History of Friedrich II of Prussia V 11 [42]
symbolic fancy of the divine
Plato],--and other small topics of that nature." [Voltaire,
OEuvres, (Piece once called VIE PRIVEE),
ii. 26, 27.]
This is Voltaire's account of the Visit,--which included three
"Suppers," all huddled into one by him here;--and he says nothing
more of it; launching off now into new errors, about HERSTAL, the
ANTI-MACHIAVEL, and so forth: new and uglier errors, with much
more of mendacity and serious malice in them, than in this
harmless half-dozen now put on the score against him.
Of this Supper-Party, I know by face four of the guests:
Maupertuis, Voltaire, Algarotti, Keyserling;--Rasfeld, Rambonet
can sit as simulacra or mute accompaniment. Voltaire arrived on
Sunday evening; stayed till Wednesday. Wednesday morning, 14th of
the month, the Party broke up: Voltaire rolling off to left hand,
towards Brussels, or the Hague; King to right, on inspection
business, and circuitously homewards. Three Suppers there had
been, two busy Days intervening; discussions about Fate and the
Androgynoi of Plato by no means the one thing done by Voltaire and
the rest, on this occasion. We shall find elsewhere, "he declaimed
his MAHOMET" (sublime new Tragedy, not yet come out), in the
course of these three evenings, to the "speechless admiration" of
his Royal Host, for one; and, in the daytime, that he even drew
his pen about the Herstal Business, which is now getting to its
crisis, and wrote one of the Manifestoes, still discoverable.
And we need not doubt, in spite of his now sneering tone, that
things ran high and grand here, in this paltry little Schloss of
Moyland; and that those three were actually Suppers of the Gods,
for the time being.
"Councillor Rambonet,', with the holed hat and unsymmetric wig,
continues Voltaire in the satirical vein, "had meanwhile mounted a
hired hack (CHEVAL DE LOUAGE;" mischievous Voltaire, I have no
doubt he went on wheels, probably of his own): "he rode all night;
and next morning arrived at the gates of Liege; where he took Act
in the name of the King his Master, whilst 2,000 men of the Wesel
Troops laid Liege under contribution. The pretext of this fine
Marching of Troops,"--not a pretext at all, but the assertion,
correct in all points, of just claims long trodden down, and now
made good with more spirit than had been expected,--"was certain
rights which the King pretended to, over a suburb of Liege.
He even charged me to work at a Manifesto; and I made one, good or
bad; not doubting but a King with whom I supped, and who called me
his friend, must be in the right. The affair soon settled itself
by means of a million of ducats,"--nothing like the sum, as we
shall see,--"which he exacted by weight, to clear the costs of the
Tour to Strasburg, which, according to his complaint in that
Poetic Letter [Doggerel above given], were so heavy."
That is Voltaire's view; grown very corrosive after Twenty Years.
He admits, with all the satire: "I naturally felt myself attached
to him; for he had wit, graces; and moreover he was a King, which
always forms a potent seduction, so weak is human nature.
Usually it is we of the writing sort that flatter Kings: but this
King praised me from head to foot, while the Abbe Desfontaines and
other scoundrels (GREDINS) were busy defaming me in Paris at least
once a week."
WHAT VOLTAIRE THOUGHT OF THE INTERVIEW AT THE TIME.
But let us take the contemporary account, which also we have at
first hand; which is almost pathetic to read; such a contrast
between ruddy morning and the storms of the afternoon! Here are
two Letters from Voltaire; fine transparent human Letters, as his
generally are: the first of them written directly on getting back
to the Hague, and to the feeling of his eclipsed condition.
VOLTAIRE TO M. DE MAUPERTUIS (with the King).
"THE HAGUE, 18th September, 1740.
"I serve you, Monsieur, sooner than I promised; and that is the
way you ought to be served. I send you the answer of M. Smith,"--
probably some German or Dutch SCHMIDT, spelt
Plato],--and other small topics of that nature." [Voltaire,
ii. 26, 27.]
This is Voltaire's account of the Visit,--which included three
"Suppers," all huddled into one by him here;--and he says nothing
more of it; launching off now into new errors, about HERSTAL, the
ANTI-MACHIAVEL, and so forth: new and uglier errors, with much
more of mendacity and serious malice in them, than in this
harmless half-dozen now put on the score against him.
Of this Supper-Party, I know by face four of the guests:
Maupertuis, Voltaire, Algarotti, Keyserling;--Rasfeld, Rambonet
can sit as simulacra or mute accompaniment. Voltaire arrived on
Sunday evening; stayed till Wednesday. Wednesday morning, 14th of
the month, the Party broke up: Voltaire rolling off to left hand,
towards Brussels, or the Hague; King to right, on inspection
business, and circuitously homewards. Three Suppers there had
been, two busy Days intervening; discussions about Fate and the
Androgynoi of Plato by no means the one thing done by Voltaire and
the rest, on this occasion. We shall find elsewhere, "he declaimed
his MAHOMET" (sublime new Tragedy, not yet come out), in the
course of these three evenings, to the "speechless admiration" of
his Royal Host, for one; and, in the daytime, that he even drew
his pen about the Herstal Business, which is now getting to its
crisis, and wrote one of the Manifestoes, still discoverable.
And we need not doubt, in spite of his now sneering tone, that
things ran high and grand here, in this paltry little Schloss of
Moyland; and that those three were actually Suppers of the Gods,
for the time being.
"Councillor Rambonet,', with the holed hat and unsymmetric wig,
continues Voltaire in the satirical vein, "had meanwhile mounted a
hired hack (CHEVAL DE LOUAGE;" mischievous Voltaire, I have no
doubt he went on wheels, probably of his own): "he rode all night;
and next morning arrived at the gates of Liege; where he took Act
in the name of the King his Master, whilst 2,000 men of the Wesel
Troops laid Liege under contribution. The pretext of this fine
Marching of Troops,"--not a pretext at all, but the assertion,
correct in all points, of just claims long trodden down, and now
made good with more spirit than had been expected,--"was certain
rights which the King pretended to, over a suburb of Liege.
He even charged me to work at a Manifesto; and I made one, good or
bad; not doubting but a King with whom I supped, and who called me
his friend, must be in the right. The affair soon settled itself
by means of a million of ducats,"--nothing like the sum, as we
shall see,--"which he exacted by weight, to clear the costs of the
Tour to Strasburg, which, according to his complaint in that
Poetic Letter [Doggerel above given], were so heavy."
That is Voltaire's view; grown very corrosive after Twenty Years.
He admits, with all the satire: "I naturally felt myself attached
to him; for he had wit, graces; and moreover he was a King, which
always forms a potent seduction, so weak is human nature.
Usually it is we of the writing sort that flatter Kings: but this
King praised me from head to foot, while the Abbe Desfontaines and
other scoundrels (GREDINS) were busy defaming me in Paris at least
once a week."
WHAT VOLTAIRE THOUGHT OF THE INTERVIEW AT THE TIME.
But let us take the contemporary account, which also we have at
first hand; which is almost pathetic to read; such a contrast
between ruddy morning and the storms of the afternoon! Here are
two Letters from Voltaire; fine transparent human Letters, as his
generally are: the first of them written directly on getting back
to the Hague, and to the feeling of his eclipsed condition.
VOLTAIRE TO M. DE MAUPERTUIS (with the King).
"THE HAGUE, 18th September, 1740.
"I serve you, Monsieur, sooner than I promised; and that is the
way you ought to be served. I send you the answer of M. Smith,"--
probably some German or Dutch SCHMIDT, spelt