Long before then the spiritual and moral decline of the German people had set in, though those who were affected by the morbid decadence were frequently unaware--as often happens--of the forces which were breaking up their very existence. Sometimes they tried to cure the disease by doctoring the symptoms, which were taken as the cause. But since nobody recognized, or wanted to recognize, the real cause of the disease this way of combating Marxism was no more effective than the application of some quack's ointment.
THE WORLD WAR