(At Cologne, I Believe, And Certainly At Kiel - For I Once Sat
At The End Of That And Saw A
Lot of sad German soldiers drilling, a
memory which later made me understand (1) why they can be out-marched
By Latins; (2) why they impress travellers and civilians; (3) why the
governing class in Germany take care to avoid common service; (4) why
there is no promotion from the ranks; and (5) why their artillery is
too rigid and not quick enough. It also showed me something intimate
and fundamental about the Germans which Tacitus never understood and
which all our historians miss - they are _of necessity_ histrionic.
Note I do not say it is a vice of theirs. It is a necessity of theirs,
an appetite. They must see themselves on a stage. Whether they do
things well or ill, whether it is their excellent army with its
ridiculous parade, or their eighteenth-century _sans-soucis_ with
avenues and surprises, or their national legends with gods in wigs and
strong men in tights, they _must_ be play-actors to be happy and
therefore to be efficient; and if I were Lord of Germany, and desired
to lead my nation and to be loved by them, I should put great golden
feathers on my helmet, I should use rhetorical expressions, spout
monologues in public, organize wide cavalry charges at reviews, and
move through life generally to the crashing of an orchestra. For by
doing this even a vulgar, short, and diseased man, who dabbled in
stocks and shares and was led by financiers, could become a hero, and
do his nation good.)
LECTOR.
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