Bismarck prophesied was this war, and what he foretold came to pass, and
we saw it with our eyes. We saw the German mobilization with eyes which
since then have been consecrate.

"All enthusiasm is splendid, even in an individual, be he who he may and
for whatever cause you like. In enthusiasm everything good in a man
appears, while the common and vulgar in him sinks away. Any enthusiasm
either of groups or societies in which the individual ego loses itself
is grand, but the mighty enthusiasm of a powerful people is
overwhelming. This was, however, an enthusiasm of a peculiar sort--it
was well disciplined, an enthusiasm combined with and controlled by the
highest order.

"In this the fundamental secret of German power was revealed: to remain
calm in enthusiasm, cold amidst fire and still obedient to duty in a
tornado of passion. Then we were all inspired by the thought and
feeling: 'Nobody can achieve that, for in order to be able to do it we
have had to perform a huge intellectual and spiritual task. It is not
alone the result of the last century and a half; no, that work has been
going on for nearly a thousand years.'

"What is the spirit of our German mysticism, the spirit of Eckhart and
Tauler, except: Drunkenness of the soul in a waking condition? The
accepted law on which all great German deeds rest, is: to dovetail
enthusiasm with discipline and order. From our Gothic, through German
_barock_ to Frederick the Great and Kant, on to the classical
period--what does all that mean if it is not the architecture of one
huge feeling? The soul runs riot in its imaginings and therewith the
intellect builds. The ravings of the soul provide the materials with
which the mind builds.