Elizabeth Harriot Hudson
Published: 2013-09
Total Pages: 100
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This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1878 edition. Excerpt: ... pathies; and as in the vegetable kingdom, the various families of plants have different roots by which they take a different kind of hold upon the ground, so the races and families of men root themselves more or less deeply or widely in the soil whereon they grow, which affects the character of their nationality. Secondly, we note the Power of Religious Opinion. Thirdly, the Power of Political Principles. Fourthly, the Power of Commercial and Industrial Interests. From these four primary powers, arises a fifth--the Power of Dynasties and Governments, which may become very strong, but must always be inferior to the others, because it is liable to be under the necessity of bending to them* Casting a first glance over the history of modern Germany from this point of view, we are struck by the wonderful insignificance of the individuals who have had much to do with stirring up the powers which have strengthened and united Germany. They became celebrated men, but what were they in the beginning? Martin Luther was the son of a miner at Eisleben, afterwards a wood-cutter at Mansfeld; yet so much respected was he, that he was appointed a member of the town council, though his wife had often carried wood on her shoulders. Another peasant boy, Ernst Moritz Arndt, gained his first ideas and impressions from the wild scenery and curious legends in the little island of Rugen. He felt the Great Creator's power in the sunset and sunrise among the mountains, and heard His voice above that of the winds and waves. Under the divine blessing, his own sheep were his teachers, and his daily paths over the hills, examples to lead him in the way of life. Gerhard David Sih#inhorst, the son of a Hanoverian peasant, was equally remarkable. He lived to be the...