Bismarck: Some Secret Pages of His History (Complete)
9781465532169
213 pages
Library of Alexandria
Overview
The work which I now present to the German people contains a complete account of all the events of which I was a witness during my intercourse of over twenty years with Prince Bismarck and his entourage. Part of it is not entirely new, as I have embodied in it portions of the book published by me in 1878, under the title: Prince Bismarck and his People during the Franco-German War. I have, however, restored the numerous passages which it was then deemed expedient to omit, and I have also dispensed with the many modifications by which, at that time, certain asperities of language had to be toned down. The bulk of the present work consists of a detailed narrative of the whole period of my intercourse with the Prince both before and after the French campaign. I collected and noted down all these particulars respecting Prince Bismarck and his immediate supporters and assistants, in the first place for my own use, and secondly as a contribution to the character and history of the Political Regenerator of Germany. The sole object of the diary which forms the basis of this work was to serve as a record of the whole truth so far as I had been able to ascertain it with my own eyes and ears. Any other object was out of the question, as it was impossible that I could desire to deceive myself. Subsequently, when I thought of publishing my notes, I was fully conscious of my responsibility towards history, the interests of which could not be promoted by material that had been coloured or garbled for party purposes. I wished neither to be an eulogist nor a censor. To my mind, panegyric was superfluous, and fault-finding was for me an impossibility. A tendency to the sensational is foreign to my nature, and I leave the pleasure to be derived from grand spectacular shows to lovers of the theatre. I desired to record the mental and other characteristics which our first Chancellor presented to me under such and such circumstances, thus helping to complete, and at times to rectify, the conception of his whole nature that has been formed in the public mind from his political activity. The profound reverence which I feel for the genius of the hero, and my patriotic gratitude for his achievements, have not deterred me from communicating numerous details which will be displeasing to many persons. These particulars, however, are part of the historic character of the personality whom I am describing. The gods alone are free from error, passion, and changes of disposition. They alone have no seamy side and no contradictions. Even the sun and moon show spots and blemishes, but notwithstanding these they remain magnificent celestial orbs. The picture produced out of the materials which I have here brought together may present harsh and rough features, but it has hardly a single ignoble trait. Its crudeness only adds to its truth to nature, its individuality, and its clearness of outline. This figure does not float in an ethereal atmosphere, it is firmly rooted in earth and breathes of real life, yet it conveys a sense of something superhuman. It must furthermore be remembered that many of the bitter remarks, such as those made previous to March, 1890, were the result of temporary irritation, while others were perfectly justified. The strong self-confidence manifested in some of these utterances, and the angry expression of that need for greater power and more liberty of action, common to all men of genius and energetic character, arose from the consciousness that, while he alone knew the true object to be pursued and the fitting means for its achievement, his knowledge could not be applied because the right of final decision on all occasions belonged by hereditary privilege to more or less mediocre and narrow minds.
