By the way, I read another eulogy today, by Formey (which didn't get read at the academy because Fritz wrote his own), and he expands on that characterization, so I'll just include the quote here:
"One can easily assume that a man who had been an officer for one half of his life and a hermit for the other, was not infected by the conditions which are inextricably linked with a wide social life and especially with the profession of courtier. But after his situation changed he showed that he owed the virtues he possessed not only to the lack of opportunity to become dissolute (three-quarters of which are human virtues) but to principles of a sound and just foundation. His whole behaviour was always simple and humble; an enemy of all pomp, he sought fine entertainment wherever he found it, and loved activity, a secluded life, and above all the truth. This last feature can be regarded as particularly peculiar and characteristic of him. Mr. von Knobelsdorff was truthful ["etoit vrai," with emphasis], a term that is unusual but apt. He was so to the extent that it made him seem odd. Perhaps a little too impressed by the old principle that the truth should appear completely naked, he would have believed he was degrading himself, not only if he had added deceptive paint, but also if he had used mitigations, whom decent people believe can quite well be combined with honesty. Such a tilt of mind and heart gives such a strong tone in the color scheme of the courtyards that many people regard it as a completely wrong shade, but almost all of them only because they do not possess the moral heroism that is its basis. It's a lot to be a Seneka, more a Burrhus. With this way of thinking, Mr. de Knobelsdorff spent the last years of his life in rather a great deal of solitude. He had a pleasant retreat at the gates of the capital and he enjoyed it all the more since this retreat was part of a park, or charming grove [i.e. the Tiergarten] - one of the most beautiful ornaments of Berlin, which offered its inhabitants for several months of the year a place to walk. Perhaps no other city has anything to compare if one brings together the advantages of proximity, breadth and variety. M. de Knobelsdorff, who was in charge of it, made multiple improvements there, which have been continued and greatly added to by our worthy Curator, M. de Keith, now in charge of this office."
Re: Book review I: Der Meister von Sanssouci - Fredersdorf and historical footnotes
M. de Knobelsdorff, who was in charge of it, made multiple improvements there, which have been continued and greatly added to by our worthy Curator, M. de Keith, now in charge of this office."
Eeeeeeeh! It's not quite a confirmation that they were friends, or that they were on the Tiergarten team from the start, but it sure as hell fits beautifully with this assumption.
Oh, and since Mildred has appointed me as the Roman expert:
Seneca and Burrus. The specific context of the allusion: Lucius Annaeus Seneca the Philosopher and playwright was of course also a politician, not least when Agrippina chose him as teacher for her teenage son, future Emperor Nero, and Sextus Afranius Burrus, whom Agrippina made head of the Pretorian Guard when her son Nero did become Emperor. Both men are traditionally credited with the first few years of Nero's reign actually being rather good for Rome. Seneca supposedly managed this smoothly and diplomatically while Burrus was more of a gruff military type who did get things done. However, both of them happily worked together to freeze Agrippina out because, take your pick of explanations depending on who is writing, she's a powerhungry harridan and Nero needs to get independent, she's a bad influence, Nero is rebellious and sure as hell won't side with those siding with Mom in the long term and HE is the Emperor and the future (or so they think), or: incest? Then when the mother/son relationship has become so bad that Nero wants to kill his mother, these fine gentlemen supposedly reacted like this:
Seneca: You shouldn't. *insert appropriate ethical quotes* I am, however, forced to reluctantly agree to the necessity of it. I don't want to know more, okay? Burrus: Yeah, there's a problem here because my guys won't kill the daughter of Germanicus. Organize your own murder. Otherwise, I'm behind you, of course.
Nero's old tutor Anicetus: I'll help! What you should do is make it look like an accident. Throw a beach party for your mother here at Misenum so she believes you're reconciled, then let her go on a ship you've constructed for her. Then, the boat will collapse and self sink, but everyone will believe you had nothing to do with it because boats do that!
Agrippina: manages to avoid the collapsing ceiling (which kills her attendant instead). Is also able to swim, and no one's fool, has survived several emperors, including Uncle Tiberius and brother Caligula, so when supposedly helpful fisher boats show up, she orders her other servant to say "I'm Agrippina! Save the mother of the Emperor!" Her other servant does that and is promptly slain. Agrippina swims on shore on her lonesome and completely alive. She's greeted by crowds of admirers who cheer her. She sends a guy to give Nero the happy news.
Nero: Orestes never had this problem! Okay, I'm dropping a blade herr and pretend my mother's messenger wanted to use it to kill me until I stopped him! Okay, people: My mother tried to assassinate me, therefore I'm reluctantly forced to officially order her killed.
Agrippina: tells the official assassin sent, pointing at her womb: "Strike here first, it gave birth to Nero!"
Nero: And Seneca is going to write the letter justifying this to the Senate for me!
Seneca: does, then tells Burrus they might have made a mistake. Burrus: You think?
Burrus and Seneca: *lose their influence over Nero anyway*
Burrus: *dies, which ends the last of Seneca's political era, as he now has to retire*
....which is a long explanation for what Formey is using as comparisons here.
Edited 2021-03-21 18:37 (UTC)
Re: Book review I: Der Meister von Sanssouci - Fredersdorf and historical footnotes
Eeeeeeeh! It's not quite a confirmation that they were friends, or that they were on the Tiergarten team from the start, but it sure as hell fits beautifully with this assumption.
Even better (from my perspective), it's solid contemporary confirmation for the date for Peter's Tiergarten responsibilities that goes back to before 1840!
Oh, and since Mildred has appointed me as the Roman expert:
And rightly so, as you just proved! Thank you as always, that was more detail than I knew.
Re: Book review I: Der Meister von Sanssouci - Fredersdorf and historical footnotes
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Re: Book review I: Der Meister von Sanssouci - Fredersdorf and historical footnotes
lol, that is awesome!
Re: Book review I: Der Meister von Sanssouci - Fredersdorf and historical footnotes
By the way, I read another eulogy today, by Formey (which didn't get read at the academy because Fritz wrote his own), and he expands on that characterization, so I'll just include the quote here:
"One can easily assume that a man who had been an officer for one half of his life and a hermit for the other, was not infected by the conditions which are inextricably linked with a wide social life and especially with the profession of courtier. But after his situation changed he showed that he owed the virtues he possessed not only to the lack of opportunity to become dissolute (three-quarters of which are human virtues) but to principles of a sound and just foundation. His whole behaviour was always simple and humble; an enemy of all pomp, he sought fine entertainment wherever he found it, and loved activity, a secluded life, and above all the truth. This last feature can be regarded as particularly peculiar and characteristic of him. Mr. von Knobelsdorff was truthful ["etoit vrai," with emphasis], a term that is unusual but apt. He was so to the extent that it made him seem odd. Perhaps a little too impressed by the old principle that the truth should appear completely naked, he would have believed he was degrading himself, not only if he had added deceptive paint, but also if he had used mitigations, whom decent people believe can quite well be combined with honesty. Such a tilt of mind and heart gives such a strong tone in the color scheme of the courtyards that many people regard it as a completely wrong shade, but almost all of them only because they do not possess the moral heroism that is its basis. It's a lot to be a Seneka, more a Burrhus.
With this way of thinking, Mr. de Knobelsdorff spent the last years of his life in rather a great deal of solitude. He had a pleasant retreat at the gates of the capital and he enjoyed it all the more since this retreat was part of a park, or charming grove [i.e. the Tiergarten] - one of the most beautiful ornaments of Berlin, which offered its inhabitants for several months of the year a place to walk. Perhaps no other city has anything to compare if one brings together the advantages of proximity, breadth and variety. M. de Knobelsdorff, who was in charge of it, made multiple improvements there, which have been continued and greatly added to by our worthy Curator, M. de Keith, now in charge of this office."
Re: Book review I: Der Meister von Sanssouci - Fredersdorf and historical footnotes
Eeeeeeeh! It's not quite a confirmation that they were friends, or that they were on the Tiergarten team from the start, but it sure as hell fits beautifully with this assumption.
Oh, and since Mildred has appointed me as the Roman expert:
Seneca and Burrus. The specific context of the allusion: Lucius Annaeus Seneca the Philosopher and playwright was of course also a politician, not least when Agrippina chose him as teacher for her teenage son, future Emperor Nero, and Sextus Afranius Burrus, whom Agrippina made head of the Pretorian Guard when her son Nero did become Emperor. Both men are traditionally credited with the first few years of Nero's reign actually being rather good for Rome. Seneca supposedly managed this smoothly and diplomatically while Burrus was more of a gruff military type who did get things done. However, both of them happily worked together to freeze Agrippina out because, take your pick of explanations depending on who is writing, she's a powerhungry harridan and Nero needs to get independent, she's a bad influence, Nero is rebellious and sure as hell won't side with those siding with Mom in the long term and HE is the Emperor and the future (or so they think), or: incest? Then when the mother/son relationship has become so bad that Nero wants to kill his mother, these fine gentlemen supposedly reacted like this:
Seneca: You shouldn't. *insert appropriate ethical quotes* I am, however, forced to reluctantly agree to the necessity of it. I don't want to know more, okay?
Burrus: Yeah, there's a problem here because my guys won't kill the daughter of Germanicus. Organize your own murder. Otherwise, I'm behind you, of course.
Nero's old tutor Anicetus: I'll help! What you should do is make it look like an accident. Throw a beach party for your mother here at Misenum so she believes you're reconciled, then let her go on a ship you've constructed for her. Then, the boat will collapse and self sink, but everyone will believe you had nothing to do with it because boats do that!
Agrippina: manages to avoid the collapsing ceiling (which kills her attendant instead). Is also able to swim, and no one's fool, has survived several emperors, including Uncle Tiberius and brother Caligula, so when supposedly helpful fisher boats show up, she orders her other servant to say "I'm Agrippina! Save the mother of the Emperor!" Her other servant does that and is promptly slain. Agrippina swims on shore on her lonesome and completely alive. She's greeted by crowds of admirers who cheer her. She sends a guy to give Nero the happy news.
Nero: Orestes never had this problem! Okay, I'm dropping a blade herr and pretend my mother's messenger wanted to use it to kill me until I stopped him! Okay, people: My mother tried to assassinate me, therefore I'm reluctantly forced to officially order her killed.
Agrippina: tells the official assassin sent, pointing at her womb: "Strike here first, it gave birth to Nero!"
Nero: And Seneca is going to write the letter justifying this to the Senate for me!
Seneca: does, then tells Burrus they might have made a mistake.
Burrus: You think?
Burrus and Seneca: *lose their influence over Nero anyway*
Burrus: *dies, which ends the last of Seneca's political era, as he now has to retire*
....which is a long explanation for what Formey is using as comparisons here.
Re: Book review I: Der Meister von Sanssouci - Fredersdorf and historical footnotes
Even better (from my perspective), it's solid contemporary confirmation for the date for Peter's Tiergarten responsibilities that goes back to before 1840!
Oh, and since Mildred has appointed me as the Roman expert:
And rightly so, as you just proved! Thank you as always, that was more detail than I knew.
Re: Book review I: Der Meister von Sanssouci - Fredersdorf and historical footnotes