I didn't realize that forgiving one's enemies was one of the things one was asked in deathbed confessions until, uh, quite recent reading. :P That is fantastic.
Reading Macaulay recently reminded me of this anecdote of FW on his deathbed (or a sickbed that he ended up recovering from, not sure):
Roloff: And then there is forgiveness of enemies; Your Majesty is bound to forgive all men, or how can you ask to be forgiven? FW: Well, I will; I do. You Feekin [his wife, Queen Sophie], write to your brother (unforgiveablest of beings), after I am dead, that I forgave him, died in peace with him. Roloff: Better Her Majesty should write at once. FW: No, after I am dead, that will be safer!
The passage ends: "At parting he said to Roloff, 'You (Er, He) do not spare me; it is right. You do your duty like an honest Christian man.'"
You better believe this anecdote was not reported by Macaulay, hater of FW. This is the 1882 editor chiding Macaulay for his one-sided portrayal of FW and trying to show FW in a better light, for which the editor quotes at length a passage from Carlyle.
Allow me to add that the correct German spelling for the Sophie nickname is "Fieke". Also, LOL about George II being the most unforgivable of all beings. See, dead and alive Fritz boyfriends, there's someone he resents more!
To clarify for cahn, I'm taking "unforgiveablest of beings" as a Carlyle addendum, not a direct FW quote, but the fact that it's George II he feels the most need to forgive (but not a moment before he has to!) *is* very telling.
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timeasmymeasure
Re: Richelieu
Date: 2020-09-07 06:49 pm (UTC)Reading Macaulay recently reminded me of this anecdote of FW on his deathbed (or a sickbed that he ended up recovering from, not sure):
Roloff: And then there is forgiveness of enemies; Your Majesty is bound to forgive all men, or how can you ask to be forgiven?
FW: Well, I will; I do. You Feekin [his wife, Queen Sophie], write to your brother (unforgiveablest of beings), after I am dead, that I forgave him, died in peace with him.
Roloff: Better Her Majesty should write at once.
FW: No, after I am dead, that will be safer!
The passage ends: "At parting he said to Roloff, 'You (Er, He) do not spare me; it is right. You do your duty like an honest Christian man.'"
You better believe this anecdote was not reported by Macaulay, hater of FW. This is the 1882 editor chiding Macaulay for his one-sided portrayal of FW and trying to show FW in a better light, for which the editor quotes at length a passage from Carlyle.
Re: Richelieu
Date: 2020-09-08 09:08 am (UTC)Re: Richelieu
Date: 2020-09-08 10:54 pm (UTC)Re: Richelieu
Date: 2020-09-12 05:26 am (UTC)