But it will not come from our seeking." He turned to Michael, his face illuminated by the red glow of the sinking sun.
"Germany will rise as one man if she's told to," he said, "for that is what her unity and her discipline mean.

She is patient and peaceful, but she is obedient." He pointed northwards.
"It is from there, from Prussia, from Berlin," he said, "that the word will come, if they who rule and govern us, and in whose hands are all organisation and equipment, tell us that our national existence compels us to fight.

They rule.

The Prussians rule; there is no doubt of that.
From Germany have come the arts, the sciences, the philosophies of the world, and not from there.

But they guard our national life.