It's like the slash fics that go, "Wife/girlfriend? What wife/girlfriend?" Only in this case, it's "Other erastes? What other erastes?" :PPP
That's the only explanation that makes sense for the lack of Suhm when the bibliography proves he has, in fact, read the letters. I should perhaps add here that while Bronisch quotes the passage in Seckendorff Jr.'s journal about Manteuffel getting the Socrates/Alcibiades golden knob, he doesn't quote other passages like Manteuffel telling S that Fritz is like Hadrian, or the "can't embrace her with passion" bit about EC; in fairness, that's outside his main subject (whereas the Socrates/Alicibiades gift is relevant because Voltaire later gets the same thing). Bronisch also when starting his cunningly repacked readers digest book with Fritz writing his first letter to Voltaire says "thus began one of the oddest, if not the oddest, flirtation in political-literary history" (he does use the word "Flirt" in German) re the Fritz/Voltaire relationship, so while he doesn't dive into Fritz & homoeroticism, he's not in denial or unaware about it.
Anyway, this is really interesting, because when we first encountered Fritz showing all possible tendernesses to him circa 1736, Selena wondered if that meant sex. And my first response was, "Not to be ageist, but he is 60, and it is the 18th century, so he might not have had all that much sex appeal..." but clearly Formey is here to tell me otherwise!
And Bronisch makes sure to work that into both books. "Jean Henri Samuel Formey, der den Diplomaten zu Beginn der 1730er Jahre kennenlernte, beschrieb ihn als einen hochgewachsenen, noch im Alter stattlichen, ja "schönen" Mann mit einem ausgeprägten Talent zur geistvoll-galanten Konversation."
That's a "A tall, still handsome in his old age, even "beautiful" man with a distinct talent for witty and galant conversation", if your German fails you. I think Wilhelmine in that passage about Manteuffel (when he was the Saxon envoy in the early 1720s) becoming involved in a G & S scheme with SD's lady-in-waiting also describes him as rather dashing. (For what it's worth, he was married, but not very happily; his wife remained in the Pomeranian countryside and didn't follow him to Berlin on eithe occasion - i.e. the 20s or the 30s. ETA: since they had children nonetheless, Manteuffel actuallly thus knows whereof he speaks when telling Fritz love isn't necessary to reproduce./ETA)
I didn't know the "surge, carnifex!" anecdote, either, but then I've never read Cassius Dio. (Just came across quotes of his in other contexts.)
Re: His name is Diable. Le Diable: Good Times
That's the only explanation that makes sense for the lack of Suhm when the bibliography proves he has, in fact, read the letters. I should perhaps add here that while Bronisch quotes the passage in Seckendorff Jr.'s journal about Manteuffel getting the Socrates/Alcibiades golden knob, he doesn't quote other passages like Manteuffel telling S that Fritz is like Hadrian, or the "can't embrace her with passion" bit about EC; in fairness, that's outside his main subject (whereas the Socrates/Alicibiades gift is relevant because Voltaire later gets the same thing). Bronisch also when starting his cunningly repacked readers digest book with Fritz writing his first letter to Voltaire says "thus began one of the oddest, if not the oddest, flirtation in political-literary history" (he does use the word "Flirt" in German) re the Fritz/Voltaire relationship, so while he doesn't dive into Fritz & homoeroticism, he's not in denial or unaware about it.
Anyway, this is really interesting, because when we first encountered Fritz showing all possible tendernesses to him circa 1736, Selena wondered if that meant sex. And my first response was, "Not to be ageist, but he is 60, and it is the 18th century, so he might not have had all that much sex appeal..." but clearly Formey is here to tell me otherwise!
And Bronisch makes sure to work that into both books. "Jean Henri Samuel Formey, der den Diplomaten zu Beginn der 1730er Jahre kennenlernte, beschrieb ihn als einen hochgewachsenen, noch im Alter stattlichen, ja "schönen" Mann mit einem ausgeprägten Talent zur geistvoll-galanten Konversation."
That's a "A tall, still handsome in his old age, even "beautiful" man with a distinct talent for witty and galant conversation", if your German fails you. I think Wilhelmine in that passage about Manteuffel (when he was the Saxon envoy in the early 1720s) becoming involved in a G & S scheme with SD's lady-in-waiting also describes him as rather dashing. (For what it's worth, he was married, but not very happily; his wife remained in the Pomeranian countryside and didn't follow him to Berlin on eithe occasion - i.e. the 20s or the 30s. ETA: since they had children nonetheless, Manteuffel actuallly thus knows whereof he speaks when telling Fritz love isn't necessary to reproduce./ETA)
I didn't know the "surge, carnifex!" anecdote, either, but then I've never read Cassius Dio. (Just came across quotes of his in other contexts.)