I accuse us, not of
acting imprudently, but of fighting against a natural force that is
stronger than we. We can only retard, we cannot annihilate, the
attraction exerted by the greater masses on the lesser. We can only hope
that we may not live to feel the agony.
Holland and Denmark are both threatened by Germany, for in this
geography is the mighty ally of Germany. The most enlightened Dane can
only cherish the hope that Denmark, conquered, or not conquered, will
brave it out long enough for universal civilisation, by virtue of the
level it has reached, to bring our independence with it. As far as the
hope which the majority of Danes cherish is concerned (including the
noble professors of philosophy), of a time when Nemesis (reminiscence of
theology!), shall descend on Prussia, this hope is only an outcome of
foolishness. And even a Nemesis upon Prussia will never hurt Germany,
and thus will not help us.
But the main question is this: If we--either through a peaceable
restoration of Slesvig, or after fresh wars, or through the dawning of
an era of peace and civilisation--regain our integrity and independence,
shall we exist then? Not at all. Then we shall sicken again. A country
like Denmark, even including Slesvig, is nowadays no country at all.
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