Holmes County Republican. [volume] (Millersburg, Holmes Co., O. [Ohio]) 1870-1895, 1870-10-20
BISMARCK ON RELIGION.
Letter of the Prussian Premier.


In the New York Observer we find
from the pen of Philip Schaff, an in
teresting personal account of Bis,
marck, who, he says, is no stranger
to religious experience:
King William is an honest, good
hearted old soldier, and every obser-
yer of his public conduct in this
French war must have been struck
with the tone of unaffected mOdesty
truthfulness and pious recognition
of the hand of God in the events OF
history. | am confident that Bis
marck fully shares these feelings.
know, from a number of facts which
/ learned from his pastor (the Rev
Mr.. Southworth, a most earnest
evangelical preacher in Berlin) and
several of his intimate friends, that
whatever may have been his former
life, he is now man of decided
Protestant-religious convictions ano
irreproachable private character
But let him speak for himself:
my DEAR A:-Although A l an
hard pressed for time, l can moi
leave unanswered an Interpolation
which is addressed to me from al
honest heart with an appeal te
Christ's name. / sincerely regret il
give offense to believing Christians
but | am certain that in my position
such offense is unavoidable. In the
camp of my necessary political op
ponents there are, no doubt, many
Christians who are far ahead of mt
on the way of salvation, and yet, OF
account of what on both sides be
long to the earth, l must live in con
fiict with them. / need only appea
to what you say yourself: Nothing
of the public life on high eminenct
remains hidden" Where is the
man who, in such position, does
not give offense, justly or unjustly
/ concede more than this, for YOU
utterance that nothing remains hid
den is not true. Would to God thai
besides what the world knows o.
me, had no other sins on my soul
for which hope forgiveness only by
trusting in the blood of Christ Jn'
die ich nur am Tertrauen auJ
Christi Blut Terquebunge hofe.
AS statesman, l am
not even sufficiently bold, but rather
timid in my feelings, because it is
not easy in questions with which
have to wrestle to gain that clear
ness on which alone trust in God car
thrive. He who calls me an un
scrupulous politicians does me in
justice; let him first try his con
science on this battlefield. Il
If l stake my life on this cause, ] dc
it in that confidence in God which
have nursed and strengthened il
long and severe conflict, but in hon
est and humble prayer to Cod"
In a letter written to his wife
from Frankfort, 1851, Bismarck con
fesses to a serious change of hi:
view of the world.
"Day before yesterday 1 dined
with -, at Wiesbaden, and looked
with mixture of sadness and wis
dom upon the theater of former
folly.
Where and how may-and Miss
- be now? How many are dead
and buried with whom then wasted
away the time in courting, drinking,
gambling (met demen ich dramas
iebe'te beehette, wulJette)! How
many changes has my view of the
world Wettansehauang undergone
within the last fourteen years? How
much appears to me little now, that
then appeared great; how much is
venerable to me what l then laughed:
How many leaf may yet bud from
our inner man and worthlessly fade
away till another fourteen years have
passed by, if we should live till
1865?
can not conceive how a man
who reflects, and yet ignores God
can endure life for contempt and
ennui. do not know how 1 stood
it formerly. If 1 had to live now as
l did then, without God. without
thee, without children, l could see
no reason why / should not lay of
this life like an unclean shirt. And
yet most of my acquaintances are il
this condition, and yet they live. L
/ ask, in individual cases, what jus
titles this or that man to continue
to live, to labor, to worry himself
to intrigue and act as spy, / Iverily
do not know.
You must not infer from this scrib
bling that 1 feel particularly gloomy
on the contrary, l feel as if, on :
beautiful September day, l looked
upon the leaves as they turned vel
low, healthy and cheerful, yet a lit
tie sad, little homesick, longing
after the wood, the sea, the wilder
ness, after thee and the children-al
mixed with sunset and Beethoven.
On Saturday afternoon / rode
with Rochow and Lynar to Rudes
helm. There l took bath in the
Rhine and swan in the moonshine
only nose and eyes above the blue
waves. There is strangely dreamy
delight to lie in the water in the 81
lent, calm, warm night, to behold
the moon and the stars above, the
mountain tops and lowered castles
on the shore, and hear nothing bu
the gentle splashing of ones owl
motion; ! would like every day 81
to swim. Returning. drank goot
wine and sat long, smoking with Ly
mar, on the balcony, looking at the
Rhine beneath. My little Testa
ment and the starry heavens led u.
to Christian conversation; shool
the Rosseauish virtue of his soul
yet without other effect but to bring
him to silence. He has been spoiled
in his youth by tutors and Cover
nesses, without becoming properl,
acquainted with his parents, anC
has by reason of similar education
acquired views similar to my own
but found more satisfaction in then
thnn I orar did