ABSTRACT
The Emperor of Austria is a sovereign who has been conquered continually during his long reign, but who has always been rather fond of peace. Of the psychological dominants that inspired the Austrian statesmen to send Serbia the ultimatum which caused the war, the desire of prestige at the beginning of the affair, and suspicion of Russia at the end, are the two which are most conspicuous. The Emperor of Russia is assuredly the most powerful of the autocrats of our day. Czar action was conditioned by psychological factors which were so similar to those that dominated the Austrian policy at the same time, that a conflict between them was inevitable. In order to gain a complete understanding of the way in which the idea of war arose in the German Emperor's mind, we must take care to note that, although he was so fond of peace, he was always ready to threaten.
