Frederick the Great, Discussion Post 20

[cahn]

Yuletide signups so far:
3 requests for Frederician RPF, 2 offers
2 requests for Circle of Voltaire RPF, 3 offers !! :D :D

(I am so curious as to who the third person is!)

Comments

Re: Diderot - Personal Life

[selenak]

One example: they have a big fight over whether Rousseau should accept a pension from Louis. Rousseau says doing so would violate his principles. Diderot says he owes it to his dependents to be financially responsible.

Dashkova also argues against philosophers accepting pensions when talking with Diderot. I note this is way easier to say if you're the owner of hundreds of serfs even during those times of your life when you're in disgrace.

(Young Boswell before meeting Johnson has a conversation with another guy as to whether it was right of Johnson to accept a pension from George II, when Johnson, as a Tory, had been highly critical of the Hannover succession. Boswell argued that it wasn't a bending of principle because Johnson could see it as his due from the nation and the King presenting same, and that he didn't suddenly produce praise for Team Hannover because of it.)

LOL on Diderot simply moving parishes. In fairness, I don't think it would have made a difference in Voltaire's case. He was more famous, and the Archbishop of Paris had it in for him personally, so no matter the parish, without a disclaimer as demanded: no burial.

That is a touching death scene.