Furthermore, whether the artist knows it or not, what he makes always has an influence. Once when I was visiting Berlin I saw some statuary round the Kaiser's palace, and when I looked at it I thought that it was no wonder that this empire had collapsed. It could not have been otherwise; it was as if the statues had been put there on purpose in order to ruin it! The symbolism which, either consciously or unconsciously, the artist had embodied in these statues was nothing but a source of ruin. Even now or at some future time, if anyone lives there, there will be a downfall; it cannot be otherwise.