the eternal purpose which
is working itself out in the history of humanity, to sacrifice himself
for the ideal of freedom. Every individual has his particular place in
which to labor for the social whole; how to do it, his conscience will
tell him without fail. And so, too, the German people has its peculiar
place in civilization, its unique contribution to make in the struggle
of the human race for the development of free personality. It is
Germany's mission to regain its nationality, in order that it may
take the philosophical leadership in the work of civilization, and to
establish a State based upon personal liberty, a veritable kingdom
of justice, such as has never appeared on earth, which shall realize
freedom based upon the equality of all who bear the human form.

The Fichtean philosophy holds the mirror up to its age. With the
Enlightenment it glorifies reason, the free personality, nationality,
humanity, civilization, and progress; in this regard it expresses the
spirit of all modern philosophy. It goes beyond the _Aufklaerung_ in
emphasizing the living, moving, developing nature of reality; for it,
life and consciousness constitute the essence of things, and universal
life reveals itself in a progressive history of mankind. Moreover,
the dynamic spiritual process cannot be comprehended by conceptual
thought, by the categories of a rationalistic science and philosophy,
but only by itself, by the living experience of a free agent. In the
categorical imperative, and not in logical reasonings, the individual
becomes aware of his destiny; in the sense of duty, the love of truth,
loyalty to country, respect for the rights of man, and reverence for
ideals, spirit speaks to spirit and man glimpses the eternal.

Among the elements in this idealism that appealed to the Romanticists
were its anti-intellectualism, its intuition, the high value it placed
upon the personality, its historical viewpoint, and its faith in the
uniqueness of German culture. They welcomed the _Wissenschaftslehre_
as a valuable ally, and exaggerated those features of it which seemed
to chime with their own views. The ego which Fichte conceives as
universal reason becomes for them the subjective empirical self, the
unique personality, in which the unconscious, spontaneous, impulsive,
instinctive phase constitutes the original element, the more
extravagant among them transforming the rational moral ego into a
romantic ego, an ego full of mystery