tur at the expense of her
neighbors is at first sight plausible. Her Kultur is unquestionably
higher than theirs. She has a sharply realized idea of the State, and
she has justified it largely in practice. In a certain patience,
thoroughness, and perfection of political organization her pre-eminence
is unquestionable. The tone of her apologists shows amazement and
indignation over the fact that the world, so far from welcoming the
extension of German Kultur, is actively hostile to that ambition. Yet,
even if it be conceded that Germany's Kultur is wholly good for
herself--surely a debatable proposition--it does not follow that it is
or would be a universal benefit. Nations may deliberately and
legitimately prefer their culture, with its admitted disadvantages, to
the Kultur which pleases Germany. England is often mocked for the way in
which she "muddles through" successive perils, yet she may feel that the
stereotyping of her people in a rigid administrative frame might be too
high a price to pay for constant preparedness. As for us Americans, we
have made a virtue, perhaps overdone it, of avoiding a mechanical
Kultur. We prefer the greatest freedom for the individual to the
perfectly regimented state. We will move toward culture and cheerfully
assume the necessary risks of the process.

Unlovely and Impressive.

In a broader view, the war may be regarded as a contest between the
metallic, half-mechanical Kultur of Prussianized Germany and the more
flexible civilizations of States that have inherited culture or aspire
to it. Germany herself has rejected the humane and somewhat hazardous
ideal of culture, so she cannot wonder or complain when she sees that
the culture of the world is almost unanimously hostile to her. There is
no quarrel with German Kultur itself; merely a feeling that it has its
drawbacks, that it is, on the whole, as unlovely as it is impressive,
that there is quite enough of it in the world already, and that its
broad extension would be disastrous.

Meanwhile the nations of culture have much to learn from Germany's
Kultur. Flexibility may mean weakness. The United States, for example,
could well have a standing army and an army reserve commensurate with
its history and prospects without incurring any danger of militarism.
There is, finally, some disadvantage in being merely a culture nation,
for such a nation can add a large measure of Kultur without belying
itself. On the contrary, so highly dev