Not all Germans, however, are, they hold, as yet included
in the German Empire, or even in the German-Austrian combination. The
Flemish are Germans, the Dutch are Germans, the English even are Germans,
or were before the war had made them, in Germany's eyes, the offscouring
of mankind. Thus, a great task lies before the German Empire: on the one
hand, to bring within its fold the German stocks that have strayed from
it in the wanderings of history; on the other, to reduce under German
authority those other stocks that are not worthy to share directly in the
citizenship of the Fatherland. The dreams of conquest which are the real
essence of all imperialism are thus supported in Germany by arguments
peculiar to Germans. But the arguments put forward are not the real
determinants of the attitude. The attitude, in any country, whatever it
may be called, rests at bottom on sheer national vanity. It is the belief
in the inherent superiority of one's own civilization, and the desire to
extend it, by force if need be, throughout the world. It matters little
what arguments in its support this passion to dominate may garner from
that twilight region in which the advanced guard of science is labouring
patiently to comprehend Nature and mankind. Men take from the treasury of
truth what they are able to take.
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