Quote#Beauty
I regard it as my duty, in the spirit of my parents, to hold my hand…
Quote byWilhelm II · 1859–1941
Commonly attributed — not confirmed in an authoritative edition. Cited on Wikiquote to: My Ideas and Ideals, (p. 46).
English (original)
I regard it as my duty, in the spirit of my parents, to hold my hand over my German people, its rising generation, to cultivate in them the sense of the beautiful, to develop in them a taste for art, but only on a definite path, only within definite limits, which lie in the feeling for beauty and harmony, that exists in the hearts of men.
— Wilhelm II
More from Wilhelm II
You [recruits] have sworn loyalty to me. You have only one enemy and that is my enemy. In the present social confusion, it may come about that I order you to shoot down your own relatives, brothers or parents but even then you must follow …
The soldier and the army, not Parliamentary majorities and decisions, have welded the German Empire together. I put my trust in the army.
When I have to act or think I always ask myself the question: What does the Bible say in similar circumstances? The Bible is for me a spring whence I draw strength and light.
There is only one person who is master in this Empire and I am not going to tolerate any other.
I regard every Social Democrat as an enemy of the Empire and Fatherland.
I am just now not reading but devouring Captain Mahan's book and am trying to learn it by heart. It is a first-class book and classical on all points.