, and England would never have grown
great had not many of her sons been Catos."

"Mr. Kennedy, you are proclaiming the old Greek idea of the state," said
Heideck. "But I do not believe that the old Greeks had such a
conception of the state as modern professors assert, and as ancient Rome
practically carried out. Professors are in the habit of quoting Plato,
but Plato was too highly gifted not to understand that the state after
all consists merely of men. Plato regarded the state not as an idol
on whose altar the citizen was obliged to sacrifice himself, but as an
educational institution. He says that really virtuous citizens could
only be reared by an intelligently organised state, and for this reason
he attached such importance to the state. A state is in its origin only
the outer form, which the inner life of the nation has naturally created
for itself, and this conception should not be upset. The state should
educate the masses, in order that not only justice, but also external
and internal prosperity may be realised. The Romans certainly do not
appear to have made the rearing of capable citizens, in accordance with
Plato's idea, the aim of the state; they were modern, like the great
Powers of to-day, whose aim it is to grow as rich and powerful as
possible. We Germans also desire this, and that is why we are waging
this war; but at the same time I assert that something higher dwells in
the German national character--the idea of humanity. With us also our
ideals are being destroyed, and therefore we are fighting for our 'place
under the sun,' in order to protect and secure our ideals together with
our national greatness."

At this point a servant entered and announced dinner.

At table the conversation shifted from philosophy and politics to art.
The ladies tried to cheer the old gentleman and banish his despair.
Elizabeth talked of the concerts in Simla and Calcutta, mentioning the
great technical difficulties which beset music in India, owing to the
instruments being so soon injured by the climate. The moist air of the
towns on the coast made the wood swell; the dry air of Central India, on
the other hand, made it shrink, which was very injurious to pianos, but
especially to violins and cellos. Pianos, with metal instead of wood
inside, were made for the tropics; but they had a shrill tone and were
equally affected by abrupt changes of temperature.

After dinner Elizabeth seated herself at the piano, and it did