Okay, I admit that was a bit endearing, but mostly on Dessauer's side. (A bit on FW's, okay.)
Old Dessaur is probably the closest thing FW had to a soulmate. What with inventing the brutal modern drill that created the Prussian soldiers as the world would know them, the passion for hunting, the distrust of scholarly education (hence his sons not getting a lot of it, or according to Lehndorf, one of them none), and as far as one can tell the lack of bribery. I do suspect that Fritz' lack of mourning as evidenced in the letterly exchange with Frederdorf on the topic was because of this. He respected the man and what he'd done, but as opposed to his father, when he couldn't show ambiguity once he was King anymore, he could re: Old Dessauer.
Clement saying in his death speech that while he lied, he did it in the greater cause of alerting FW to all the Catholic infamy going on against him in Vienna and Dresden: I see several possibilities. He may have believed it himself at this point. The most successful liars are the ones believing their own lies. He may have wanted just what he got - a quick death so it was only his dead body which got the hot pliers. Or he may indeed have hoped for a last minute pardon, given that FW had visited him in prison so often and had made it clear he still wasn't sure what to believe. Never underestimate the power of hope.
Re: Le Diable: The Political Biography - B
Okay, I admit that was a bit endearing, but mostly on Dessauer's side. (A bit on FW's, okay.)
Old Dessaur is probably the closest thing FW had to a soulmate. What with inventing the
brutalmodern drill that created the Prussian soldiers as the world would know them, the passion for hunting, the distrust of scholarly education (hence his sons not getting a lot of it, or according to Lehndorf, one of them none), and as far as one can tell the lack of bribery. I do suspect that Fritz' lack of mourning as evidenced in the letterly exchange with Frederdorf on the topic was because of this. He respected the man and what he'd done, but as opposed to his father, when he couldn't show ambiguity once he was King anymore, he could re: Old Dessauer.Clement saying in his death speech that while he lied, he did it in the greater cause of alerting FW to all the Catholic infamy going on against him in Vienna and Dresden: I see several possibilities. He may have believed it himself at this point. The most successful liars are the ones believing their own lies. He may have wanted just what he got - a quick death so it was only his dead body which got the hot pliers. Or he may indeed have hoped for a last minute pardon, given that FW had visited him in prison so often and had made it clear he still wasn't sure what to believe. Never underestimate the power of hope.