e than Machiavelli would have done. (The Prussian, in
the average, is very prone to misunderstand his enemy.) The
Germans thought we would not come in; we did come in, just when
they were not expecting it; in effect, that was a master-stroke.
Where we failed was that we were not ourselves ready with an
adequate force. Though we strangled German commerce at sea and
helped to save France, we were deficient in many elements of an
army, and are still woefully so. That is the natural result of
insularity.

Now if through the folly of Ministers we lose this great chance
of settling with our rival, we shall be cutting our own throats.
You see, I have led you, by a devious path, back to the old
problem--the necessity for organising England to win this war and
to establish her national type as supreme. We must take any and
every step necessary to set this great nation of ours even higher
than it stands now. Some nation must be political leader of the
international polity; why not England, whose extraordinary
colonising and governing ability is so well known? I am tired to
death of talk about "crushing militarism" and of wild dreams of
"a union of small States." If you want to see the latter process
in operation, look at the normal state of the Balkans! States may
have all the "rights" in the world, but if they are not strong
enough in a political and military sense, they will never be able
to maintain them. Since England--great and wise nation that she
is!--has the sense to use her power benignantly, what harm would
there be if she were to assert it over weaker national organisms,
as man has done over the beasts? This would certainly not be
possible without repeated wars. Subject nations may be treated as
easily and as freely as you like when under our sway, but they
must be conquered first, and we must keep our power over them
even though it is hidden.

But I am dreaming myself now, for there is nothing eternal in
Nature except conflict and change; and as our Empire grew, so, I
fear, it must some day decay. Evolution is no respecter of
persons. Anyway it is our duty to postpone that day of decline as
long as we can. In my view England's claims are above all others.
Our Allies are just so much use to us as we can make of them.
They, too, have th