Anna Pavlovna waited for him to go on, but as he seemed quite decided to say no more she began to tell of how at Potsdam the impious Bonaparte had stolen the sword of Frederick the Great.
"It is the sword of Frederick the Great which I..." she began, but Hippolyte interrupted her with the words: "Le Roi de Prusse..." and again, as soon as soon as all turned toward him, excused himself and said no more.
[*]
Frederick the Great was accustomed to say: "The older one gets the more convinced one becomes that his Majesty King Chance does three-quarters of the business of this miserable universe." Sorel's "Eastern Question."
Another great book was Carlyle's History of
Frederick the Great. It is a marvelous piece of historical work, and as volume after volume appeared Carlyle's fame steadily rose.
Of Carlyle's numerous later works the most important are 'Past and Present,' in which he contrasts the efficiency of certain strong men of medieval Europe with the restlessness and uncertainty of contemporary democracy and humanitarianism and attacks modern political economy; 'Oliver Cromwell's Letters and Speeches,' which revolutionized the general opinion of Cromwell, revealing him as a true hero or strong man instead of a hypocritical fanatic; and 'The History of
Frederick the Great,' an enormous work which occupied Carlyle for fourteen years and involved thorough personal examination of the scenes of Frederick's life and battles.
Nietzsche thought it was a bad sign of the times that even rulers have lost the courage of their positions, and that a man of
Frederick the Great's power and distinguished gifts should have been able to say: "Ich bin der erste Diener des Staates" (I am the first servant of the State.) To this utterance of the great sovereign, verse 24 undoubtedly refers.
In his youth, Blucher was indeed a raucous cavalry officer in the Belling Hussar regiment in
Frederick the Great's army and was famous as a drinker, gambler, and carouser with women.
Frederick the Great and the Seven Years' War, 1756-1763
He was also harpsichordist to
Frederick the Great at his court of Sans Souci in Potsdam.
Long appreciated by the likes of Napoleon and
Frederick the Great, this lush, sweet, intense white made from a muscat variety still makes its mark, and should be served chilled with a selection of hard cheeses like parmesan, pecorino and comte.
Also on offer at this week's auction are silver spoons, vases and portraits of the Duke of Wellington and
Frederick the Great.
The book focuses on the land wars of the European continent in the 18th century, with an ongoing case of the seizure of Silesia by
Frederick the Great in 1740-1742.
Frederick the Great - king of Prussia from 1740 to 1786; brought Prussia military prestige by winning the War of the Austrian Succession and the Seven Years' War (1712-1786)