He does? Did he show the German ones to Fritz, too?
Heh, exactly my reaction! No mention of it one way or the other, but the fact that he wrote and liked German poetry is mentioned repeatedly, and König himself, according to Volz' footnote, was a poet as well - which might be one of the reasons why he and Keyserlingk became good friends, and also why Keyserlingk showed him Fritz' poetry (he wasn't allowed to copy anything, though).
when did Keyserlingk marry again?
1742! No idea why Fritz didn't object (that we know of) but maybe it was one of those rare instances where he liked the woman, or Keyserlingk managed to reassure him, given this line in his eulogy (written by Mauptertuis by the way, not by Fritz):
It was not a tranquil feeling that he had for the King, it was a real passion in which he found himself. He wanted everyone to see him, know him, and love him. So what care did he not take, as soon as a foreigner appeared at court, to put him within reach of contemplating this monarch! To this love for his Prince was added another motive which was no less noble, the pleasure of rendering service; a pleasure so powerful in M. de Keyserlingk that one can say that he indulged in it without reserve; & that if one can reproach him, it is to have made of it too universal a habit.
(This might also explain why he showed König the letters and repeatedly praised Fritz' virtues and good heart.)
On his marriage: Such a character is assumed [to have] a sensitive heart, and his heart was. He was touched by the charms of the young Countess of Schlieben, daughter of M. le Grand Veneur, & Lady of honor to the Queen; & married her in 1742. It takes all that he found in her, virtue, beauty, talents, to excuse a Philosopher who sacrifices his freedom.
ETA: Guess how I spent my evening? I read some Fritz poetry. :P Because unlike the letters, a couple of odes survived.
There's a lament after Keyserlingk's death, Aux Manes de Césarion, which includes a "our two hearts became one heart" line. (I remember that he also wrote in a letter that they had one soul - I'll have to find that again. I know he also used that expression for Wilhelmine, but I haven't come across any other instance of it besides those two.)
Then there's a pretty lighthearted Epitre from 1741, during the war, where he's looking forward to enjoying the pure freedom of "the intoxication of friendship" at Charlottenburg after his return.
There's a Keyserlingk section as the culmination of the Ode against Flattery, which he sent to Voltaire (among other people) in January 1740, and which is kind of interesting for its take on friendship:
Caesarion, faithful friend, More tender than Pirithous, I find in you the model Of the first of the virtues. [= friendship I assume] May our friendship without weakness Unveil us with boldness our mistakes and our faults, so that the gold that fire prepares purifies, and is separated from lead and the basest metals.
And finally, there's A Césarion, from June 1738 (which unlike the others doesn't have a German translation). It's a looong anti-Berlin/court/religion piece and has things to say about his separation from Keyserlingk, which seem to support König's report that even after 1736, FW kept a lid on their relationship - see the bolded part, where I'm not sure if the demon is a poetic expression or if he means FW. Thoughts?
[...] My mind free from the bonds with which the court chained my hands, [...] Finally escaped from the palace Where the bondage of oppression Held, with its inhuman hand, My freedom in its nets, [...] I can, dear friend, without fear, free and sole master of myself, confide in you how much I love you. For the lively feelings of my heart your heart will serve as an interpreter; [...] But after the pleasure, when I think about it, Pain soon follows: Of a demon jealous of happiness, I feel his malicious influence, It is he who causes your absence, makes it even worse by its length. When this demon full of fury Calms his unwelcome ardor, Will he have the gallantry To leave to your protector, your tutelary seraph, [?] the pleasure, the glory, and the honor to lead you, full of vigor, to find your polar star and inhale the divine odor, the perfumes of our meadow?
Come quickly, for my happiness, to see again this flowery shore, your true and your only country, where, without you, the source of good humor is dried up forever. The iron drawn to the magnet feels a less intense impulse than the impatient desire for a tender and fearful friendship. A thousand evils threaten your days; Slow and painful gout with a homicidal hand digs your grave, accelerating their course. Alas! should the life in my arms be taken away from you? Should you suffer death? No, it is only for common souls To languish in misfortunes; Heaven must watch over your steps. [...]
The ending then sounds like Fritz was preparing to comfort Keyserlingk over a bad love affair - at least that's how I'm reading the final verses, what with the "cruel love" and all:
Come back to taste in my retreat The pleasures that my hand is preparing for you, Come back to pour out in my bosom The sorrow of your secret pain, The laments of your fate; And in the arms of a tender friend, Your heart will be able at least to wait That the ungrateful and cruel love, More flexible, wants to listen to you And to testify to you of the return.
(I also seem to remember a letter he wrote during the journey to Königsberg in 1740, where he mentions that Algarotti is entertaining them and Keyserlingk is talking about marriage or something? ... ah, yes, to AW. He writes that Keyserlingk is thinking about marrying a rich heiress and Fritz and Algarotti are discussing the pros and cons - so a Keyserlingk marriage seems to have been a topic for a while and Fritz didn't seem to mind indeed.)
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Re: Keyserlingk, sensational gossip, and Royal Reader request
Date: 2021-07-02 05:01 pm (UTC)Heh, exactly my reaction! No mention of it one way or the other, but the fact that he wrote and liked German poetry is mentioned repeatedly, and König himself, according to Volz' footnote, was a poet as well - which might be one of the reasons why he and Keyserlingk became good friends, and also why Keyserlingk showed him Fritz' poetry (he wasn't allowed to copy anything, though).
when did Keyserlingk marry again?
1742! No idea why Fritz didn't object (that we know of) but maybe it was one of those rare instances where he liked the woman, or Keyserlingk managed to reassure him, given this line in his eulogy (written by Mauptertuis by the way, not by Fritz):
It was not a tranquil feeling that he had for the King, it was a real passion in which he found himself. He wanted everyone to see him, know him, and love him. So what care did he not take, as soon as a foreigner appeared at court, to put him within reach of contemplating this monarch! To this love for his Prince was added another motive which was no less noble, the pleasure of rendering service; a pleasure so powerful in M. de Keyserlingk that one can say that he indulged in it without reserve; & that if one can reproach him, it is to have made of it too universal a habit.
(This might also explain why he showed König the letters and repeatedly praised Fritz' virtues and good heart.)
On his marriage: Such a character is assumed [to have] a sensitive heart, and his heart was. He was touched by the charms of the young Countess of Schlieben, daughter of M. le Grand Veneur, & Lady of honor to the Queen; & married her in 1742. It takes all that he found in her, virtue, beauty, talents, to excuse a Philosopher who sacrifices his freedom.
ETA: Guess how I spent my evening? I read some Fritz poetry. :P Because unlike the letters, a couple of odes survived.
There's a lament after Keyserlingk's death, Aux Manes de Césarion, which includes a "our two hearts became one heart" line. (I remember that he also wrote in a letter that they had one soul - I'll have to find that again. I know he also used that expression for Wilhelmine, but I haven't come across any other instance of it besides those two.)
Then there's a pretty lighthearted Epitre from 1741, during the war, where he's looking forward to enjoying the pure freedom of "the intoxication of friendship" at Charlottenburg after his return.
There's a Keyserlingk section as the culmination of the Ode against Flattery, which he sent to Voltaire (among other people) in January 1740, and which is kind of interesting for its take on friendship:
Caesarion, faithful friend,
More tender than Pirithous,
I find in you the model
Of the first of the virtues. [= friendship I assume]
May our friendship without weakness
Unveil us with boldness
our mistakes and our faults,
so that the gold that fire prepares
purifies, and is separated
from lead and the basest metals.
And finally, there's A Césarion, from June 1738 (which unlike the others doesn't have a German translation). It's a looong anti-Berlin/court/religion piece and has things to say about his separation from Keyserlingk, which seem to support König's report that even after 1736, FW kept a lid on their relationship - see the bolded part, where I'm not sure if the demon is a poetic expression or if he means FW. Thoughts?
[...]
My mind free from the bonds with
which the court chained my hands,
[...]
Finally escaped from the palace
Where the bondage of oppression
Held, with its inhuman hand,
My freedom in its nets,
[...]
I can, dear friend, without fear,
free and sole master of myself,
confide in you how much I love you.
For the lively feelings of my heart
your heart will serve as an interpreter;
[...]
But after the pleasure, when I think about it,
Pain soon follows:
Of a demon jealous of happiness,
I feel his malicious influence,
It is he who causes your absence,
makes it even worse by its length.
When this demon full of fury
Calms his unwelcome ardor,
Will he have the gallantry
To leave to your protector,
your tutelary seraph, [?]
the pleasure, the glory, and the honor
to lead you, full of vigor,
to find your polar star
and inhale the divine odor,
the perfumes of our meadow?
Come quickly, for my happiness,
to see again this flowery shore,
your true and your only country,
where, without you, the source of
good humor is dried up forever.
The iron drawn to the magnet
feels a less intense impulse
than the impatient desire
for a tender and fearful friendship.
A thousand evils threaten your days;
Slow and painful gout
with a homicidal hand digs
your grave, accelerating their course.
Alas! should the life
in my arms be taken away from you?
Should you suffer death?
No, it is only for common souls
To languish in misfortunes;
Heaven must watch over your steps.
[...]
The ending then sounds like Fritz was preparing to comfort Keyserlingk over a bad love affair - at least that's how I'm reading the final verses, what with the "cruel love" and all:
Come back to taste in my retreat
The pleasures that my hand is preparing for you,
Come back to pour out in my bosom
The sorrow of your secret pain,
The laments of your fate;
And in the arms of a tender friend,
Your heart will be able at least to wait
That the ungrateful and cruel love,
More flexible, wants to listen to you
And to testify to you of the return.
(I also seem to remember a letter he wrote during the journey to Königsberg in 1740, where he mentions that Algarotti is entertaining them and Keyserlingk is talking about marriage or something? ... ah, yes, to AW. He writes that Keyserlingk is thinking about marrying a rich heiress and Fritz and Algarotti are discussing the pros and cons - so a Keyserlingk marriage seems to have been a topic for a while and Fritz didn't seem to mind indeed.)