Kaiser William is not such an interesting and striking a creature by far
as the first man was. When Kaiser William opens his mouth to speak, he
speaks words that are known. When he moves or sits, when he eats or
prays--all that is a _nuance_ only of what other people do, all is
either from heritage or imitation, and quite an insignificant amount is
individual. Whereas every sound that the first man uttered was quite new
for the Universe; every movement striking and dramatic; every look of
his eyes was discovering new worlds; every joy or sorrow violently felt;
every struggle a great accumulation of experiences. And so forth. Well,
if one striking individuum is the aim of history, history should close
with the death of Adam. But history still continues. Why? Just because
not Adam was its aim, but mankind; not one, or two, or ten heroes, but
millions of human creatures; not some few great men, but all men, all
together, all without exception.

From this point of view we get the true ideal of education. The purpose
of education is not to make grand personalities, but to make bricks for
the building, i.e., to make suitable members of a collective body and
suitable workers of a collective work.


COLLECTIVE WORKS

Are greater than personal works. A pupil from the old, individualistic
school would object:

--And what do you think of the work of Ibsen?

_I:_ I think it is incomparably smaller than the ancient Scandinavian
legends.