Aw, that's quite the bad faith interpretation. He wants to make sure that Duhan is cared for during the rest of his days, how is that not endearing?
Right? Give Fritz a break here.
By the way, German translator has a very different issue at this point, his footnote in paraphrase: "It's always been strange to me that people are so interested in the king's bad spelling, but here we are, so let me show you what was deemed "finished education" and who's therefore to fault for said spelling.
Hahaha, Carlyle considers the subject of Fritz's spelling in this letter *very* *important*:
Fritz learned to write a fine, free-flowing, rapid and legible business-hand; "Arithmetic" too, "Geography," and many other Useful Knowledges that had some geniality of character, or attractiveness in practice, were among his acquisitions; much, very much he learned in the course of his life; but to *spell*, much more to punctuate, and subdue the higher mysteries of Grammar to himself, was always an unachievable perfection. He did improve somewhat in after life; but here is the length to which he had carried that necessary art in the course of nine years' exertion, under Duhan and the subsidiary preceptors; it is in the following words and alphabetic letters that he gratefully bids Duhan farewell,— who surely cannot have been a very strict drill-sergeant in the arbitrary branches of schooling!
"Mon cher Duhan Je Vous promais (promets) que quand j'aurez (j'aurai) mon propre argent en main, je Vous donnerez (donnerai) enuelement (annuellement) 2400 ecu (ecus) par an, et je vous aimerais (aimerai) toujour encor (toujors [mildred: sic] encore) un peu plus q'asteure (qu'a cette heure) s'il me l'est (m'eest) posible (possible)."
The Document has otherwise its beauty; but such is the spelling of it. In fact his Grammar, as he would himself now and then regretfully discern, in riper years, with some transient attempt or resolution to remedy or help it, seems to have come mainly by nature; so likewise his "stylus" both in French and German,— a very fair style, too, in the former dialect:— but as to his spelling, let him try as he liked, he never came within sight of perfection.
I'm guessing that Fritz's handwriting, like that of many people, varied widely depending on how much of a hurry he was in.
Erase my memory from your mind, if it is an obstacle to your rest, and think only of making yourself as happy as you can imagine
Awwwwww. <3
penate[?] gods
Classics alert! The Penates are the Roman household gods, and metonymously used for the household. Most often used today in "lares and penates," where "Lares" are another set of protective Roman gods, and can also mean "household goods" by extension.
Looks like he changed pronoun and tense of the original "que l'on grave", which directs the interpretation a bit to make it clearer.
Yeah, and I would say he didn't "change the pronoun" so much as translate it fluently, because the French use "on" impersonally far beyond what English speakers, even British ones, do. Furthermore, "on" is a way I've seen Fritz, and later his siblings and subjects, write about the King, especially when they're talking about the King as abuser and/or potential abuser.
The tense *is* interesting. MacDonogh doesn't actually say "Katte and Küstrin," that was my interpretation given the past tense (what recent event could be described as cutting deeply into the marble?), and Fritz may actually be referring to, or at least including, his marriage. (Note the date: July 15, 1733 for the letter, June 12, 1733 for the wedding.)
Weeell. FW's judgement and all that. Also, it's fascinating to me that Duhan quite deliberately went against FW's clear instructions when it came to teaching Fritz things.
Oh, yeah. We've discussed before how FW focused on superficials and was very poor at actually reading people, including both his sons, and the people he hired to instruct his sons. But in addition to his courage in battle, which is what brought Duhan to FW's attention (Fritz later quipped that it was unusual to engage a tutor in a siege trench), Duhan may have come across as suitably pious, FW not realizing that for some people, religion and freethinking philosophy were compatible.
And yeah, FW totally dropped the ball on identifying Duhan as a potential teacher of forbidden subjects (at great risk to himself) and collector of the forbidden secret library. Go Duhan.
Given everything I've read about Keyserlingk, I have to wonder how on earth *he* appealed to FW as a governor of Fritz, even superficially.
I remember reading that FW might have ended up blaming Duhan for Fritz' knowledge of it in 1730, even though Fritz tried to exonerate him on that front.
Ooh, that's interesting. That's not ringing a bell, so I either never encountered it, or it has been erased from my memory. Likely the latter.
Yeah, Fritz, in his eulogy, mentions that he went to him as soon as he returned from war, though not that his brothers were there as well, so the source for that must be something different.
Yes, it must be, given the 'It was a noble sight, to see a dying man surrounded by princes, and by a triumphant monarch, who in the midst of the incessant clamour of exultation, sought only to alleviate the sick man’s pains.' quote. For all the Caesarian precdent, I don't think that's how Fritz wrote about himself. My guess was Bielfeld, and sure enough, the citation given is Bielfeld. The full passage:
[A triumphant Fritz has just ridden through Berlin and been hailed as "the Great" for the first time, when...]
His majesty was scarce seated when news was brought, that his old preceptor, M. Duhan von Jandun, lay at the point of death. As the king had an uncommon regard for this truly venerable person, founded on a long familiarity, and a sense of real obligation, the news affected him greatly; and his majesty expressd a strong desire to see him, and to give him the greatest comfort which it was possible, for a man who was on the threshold of life, to receive; and which the sight of his roial pupil, a prudent conqueror, and a philosophic hero, who brought back peace to his country and was at that moment in the midst of a glorious triumph, must necessarily afford.
By six in the evening the whole city was illuminated. The king went into his coach, attended by the prince of Prussia, and prince Henry: prince Ferdinand followed him. His majesty orderd the- pages to conduct him to M. Duhans, who livd in a sort of court, the houses, of which were so crowded with lamps, that they were obligd to open the windows of the chambers where the sick lay, to prevent their being suffocated by the heat. It was a noble sight, to see a dying man surrounded by princes, and by a triumphant monarch, who in the midst of the incessant clamor of exultation, sought only to alleviate the sick mans pangs; participating of his distress; and reflecting on the vanity of all human fame and grandeur. When his majesty had taken a tender adieu of M. Duhan, who livd but till the next day, he went again into his coach, and completed the tour of the city.
Now, Bielfeld is supposed to have (re)written his letters after the fact as a sort of memoir (we've seen some precedents), and the chronology doesn't quite work here, as Fritz arrived on December 28, according to my other sources (and if he was in Dresden on the 25th, that checks out) and Duhan died on the 6th, so Fritz can't literally have arrived, been feted, walked into his palace, sat down, gotten news that Duhan was dying, visited him, and Duhan died the next day. But, you can see what Bielfeld's getting at here by compressing the chronology, because he opens the passage with the moral of the story:
It should seem as if, in the highest enjoyments of human life, there were still some mixture of bitterness: for on this day of supreme festivity, the king could not prevent, anxiety and grief from stealing in upon him. His majesty was scarce seated...
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Re: Fritz-Duhan Follow-Up
Date: 2020-11-15 03:21 pm (UTC)Right? Give Fritz a break here.
By the way, German translator has a very different issue at this point, his footnote in paraphrase: "It's always been strange to me that people are so interested in the king's bad spelling, but here we are, so let me show you what was deemed "finished education" and who's therefore to fault for said spelling.
Hahaha, Carlyle considers the subject of Fritz's spelling in this letter *very* *important*:
Fritz learned to write a fine, free-flowing, rapid and legible business-hand; "Arithmetic" too, "Geography," and many other Useful Knowledges that had some geniality of character, or attractiveness in practice, were among his acquisitions; much, very much he learned in the course of his life; but to *spell*, much more to punctuate, and subdue the higher mysteries of Grammar to himself, was always an unachievable perfection. He did improve somewhat in after life; but here is the length to which he had carried that necessary art in the course of nine years' exertion, under Duhan and the subsidiary preceptors; it is in the following words and alphabetic letters that he gratefully bids Duhan farewell,— who surely cannot have been a very strict drill-sergeant in the arbitrary branches of schooling!
"Mon cher Duhan Je Vous promais (promets) que quand j'aurez (j'aurai) mon propre argent en main, je Vous donnerez (donnerai) enuelement (annuellement) 2400 ecu (ecus) par an, et je vous aimerais (aimerai) toujour encor (toujors [mildred: sic] encore) un peu plus q'asteure (qu'a cette heure) s'il me l'est (m'eest) posible (possible)."
The Document has otherwise its beauty; but such is the spelling of it. In fact his Grammar, as he would himself now and then regretfully discern, in riper years, with some transient attempt or resolution to remedy or help it, seems to have come mainly by nature; so likewise his "stylus" both in French and German,— a very fair style, too, in the former dialect:— but as to his spelling, let him try as he liked, he never came within sight of perfection.
I'm guessing that Fritz's handwriting, like that of many people, varied widely depending on how much of a hurry he was in.
Erase my memory from your mind, if it is an obstacle to your rest, and think only of making yourself as happy as you can imagine
Awwwwww. <3
penate[?] gods
Classics alert! The Penates are the Roman household gods, and metonymously used for the household. Most often used today in "lares and penates," where "Lares" are another set of protective Roman gods, and can also mean "household goods" by extension.
Looks like he changed pronoun and tense of the original "que l'on grave", which directs the interpretation a bit to make it clearer.
Yeah, and I would say he didn't "change the pronoun" so much as translate it fluently, because the French use "on" impersonally far beyond what English speakers, even British ones, do. Furthermore, "on" is a way I've seen Fritz, and later his siblings and subjects, write about the King, especially when they're talking about the King as abuser and/or potential abuser.
The tense *is* interesting. MacDonogh doesn't actually say "Katte and Küstrin," that was my interpretation given the past tense (what recent event could be described as cutting deeply into the marble?), and Fritz may actually be referring to, or at least including, his marriage. (Note the date: July 15, 1733 for the letter, June 12, 1733 for the wedding.)
Weeell. FW's judgement and all that. Also, it's fascinating to me that Duhan quite deliberately went against FW's clear instructions when it came to teaching Fritz things.
Oh, yeah. We've discussed before how FW focused on superficials and was very poor at actually reading people, including both his sons, and the people he hired to instruct his sons. But in addition to his courage in battle, which is what brought Duhan to FW's attention (Fritz later quipped that it was unusual to engage a tutor in a siege trench), Duhan may have come across as suitably pious, FW not realizing that for some people, religion and freethinking philosophy were compatible.
And yeah, FW totally dropped the ball on identifying Duhan as a potential teacher of forbidden subjects (at great risk to himself) and collector of the forbidden secret library. Go Duhan.
Given everything I've read about Keyserlingk, I have to wonder how on earth *he* appealed to FW as a governor of Fritz, even superficially.
I remember reading that FW might have ended up blaming Duhan for Fritz' knowledge of it in 1730, even though Fritz tried to exonerate him on that front.
Ooh, that's interesting. That's not ringing a bell, so I either never encountered it, or it has been erased from my memory. Likely the latter.
Yeah, Fritz, in his eulogy, mentions that he went to him as soon as he returned from war, though not that his brothers were there as well, so the source for that must be something different.
Yes, it must be, given the 'It was a noble sight, to see a dying man surrounded by princes, and by a triumphant monarch, who in the midst of the incessant clamour of exultation, sought only to alleviate the sick man’s pains.' quote. For all the Caesarian precdent, I don't think that's how Fritz wrote about himself. My guess was Bielfeld, and sure enough, the citation given is Bielfeld. The full passage:
[A triumphant Fritz has just ridden through Berlin and been hailed as "the Great" for the first time, when...]
His majesty was scarce seated when news was brought, that his old preceptor, M. Duhan von Jandun, lay at the point of death. As the king had an uncommon regard for this truly venerable person, founded on a long familiarity, and a sense of real obligation, the news affected him greatly; and his majesty expressd a strong desire to see him, and to give him the greatest comfort which it was possible, for a man who was on the threshold of life, to receive; and which the sight of his roial pupil, a prudent conqueror, and a philosophic hero, who brought back peace to his country and was at that moment in the midst of a glorious triumph, must necessarily afford.
By six in the evening the whole city was illuminated. The king went into his coach, attended by the prince of Prussia, and prince Henry: prince Ferdinand followed him. His majesty orderd the- pages to conduct him to M. Duhans, who livd in a sort of court, the houses, of which were so crowded with lamps, that they were obligd to open the windows of the chambers where the sick lay, to prevent their being suffocated by the heat. It was a noble sight, to see a dying man surrounded by princes, and by a triumphant monarch, who in the midst of the incessant clamor of exultation, sought only to alleviate the sick mans pangs; participating of his distress; and reflecting on the vanity of all human fame and grandeur. When his majesty had taken a tender adieu of M. Duhan, who livd but till the next day, he went again into his coach, and completed the tour of the city.
Now, Bielfeld is supposed to have (re)written his letters after the fact as a sort of memoir (we've seen some precedents), and the chronology doesn't quite work here, as Fritz arrived on December 28, according to my other sources (and if he was in Dresden on the 25th, that checks out) and Duhan died on the 6th, so Fritz can't literally have arrived, been feted, walked into his palace, sat down, gotten news that Duhan was dying, visited him, and Duhan died the next day. But, you can see what Bielfeld's getting at here by compressing the chronology, because he opens the passage with the moral of the story:
It should seem as if, in the highest enjoyments of human life, there were still some mixture of bitterness: for on this day of supreme festivity, the king could not prevent, anxiety and grief from stealing in upon him. His majesty was scarce seated...