Wednesday, September 15:
R. slept well, at breakfast a great deal about the children and rules of education. Then R. talks about the socialists, who have just been holding a meeting in Switzerland, and he says, “I am amazed by the stupidity of their program, always just state and no religion, no faith at all.” An article in Italie reproducing a conversation between Bismarck and the French ambassador, in which peace was offered with a view to restricting Russia’s and England’s advance toward world dominion, astonishes R. greatly, he laughs and says: “Incidentally, that is C. Frantz’s idea, of which he wrote in the b. Blätter. We are still ruling the world!”