“Ancient Germany, excluding from its independent limits the province weſtward of the Rhine, which had ſubmitted to the Roman yoke, extended itſelf over a third part of Europe. Almoſt the whole of modern Germany, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Livonia, Pruſſia, and the greater part of Poland, were peopled by the various tribes of one great nation, whoſe complexion, manners, and language, denoted a common origin and preſerved a ſtriking reſemblance.”

“While the Germans of Gaul, Italy, and Spain became Romans, the Saxons retained their language, their genius, and manners, and created in Britain a Germany outside of Germany.”

“There have ⟳ been in Germany, as in all other nations, eulogists of aggression, war, and conquest. But there have ⟳ been other Germans too. The greatest are not to be found in the ranks of those glorifying tyranny and German world hegemony. Are Heinrich von Kleist, Richard Wagner, and Detlev von Liliencron more representative of the national character than Kant, Goethe, Schiller, Mozart, and Beethoven? The idea of a nation's character is obviously arbitrary. It is derived from a judgment which omits all unpleasant facts contradicting the preconceived dogma.”

“There had been a long bloody war in the empire of Germany for twelve years, between the Emperor, the Duke of Bavaria, the King of Spain, and the Popiſh Princes and Electors, on the one side; and the Proteſtant Princes on the other; and both ſides having been exhauſted by the war, and even the Catholicks themſelves beginning to diſlike the growing power of the houſe of Auſtria, it was thought that all parties were willing to make ⟳ peace.”

“I had frequently been told, that the Bohemians were the moſt muſical people of Germany, or, perhaps, of all Europe...”

“When the race ⟳ of Charlemagne ceaſed to govern in Germany, the princes and ſtates aſſociated to continue ⟳ the empire; and that its majeſty might be viſible, and its laws enforced, they agreed to chooſe an emperor. From this emperor, all electors and princes, except thoſe before 1582, receive ⟳ inveſtiture of their dominions; counts and free cities from the Aulic council. But this inveſtiture is no more than a ſign of ſubmiſſion to the majeſty of the empire, which is depoſited in the emperor. For as the conſtituted members of the empire are dependent on that collective union from which they derive protection, they therefore ſhew this dependence on the emperor, becauſe he repreſents the majeſty of that union, or of the empire; but in all other reſpects they are independent and free.”

“There are few cities in Germany beſides Vienna which contain ⟳ ſo rich and numerous a nobility as this does: there are fome houſes here which have ⟳ eſtates of 100,000 guilders, or 10,000l. a-year.”

“Severing's belief that trade ⟳ union workers were the most progressive and democratic element in Germany holds up well under investigation.”

“The win ⟳ made Germany the first European team to prevail in a World Cup in the Americas and gave the Germans, who have ⟳ made it to the knockout stage ⟳ in 16 consecutive World Cups, their first trophy since 1990.”

“Germans save ⟳ a lot, produce ⟳ plenty and spend ⟳ little. The result ⟳ is a massive external surplus. Last ⟳ year, Germany’s current account surplus stood at almost €200 billion ($260 billion), the world's largest.”

“Germany can’t afford ⟳ to stick ⟳ to the stately plod into decline ⟳ that Merkel initiated any longer. Merz will have ⟳ to act fast, and break ⟳ things to pull ⟳ the country out of the quagmire it finds itself in.”

“The differences between England and the Germanies sprang from the absence or presence of ministerial interventions.”

“In a Renault 14, they drove from one Germany to the other.”

“It is the fall ⟳ of 1989, and two time zones farther to the west, thousands of people march ⟳ through downtown Leipzig every Monday, while more than 6,000 East German citizens are camped out in the embassies of West Germany in Prague and Warsaw, hoping to be allowed to emigrate. The images have ⟳ circled the globe, and it is clear to leaders Thatcher and Gorbachev that the two Germanys are on the verge of radical change ⟳.”

CEFR level

Intermediate
This word is part of the CEFR B1 vocabulary — intermediate level.

See all B1 English words →

Germany

Definitions

Equivalents

Examples

CEFR level

See also

Learn this word in context