Gems (?) of German Thought
Gems (?) of German Thought
In accordance with classic precedent, this anthology ought to have consisted of "1,001 Gems of German Thought," I have been content with half that number, not--heaven knows!--for any lack of material, but simply for lack of time and energy to make the ingathering. After all, enough is as good as a feast, and I think that the evidence as to the dominant characteristics of German mentality is tolerably complete as it stands.
Book Excerpt
gainst the English, one can only say that, when the German gives his mind to it, he proves himself an accomplished master of the art (Nos. 47, 55, 79, 89, 94, 104, 237, 423). Here is an example, from a book about Germany by a German-Austrian,[4] which scarcely comes within the scope of my anthology, but it is too characteristic to be lost. "If you want," says the writer, in italics, "thoroughly to understand the German, you must compare the German sportsman with the hunters of other countries. Then a sacred thrill (heiliger Schauer) of deep understanding will come over your heart." For the German sportsman "takes more pleasure in the life that surrounds him and which he protects, than in the shot which only the last hot virile craving (Mannesgier) wrings from him, and which he fires only when he knows that he will kill, painlessly kill. For this is the root principle of German sportsmanship: 'God grant me one day such an end as I strive to bestow
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