is in the running for most awesome explanation :) Maybe it was just... what... snarky people did back then? accuse people of having STDs, just for fun??
Well, if you're young Voltaire, you can also accuse them of incest. Remember, young Voltaire's first stint in the Bastille came when he wrote satiric poetry charging that the Regent of France, Philippe D'Orleans (son of Liselotte and her very gay husband of the same name), had sex with his favourite daughter. I know David Bodanis (of the Voltaire and Émilie biography) added "it was likely true", but Jean Orieux (of the big Voltaire biography) does not think so, and while both Bodanis and Orieux have their weaknesses in German history, I trust Orieux to know his stuff in French history more than Bodanis. (For what's worth, German wiki agrees with Orieux.) Anyway, Philippe D'Orleans' reaction to young Voltaire trash talking him is very Philippe II.: first the stint in the Bastille, then he and his daughter visit the premiere of Voltaire's first drama Oedipe (the daughter even went on to watch more performances) and Philippe gives Voltaire a gold medal and 1200 livres as a present.
...compared to "he totally does it with his daughter", Fritz got of lightly with the "he's a bottoming Potsdamite" taunt, I'd say, but then I'm not an 18th century contemporary.
Re: The STD thread
Well, if you're young Voltaire, you can also accuse them of incest. Remember, young Voltaire's first stint in the Bastille came when he wrote satiric poetry charging that the Regent of France, Philippe D'Orleans (son of Liselotte and her very gay husband of the same name), had sex with his favourite daughter. I know David Bodanis (of the Voltaire and Émilie biography) added "it was likely true", but Jean Orieux (of the big Voltaire biography) does not think so, and while both Bodanis and Orieux have their weaknesses in German history, I trust Orieux to know his stuff in French history more than Bodanis. (For what's worth, German wiki agrees with Orieux.) Anyway, Philippe D'Orleans' reaction to young Voltaire trash talking him is very Philippe II.: first the stint in the Bastille, then he and his daughter visit the premiere of Voltaire's first drama Oedipe (the daughter even went on to watch more performances) and Philippe gives Voltaire a gold medal and 1200 livres as a present.
...compared to "he totally does it with his daughter", Fritz got of lightly with the "he's a bottoming Potsdamite" taunt, I'd say, but then I'm not an 18th century contemporary.