] This theory of
bigness, this theory that you must have a big empire, and a big nation,
and a big man--well, long legs have their advantage in a retreat.
[Laughter and applause.] The Kaiser's ancestor chose his warriors for
their height, and that tradition has become a policy in Germany. Germany
applies that ideal to nations, and will only allow six-foot-two nations
to stand in the ranks. [Laughter.] But ah! the world owes much to the
little five-foot-five nations. The greatest art in the world was the
work of little nations; the most enduring literature of the world came
from little nations; the greatest literature of England came when she
was a nation of the size of Belgium fighting a great empire. The heroic
deeds that thrill humanity through generations were the deeds of little
nations fighting for their freedom. Yes, and the salvation of mankind
came through a little nation. God has chosen little nations as the
vessels by which He carries His choicest wines to the lips of humanity,
to rejoice their hearts, to exalt their vision, to stimulate and
strengthen their faith; and if we had stood by when two little nations
were being crushed and broken by the brutal hands of barbarism, our
shame would have rung down the everlasting ages.
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