AND TUTOR TO FREDKRICK THE NOBLE. 



207 



its appearance, and tlien what he may do or say is useless or 

 worse than useless : nay positively injurious to the working of 

 the Spirit of God. Godet would not have our initiative precede 

 the thne appointed by God. He would have us wait for Him 

 and follow behind Him. Enocli, it is said, w^alked luith God. 

 To luu'e walked ahead would have done no good. David, who 

 wanted, was not allowed to build the temple, though God too 

 wanted it, but Solomon was to build. So ask yourself, when 

 about to build, whether you are David or Solomon. You may 

 pride yourself on venturing, to the confusion of all human 

 wisdom. But beware lest you run counter to divine wisdom 

 too. 



In June, 1838, came a letter from Prince William of Prussia, 

 who purposed engaging Frederic Godet as a tutor to his son, 

 then seven years old, and passing out of the care of Madame 

 Godet into that of a military governor, assisted by a civil 

 governor who was to be Frederic Godet. The appointment 

 was for ten years, but, actually, did not extend beyond six, from 

 the autmnn of 1838 to the autumn of 1844. 



The relations of Godet to his pupil, and later to his Eoyal, 

 and, for a few weeks. Imperial, friend Frederick, would all by 

 themselves fill a whole book. AVe do not think that the 

 inwardness of these relations has yet been appreciated to any 

 degree. For one thing, the life of Frederic Godet by his son 

 Philippe was not published till last year (1913), and in that 

 book alone could it be expected that the relations in question 

 would be comprehensively surveyed, as from Godot's side. 



On the other hand, that is from the Prussian point of view, 

 the public part played by the Crown Prince Frederick was so 

 great as to cast into the shade his personal and intimate 

 association of heart and soul with his tutor. This association 

 was unbroken from the childhood of Frederick to the hour of 

 death, and ^\•as kept up by the members of the Imperial family 

 to the last hours of Godet himself ; so from 1838 to 1888 in the 

 case of the pupil, and, in the case of the tutor on to 1900, 

 Augusta, the Emperor's mother, and the present Emperor 

 William, her grandson, showed to the end their interest in 

 Godet. 



There are three points in this life-long association which 

 clothe it with the most exceptional interest. The first is the 

 personality of Godet, wdiich gave it its true value. The second 

 is the temperament of his pupil and the disposition of the 

 Hohenzollern family, whose homely, gentle manliness gave the 

 opportunity wanted for such a friendship. The third is tlie 



