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: The Anti-Machiavell

[selenak]

What I suspect is that people were reacting to the pop image of Machiavelli rather than doing a close reading of Fritz's Anti-Machiavel and a point-by-point comparison between the 1739 advertisement and the 1740s reality, so what they came away with was, "Fritz said he would never do anything dishonest!"

*nods* Yes. Incidentally, since I found the Anti-Machiavell far more readable, err, listenable than Fritz' poetry, I'm now wondering whether I should give his other prose works a shot, the various histories of which I know only excerpts quoted in biographies.

Yeah, and religious hypocrisy definitely never comes in handy when you're posing as the Protestant hero of Europe. *clears throat*

LOL, too true. And I would say Ferdinand of Aragon was in all likelihood more sincerely a Catholic than Fritz was ever a Protestant once his Wolff-studying phase was over.

Thank you for tracking down the Alexander anecdote! Quintus Curtius, huh. This reminds me of the essay about Fritz of Wales & Hervey which points out that in the 18th Century, Quintus Curtius was the most popular source for Alexander stories, and that this is where the image of Hephaistion as the good favourite (i.e. the competent, selflessly working for monarch and the monarchy one, "he, too, is Alexander") as opposed to greedy bad favourites which Hervey, naming himself Hephaistion, wants to evoke comes from.

Re: The Anti-Machiavell

[mildred_of_midgard]

I'm now wondering whether I should give his other prose works a shot, the various histories of which I know only excerpts quoted in biographies.

I vote yes! Like Voltaire's prose, I'm planning on giving Fritz's a try when I finally move on to French and need texts to practice on. At least one of Fritz's essays on education looks interesting from the excerpts I've seen. And I'm avoiding both our antiheroes' poetry. :P

And I would say Ferdinand of Aragon was in all likelihood more sincerely a Catholic than Fritz was ever a Protestant once his Wolff-studying phase was over.

Without having read anything by or about Ferdinand, I would say yes just from my pop culture image of him!

This reminds me of the essay about Fritz of Wales & Hervey which points out that in the 18th Century, Quintus Curtius was the most popular source for Alexander stories

Oh, huh, I'd forgotten that. I should do a close reading of Quintus Curtius at some point, then. I'm pretty good about recognizing Plutarch allusions, not so much Quintus Curtius. Ironically, I had just acquired a copy and was starting to read it, back when I was doing 4th century Greek history and oratory, when salon started. :P