"Voltaire was selected for the mission" - well, according to the books I've read so far, he selected himself and constantly badgered his acquaintances at court to be enlisted as a spy; at one point he was, but Louis XV. never put much credence in his ability to deliver the goods.
We have no hesitation in saying that the poorest author of that time in London, sleeping on a bulk, dining in a cellar, with a cravat of paper, and a skewer for a shirt-pin, was a happier man than any of the literary inmates of Frederick's court.
Marquis D'Argens: Having been to London, yeah, no. Thanks but no thanks. Vive le roi de Prusse!
Casanova: I'm with him. Granted, I only had a few meetings with the man, and there was that awkward quiz about hydraulics, but still. I've been to London. The stink alone...
this would indeed be delicious revenge; this would indeed be to heap coals of fire on that haughty head.
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Re: Macaulay - Voltaire
Date: 2020-09-03 10:41 am (UTC)We have no hesitation in saying that the poorest author of that time in London, sleeping on a bulk, dining in a cellar, with a cravat of paper, and a skewer for a shirt-pin, was a happier man than any of the literary inmates of Frederick's court.
Marquis D'Argens: Having been to London, yeah, no. Thanks but no thanks. Vive le roi de Prusse!
Casanova: I'm with him. Granted, I only had a few meetings with the man, and there was that awkward quiz about hydraulics, but still. I've been to London. The stink alone...
this would indeed be delicious revenge; this would indeed be to heap coals of fire on that haughty head.
Indeed, and that's why that plot is so alluring.