Hitler's Table Talk

EDUCATION AND TRAINING OF RULERS 387
system and that of hereditary monarchy is obvious. In the
former, it was impossible for an imbecile or an urchin of twelve
to come to power. Only a man who had pretty well proved
himself in life had a fair chance of being appointed. Isn't it
ridiculous, by the way, to think that a child of twelve, or even
of eighteen, can rule a State? It goes without saying that, if a
king is still a minor, power is provisionally gathered in other
hands, those of a Council of Regents. But supposing the
members of this Council disagree (and the more competent the
councillors are, the greater are the risks of disagreement, in view
of the complexity of the problems to be solved daily), then the
absence is felt of the personality capable of taking a sovereign
decision. A youth of eighteen cannot take a decision that requires
deep reflection—that's difficult enough for a man who
has reached full maturity! It's enough to imagine where King
Michael of Rumania would be without the support of a man
as remarkable as Field-Marsh.al Antonescu. As it happens, the
young man is stupid. Moreover, he has been rotted by his
spoilt child's upbringing, his father having entrusted him
entirely to women during the most important period of his
development. To sense the tragic nature of this abyss, it's
enough to compare the development of any man who's ambitious
to do something in life, with that of a prince by inheritance.
Think of the amount of knowledge that a man of
normal rank must acquire, of the desperate work he must do,
without truce or rest, to succeed in having his own way. There
is a tendency to believe, on the contrary, that one can prepare
budding kings for the task that awaits them by keeping them
amused. A.third of their time is devoted to the study of foreign
languages, so that they may be able to utter trivialities in
several tongues; a second third to the sports of society (riding,
tennis, etc.). The study of the political sciences takes only the
last place. Moreover, the education they receive has no firmness.
Their tutors are weakness itself. They resist the temptation
to distribute the smacks their princely pupils deserve—for
fear of calling down the disfavour of a future monarch. The
result is obvious. That's how creatures like Michael of Rumania
and Peter of Yugoslavia were formed.