To a people trained in such a school and purposely given great burdens that they might attain fortitude, war was second nature.

They welcomed it as a sort of pastime.
In the system on which Kultur was based, it was necessary to strike deeply the religious note; no difference if it was a false note.

The German ear was so accustomed to discord it could not recognize the true from the false.

The Kaiser was heralded to his people as a deeply religious man.

In his public utterances he never failed to call upon God to grant him aid and bless his works.
One of the old traditions of the Fatherland was that the king, being specially appointed by God, could do no wrong.