18th-Century Characters, Including Frederick the Great, Discussion Post 33

[cahn]

And, I mean, it doesn't have to be just 18th century characters, either!

(also, waiting for Yuletide!)

Comments

Re: Diderot, Catherine, and Fritz

[mildred_of_midgard]

Hang on, if it's 1773, hadn't they just partitioned Poland together, and wasn't it time for Heinrich's second trip to Russia where he plays Yenta to about-to-get-widowed Grand Duke Paul, and finds out out future FW2's wife can't stand him?

They had indeed just partitioned Poland, but the second trip to Russia was 1776, when Natalia died horribly in childbirth. In 1773, Paul was just getting married for the first time. (Wiki tells me Paul married in September, and Diderot arrived in October and stayed for 5 months. Heinrich arrived in Russia for the second time in April 1776, per Ziebura.)

Though if you want to talk with someone about how Fritz is the worst, Heinrich isn't a bad candidate, I guess. (Though possibly not when he's representing Prussia on a diplomatic mission.)

True on both counts!

Diderot's pal D'Alembert was at least pro-Fritz enough to correspond with him and visit a few times, and of course there's the Marquis D'Argens - would Diderot have counted him as a philosophe?

Somehow I get the impression Diderot may not have been thinking what he said through on this occasion...