14. The Development of the German Soul

GA 65/1916-04-13/p048 ·1916-04-13 · English HighHigh alignmentThis translation's paragraph count matches the German original — the locus maps cleanly to the same paragraph in DE.
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I could give many examples. I will mention just one, which shows how a Catholic priest's awareness of the German national soul is lived in his feelings and perceptions, as I have indicated today in terms of knowledge. In 1850, Xavier Schmid wrote in an unassuming booklet in which he advocated a shared, in-depth understanding of Christianity as felt by the Germans: “Just as Israel was chosen to bring forth the Christ in the flesh, so the German people are chosen to give birth to him spiritually. Just as the political liberation of that remarkable people was dependent on the inner one, so the greatness of the German people will essentially depend on whether it fulfills its spiritual mission.” How is the grasp of Christianity in the mind of this simply educated priest Xavier Schmid characterized! What I have characterized is already alive in the deepest popular mind, even if, of course, one would have to coin different words than I had to coin here today to show how what has been characterized today lives in the simplest popular mind.

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Cite: GA 65/1916-04-13/p048 · edition English