The Dominion. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 17, 1914. THE KAISER'S GOD

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2283, 17 October 1914, Page 6

The Dominion. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 17, 1914. THE KAISER'S GOD

The present war provides a striking illustration of tho power of ideas. For years a distinguished group of German thinkers has been preaching the doctrine that Germany is destined to rulo the world, , and that everything that, stands in her path must be remorselessly smashed and trampled under foot. This view of Germany's mission ancL destiny has been taught,in_her universities; it has become a religion to the military oasto: andit has permeated the nation, which is now fighting with all the might it possesses for the opportunity to give the fullest play to the lust for power. The late Professor Cramb told us that Germany was preparing to create a new religion, wnicli he described in tho following remarkable words:

This is the faith of young Germany in 1913. Tho prevalent mind of the universities, iu the army, amongst tho more cultured, is towards what may be described as the religion of valonr, reinterpreted by Napoleon and by Nietzsche— the glory of action, heroiam, the doing of great things. It is in metaphysics Zaratlnistra's Amor Forte." ■ It is in politics and ethica Napolooniem. These same young men, , who in this very mouth thrill with the scenes of 1913, see iu Napoleon the oppressor, but they see in Napoleon's creed tho springs of his action, a message o£ fire; Live dangerously! There is much that is wholesome and good in the gospel of action and heroism when controlled by a proper senso of right and wrong; but it becomes sheer materialism when saturated by the spirit of NAPOLEON and Nietzsche. It is difficult _ to understand how a great Christian tcochor liko Professor Harnack could give any encouragement to a "message of fire" springing from Napoleon's , creed. Yet it ■wa's announced in a cablegram which appeared in The Dominion a few days ago that Dr. Harnack had asserted, in reply to a manifesto issued by English that Germany was really only fighting for the hegemony of the world. Ho seems to take it for granted that tho leadership of tho world belongs to the Germane By Divino right. In other words, they aro the supermen, and all that is best in the world belongs to them.- If they aro not given what they want they will take it by force. The Kaiser as the head of tho supornation, which ho calls "the chosen people," promises death and destruction to all resisting his will and doubting his mission, "So perish all tho enemies of tho Gorman people," ho declares. "God demands their destruction." The Kaiser is not so logical as Nietzsche. The philosopher sees that_ tho idea of God will not fit in with his superman theory, and so in his revaluation of values Theism and Christian morality are thrown overboard. But Theism is useful to tho Kaiser, for he claims to be Emperor by Divine right, and therefore he has created a grotesque divinity in his own image, with a character befitting a magnified superman of the' Nictzschean type. This KAiSER-raado God is one who places might before right, who tolerates tho contemptuous disregard of solemn obligations, and looks down with' approval on the methods of the Huns and tho Vandals. The present war is oncf of the phases of tho "conflict between Christ and Napoleon for the mastery over the minds of men," which, in th<s opinion of, pßoifEseoti Cramp, J'U the most signifioaat. epj^tua^

phenomona of the twentieth century. " A reviewer o£ Phofessou Ciumb's book, Germany and England, says the reading of it should brace the mildest of us to any effort that may be needed to end this organised barbarism based dn the gospel of -Nietzsche, the Rousseau of the movement which has led to/the war of 1914.

As nothing; is too great or too small to receive tho attention of the Kaiseh, it may be safely assumed that tho Hongs of Battle supplied to his soldiers have been prepared under his supervision. Indeed, this is by no means an insignificant detail. The great war-hyrans have had a real influence in shaping the destiny of nations. .In proof of this one only has to call to mind the "Marseillaise," the "Hymn tb Garidaldi," "Die Wacht am llhoin," and "Deutschland, Dcutschland über alles. .No one knows tho importance of battle-songs better than the Kaiser, and it is worthy of note that in the Germau soldiers' book of battle-songs, containing psalms and prayers invoking the aid of "the good old German God" (to quote tho words of a recent cablegram), "the infinite pity of the Scriptures for the humble masses is completely expunged." Nietzsche directs his most extravagant invective against tenderness and pity. He hates Christianity, because of its mercifulness, and because it is the mother of democracy. He asserts that charity and philanthropy hinder the coming of tho superman. They must, therefore, be

uprooted. That the weak shall perish as one of tho first principles of his "charity"; and people "shall help them to do so." The rank and filq of humanity only exist, in his opinion, for the purpose of maintaining a superior caste. Ho states his views with brutal , frankness:— There are only three respects in which the niiieses appear to mo to deserve' a glance—first, as blurred copies of great men, executed on bad paper and from worn-out platee; secondly as opposition to the great; and lastly as instruments of the ?rcnt: for tho rest let them go to tho devil and to statistics.

A Rood and sound aristocracy . . . accepts with a good conscience the sacrifice of innumerable men who for , its poke must be depressed and reduced to incomplete men, slaves, instruments. Its fundamental belief must be that Society has a right to exist, not for the sako of Society, but only ns the substructure anil scaffolding on. which n. select species of being may rise t<> their higher mission and in general ;to a higher existence. To tho average British mind this sort of thing sounds like the ravings of a madman —as a matter of fact, Nietzsche went mad before he died; but such ideas have been the principal intellectual food of tho military caste in Germany for years past, and in a more diluted form they have spread through tho whole country. The Kaiser claims to be the . Sword and Representative of the Lokd, and his enemies aro the Lord's enemies. He treats tho "good old German God" as one of his conscripts, who, as a mere _ matter 'of course, must bq on his side.