he was yet busy writing his great historical works, of which the greatest were the "German History "—a tale of the transformation of the German Confederation into the Empire—and " Politics."
He was also a member of the Reichstag. Thus we find that Treitschke had a threefold means of influence—as a university lecturer, as an historian, and as a practical politician.
We have seen how enamoured he was with Milton, because Milton stood for him as a supreme leader of the idea of liberty. So his admiration for Cromwell was equally profound. He saw Cromwell as the one great man who, through a beneficent despotism, had secured freedom for Britain. In like manner he regarded the work of Frederick the Great and the Emperor William as an heroic struggle towards German freedom. So he appreciated the position of and necessity for war and war-lords, and even despots, in the progress of humanity, and particularly the German people, towards its goal. And thus we find Treitschke developing with enthusiastic passion his one great idea—the greatness of Prussia and the glory of an army which is a nation and of a nation which is an army. Pie had an inveterate dislike to Britain, and considered Britain as an unworthy obstacle in the way of the progress of Germany and the realisation of his idea of Germany's destiny as the one great free nation. Except for a little time, about the days of Byron, he regarded Britain as having been a coward nation ever since she had forgotten the glorious and noble days, in his view, of Cromwell and of Milton.
Now Nietzsche was termed by Treitschke "a rum fellow," and Nietzsche, in return, paid Treitschke many a similar verbal compliment. In no respect at all did Nietzsche, notwithstanding the pages of rubbish that have been written in Britain to the contrary since the war commenced, influence Treitschke. They each thought, moved, and worked on different lines entirely. Treitschke and his predecessors and disciples did probably directly influence Germany towards the war. Nietzsche did not, except in the sense and to the extent that he may be said to have influenced, for instance, futurist art, syndicalism, department-store keeping, commercial trusts, British Imperialism, or any other modern movement.
Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche was born in the year 1844, and after some non-combatant experiences in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, became a Professor at Basel University, which position he held until the year 1876, when, being attacked by a disease which affected his eye and brain, he had to leave Basel and travel in search of health. Though born in Germany, he was a Pole by descent, and throughout his life he never really loved the
