Excerpt from On Nationality and Language in the Duchy of Sleswick or South JutlandIt is therefore, that a consciousness of nationality has entered so late in life. It has come after or with freedom, and therefore only in those countries which have already either attained freedom or are on the way to it. The first French revolution brought freedom to a conside rable part of Europe, but in most places the enjoyment thereof was confined to the educated middle-classes and the more wealthy parts of the community. But these belong more to the general European refinement and thisis, just on account of its generality in several respects, rather inimical than favorable for nationalities. Therefore it was not to be expected, that those classes of society who gained most by the first French revolution, would care much about nationality. Nor did they do so. Real popularity must seek its foundation amongst the people themselves. With the second French revolution a further step forward was made, and with the third the freedom of the people gained its decisive victory, as all classes of the people who possessed municipal independence, were also acknowledged as entitled to take part in the manage ment of civic affairs.It is between the second and third French revolution that the question of nationality has developed itself to its present importance. The meaning of nationality which, on contemplations on the future state of the world hitherto lay entirely out of calculation, has become an universal power, one of the great powers that sets the people in motion and leads them forward in their development. It has shown itself mighty, both to loosen and to bind. It has cast a cleft between the Slavonic and German tribes which nothing will easily be able to fill up, and it has bound the Scandinavian nations together in one fraternal community that promises a bright future to the North.About the PublisherForgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.comThis book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully, any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.