And so it is with the people of Germany. They may respond for a while to civilizing forces; they may seemingly adopt the superficial mannerisms and exterior behaviorism of civilized peoples but all the while there remains ever present within them that war-soul which eventually drives then, as it does the tiger, to kill. And no amount of conditioning, or reasoning, or civilizing—past, present or future—will ever be able to change this basic nature. For if no impress has been made upon this war-soul over a period of some two thousand years it is to be expected that of a sudden, on the morrow, this miracle will occur?
This analogous linking of the people of Germany with savage breast is no vulgar comparison. I feel no more personal hatred for these people than I might feel for a herd of wild animals or a cluster of poisonous reptiles. One does not hate those whose soul can exude no spiritual warmth; one pities then. If the German people wish to live by themselves, in darkness, it would be strictly their own affair. But when they make constant attempts to enshroud the souls of other people in those fetid wrappings
—13—
