Frederick the Great, Discussion Post 19

[cahn]

Yuletide nominations:

18th Century CE Federician RPF
Maria Theresia | Maria Theresa of Austria
Voltaire
Friedrich II von Preußen | Frederick the Great
Ernst Ahasverus von Lehndorff
Friedrich Heinrich Ludwig von Preußen | Henry of Prussia (1726-1802)
Wilhelmine von Preußen | Wilhelmine of Prussia (1709-1758)
Anna Amalie von Preußen | Anna Amalia of Prussia (1723-1787)
Catherine II of Russia
Hans Hermann von Katte
Peter Karl Christoph von Keith
Michael Gabriel Fredersdorf
August Wilhelm von Preußen | Augustus William of Prussia (1722-1758)

Circle of Voltaire RPF
Emilie du Chatelet
Jeanne Antoinette Poisson (Madame de Pompadour)
John Hervey (1696-1743)
Marie Louise Mignot Denis
Lady Mary Wortley-Montagu
Pierre Louis Moreau de Maupertuis
Armand de Vignerot du Plessis de Richelieu (1696-1788)
Francesco Algarotti

Comments

Re: All About Algarotti

[cahn]

But the thing is, Algarotti did this during his time in Prussia, when he already had THE top patron (Fritz of course got a book dedicated to him, too, though technically the second edition of one), and Heinrich pre 7 Years War was not an important, influential person, nor one with financial means that he didn't derive from Fritz.

That sounds good to me! :D (Heinrich/Algarotti one-night-stand is totally my headcanon now thanks to you, so I am pleased by anything that supports it :D )

and Algarotti disagrees, writing with a faint note of reproof: Je le pains réellement d'avoir perdu ce qu'il ne retrovuera peut-etre jamais; la perte d'une femme qu'on aime, et avec qui on passait sa vie, est irréparable pour ceux qui ne commandent pas des armées et ne gouvernent pas des États.

Oooooh, this is really interesting to me. Go Algarotti! But also it is interesting given that I'd had this idea of Algarotti as the kind of person who was always saying "sure, whatever," to slither out of conflict, which this isn't really. because everyone thought Émilie was the best, clearly

Russian nobility, who famously owned serfs longer than anyone else in Europe, as slaves, that's... one interesting simile, Algarotti.

Heh. Yeeeeeah.

Could it be that what Voltaire at first intended to do when reworking his correspondance with Madame Denis from 1750 - 1753 was something similar in form though of course not in spirit, i.e. a "Prussia Letters" travelogue (doubling as Fritz trashing), and it became redundant when he wrote his trashy tell all memoirs instead?

This makes a lot of sense, now that I know it was a thing that people did? Interesting!

En revenant j'ai été dans le troisième ciel: j'ai vu, oh me beato! ce prince adorable, disciple de Trajan, rival de Marc Aurèle.

Okay, this is adorable :P :)

Re: All About Algarotti

[selenak]

Oooooh, this is really interesting to me. Go Algarotti! But also it is interesting given that I'd had this idea of Algarotti as the kind of person who was always saying "sure, whatever," to slither out of conflict, which this isn't really

That was my reaction, too, including having had the impression Algarotti was conflict-avoidant by all means otherwise. I think one reason why he risks it on this occasion might indeed have been that Émilie wasn't just a name to him, he'd known her in person and also, he'd witnessed her and Voltaire together at the time of their greatest closeness (while missing out on their more critical years), so for Fritz to be that dismissive about the death and the genuineness of Voltaire's grief about it might have actually angered him, or at least irritated him a lot.

By contrast, Algarotti's first Fritz impression:

Okay, this is adorable :P :)

The "oh me beato!" in between the French is what makes it for me. :) As for the classical comparisons: well, Trajan was an expansionist, so clearly Algarotti saw Silesia coming. :) (Kidding. Trajan at this point was regarded as the best of the Roman Emperors, and Marcus Aurelius of course has the philospher emperor reputation, so Algarotti just came up with the highest accolades he could think of.