and civilization, and human progress, and true Christianity, against untruthfulness and hypocrisy and falseness, and un-Kultur and barbarism and brutality. All human blessings, aye, and humanity itself, stand under the protection of our bright weapons.--"War Sermons," by PASTOR H. FRANCKE, quoted in H. &.

H., p. 65.

116. There lurks in our people something of the G.o.d-consciousness which inspired the Old Testament prophets. Very childlike indeed, but of far deeper meaning than he could guess, was the saying of a little boy to his playmate at the outbreak of war: "I am not in the least afraid! The good G.o.d will help us, for he is German!"--K. ENGELBRECHT, D.D.D.K., p. 45.

_See also Nos. 43, 145, 312, 316._

=The Chosen People and its Mission.=

(AFTER JULY, 1914.)

117. He who does not believe in the Divine mission of Germany had better hang himself, and rather to-day than to-morrow.--H.S.

CHAMBERLAIN, D.Z., p. 17.

118. Now we understand why the other nations pursue us with their hatred: they do not understand us, but they are sensible of our enormous spiritual superiority. So the Jews were hated in antiquity, because they were the representatives of G.o.d on earth.--PROF. W.

SOMBART, H.U.H., p. 142.

119. G.o.d has in Luther practically chosen the German people, and that can never be altered, for is it not written in Romans xi., 29, "For the gifts and calling of G.o.d are without repentance."--DR. PREUSS,[14]

quoted in H.A.H., p. 223.

120. I want first to make it clear in what sense we may say, without extravagance or the least trace of self-exaltation: Germany is chosen.

Germany is chosen, for her own good and that of other nations, to undertake their guidance. Providence has placed the appointed people, at the appointed moment, ready for the appointed task.--H.S.

CHAMBERLAIN, P.I., p. 25.

121. There is a gospel saying which bursts the bonds of its original historical meaning and takes new wings in the storm of the world-war, a saying which we may well take as the consecration of our German mission: "Ye are the salt of the earth! ye are the light of the world!"[15]--PROF. A. DEISSMANN, D.R.S.Z., p. 24.

122. It is no foolish over-valuation of ourselves, no aggressive arrogance, no want of humility, when we more and more let Bismarck's faith prevail within us, that G.o.d has taken the German nation under His special care, or in any case has some special purpose in view for it.--"On the German G.o.d," by PASTOR W. LEHMANN, quoted in H.A.H., p.

86.

123. Then a newly purified and newly strengthened German folk-soul would arise out of the war, to new thoughts and new deeds, to a new sense of its world-mission--that of imparting to the other peoples, in a pure spirit, the achievements of its Kultur, so that all lands may be filled with the glory of G.o.d.--PASTOR M. HENNIG, D.K.U.W., p. 63.

124. As heralds of G.o.d's will, messengers of His word, witnesses of His benefactions to the world, we shall take up our work after the war, and with German endurance and German industry, with German competence and German faithfulness, with German faith and German piety, we shall permeate, in the name of G.o.d, a world which has become poor and desolate.--"War Devotions," by PASTOR J. RUMP, quoted in H.A.H., p. 128.

125. When these storms have done their work, Germany's purest mission begins: to become a place of refuge, a holy grove for all the seekers of the earth, a central land, a land of wisdom, a land of morals.--F.

LIENHARDT, quoted in H.A.H., p. 51.

126. The divination or the a.s.surance of this special calling [on the part of G.o.d] has long been present to the best among the German people; many quotations to this effect (for example, Geibel's lines) are to-day in everybody's mouth. Deeper thoughts are aroused by a less-known remark of Richard Wagner's: "A great mission, scarcely comprehensible to other nations, is unquestionably reserved for the whole German character (_Anlage_)"; this character he defines as "the spirit of pure humanity," and the mission of the Germans as "the enn.o.blement of the world...." Not to believe in this mission is folly, is treason.--H.S. CHAMBERLAIN, D.Z., p. 14.

127. G.o.d's people will come forth from this war strengthened and crowned with victory, because they stand on the side of G.o.d; but all G.o.d's adversaries will find out that G.o.d will not be mocked, and that He rules the history of the nations according to His will.--"War Devotions," by PASTOR J. RUMP, quoted in H.A.H., p. 134.