y IOSANI y^ *$ lOS ANGELA ^UIBRARY^ o^ I H^ A\\E-UNIVER% o ^ S = c= S5 s > i % *t l| 3\\V^ -^UIBRARYQr ^\\E-UNIVER% v^lOSAN I % ^3A^ L% \ % I :Y ^> ^\\E-UNIVER% " ^ ^^ ^-^ ^ *? 0% >! A\\E UNIVER5 1 //) ^OF-CAi ^^/: ^ ^OFCALIFOfy^ ^\\EUNIVER%. .^lOS ANGELA 5 g^^\ ^ ~ ~** fe ^ ^^ i 5 POSTHUMOUS WORKS O F FREDERIC II. KING OF. PRUSSIA, VOL. VII. CORRESPONDENCE. LETTERS BETWEEN FREDERIC II. AND M. DE VOLTAIRE. TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH B Y THOMAS HOLCROFT. LONDON: PRINTED FOR G. G. J. AND J. ROBINSON, PATERNOSTER-ROW. M.DCC.LXXXIX. . ', T JO V. LETTERS BETWEEN FREDERIC 11. AND M. DE VOLTAIRE, LETTER CI. From the Prince Royal. MY DEAR FRIEND, Potfdam, Sep. 9, 1^39, 1 HAVE received two of your letters at once, that is to fay of the izth and the iyth of Auguft ; to which I now write in anfwer. The fecohd ad of Mahomet is likewife fafely come to hand. It appears to me finely written, but, to fpeak frankly, lefs laboured, lefs finifhed, than the firft. I ought to mention there is a verfe in the firft a who fees himfelf at the playhoufe, at fome fefti- ] val, or in a place where a numerous affembly infpires him with a certain kind of fatisfadion, the man, I fay, in fuch moments is happy, and returns home with his imagination full of the agreeable objects which are imprefled upon his mind. Why therefore not refine ftill further, to obtain fuch pleafing moments, which foften jll the bi^ternefs of life, or which,, at leaft, pro- cure CORRESPONDENCE. * \ \ of man L! good, cure intervals during which every grief is forgotten ? Pleafure is the only real therefore to furnifh fociety with the means of diverfion is to do good in a very confiderable degree. It fliould feem that the world is of this opi- nion, for even in the neighbourhood of Nova Zembla, and on Hyperborean feas, there is no talk but of rejoicings. Our news from Peterfburg abounds with nothing but balls, feftivals, and banquets, given on the occafion of the marriage of the prince of Brunfwick. I faw this prince with the duke of Lorrain, at Berlin, and faw him in a playful mood, which by no means fpoke the monarch. They are two chiefs, how- ever, who, I know not by what neceflity, or what providence, appear deftined to reign, over the greateft part of Europe. Were providence all it is defcribed to be, yourNewtons, yourLockes, and your Voltaires, in fine, thofe beings who I think the moft, would be mailers of this world. It would then appear that -the infinite wifdoru which prefides over all accidents would,, byji^ choice worthy of itfelf, have placed the wifeft among men to govern their inferiors ; butj ac- > cording to the manner in which things are con- ^'--^"''IIMfcP'^jjijI^^ . ducted, we might rather Affirm eyery thinigj^ap- pened by chance. A man 10 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. A man of merit is not efteemed according to his worth, another is not placed in his proper iituation; a worthlefs fellow mall be called noble, and a man of the higheft merit languim in obfcurity. The reins of government in em- pires are committed to unikilful hands, and ex- pert perfons are kept at a diftance. Men may fay whatever they pleafe on this fubjec~t, but they will never be able *to bring one good reafon in fupport of condud fo capricious. I am chagrined that my fate has not ftationed me in fuch a manner as that I might every day converfe with you, might ftammer fome few phrafes on philofophy with the marchionefs du Chatelet, and that the country of the arts and fciences is notmy country. Perhaps this trifling diffatisfa&ion has given birth to my complaints concerning providence; perhaps there is too much rafhnefs in my doubts ; but however, perfuade myfelf they , are totally un- founded. I entreat you would tell the beauteous Emily I (hall this winter ftudy that branch of philofo- phy which ihe patronizes, and that I beg (he would Xvarm my imagination with a ray of her genius. Do not forget me, dear Voltaire ; let not the charms of Paris, your friends, the fciences, pleafureand the company of the fair, efface from you CORRESPONDENCE. 11 your memory the perfon who ought to be there eternally fixed. I think I deferve a place in your heart from the efteem and friendftiip with which I ever fhall remain, My dear Voltaire, Your indubitable friend. LETTER CII. From M. de Voltaire. SIR, Pan's, Sept. 1739. 1 Received thofe two great confolations at Paris of which I had moft need in that immenfe city, where reign nolle, diffipation, and the fruit- lefs cagernefs to feek for friends that are not to; be found ; where men live only for themfelves ; | where a perlon fuddenly finds himfelf furrouricfcj ed by vortices more chimerical, than thofe oft Delcartes, and lei^proper to conduce to happi- nefs than the Carteiian abfurdities are to teach^ us the fecrets of nature. My two confolations v/ere the two letters with which your royal high- nefs honoured me, dated on the ninth and the fifteenth of Auguft, which were fent to me at Paris. On my arrival, the firft thing neceflary was to 12 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. to anfwer numerous objections which I found difperfed through Paris againft the difcoveries of Newton. But this trifling duty, of which I , have acquitted myfelf, did not fuffer me to lofc fight of Mahomet, the mil part of which I have done myfelf the honour to fend to your royal highnefs. I here fend you two more acts. Were I to have waited till they were worthy to be prefented to you, 1 muft have waited too long. I fend them as a proof of my anxiety to afford you pleafure ; and, as a better proof, I fhall begin to correct them. Your royal high- nefs will perceive whether the horrors which ac- company fanaticifm are painted with ftrokes fuf- ficiently bold and true. , The unfortunate Saide (or Zaida) who imaginecT'that to murder '"his .father was to fcrve God, is no fanciful portrait. Such were Jean Chatel, Clement, Ravaiflac ; and what increafes the hoirtier .were each of them fincerc. Is it not therefore of fervice to humanity to diftinguifh, as I alwayTTmve ~ done, between religion 'and fuperftitiqn or GO I merit 'pcrfccution for having continually faid, in a hundred different ways, that we never can dTTgoTScTTS God by doing ill to man ? " The fufFrages,"tne kindnefs, and the letters of your royal highnefs, alone could be able to fup- port me againfl the contrarieties which I have- under- CORRESPONDENCE. 13 undergone in my own country. I regard my life as the banquet of Damocles, at the table of Dionyfius. The letters of your royal highnefs and the fociety of the marchionefs du Chatelet are to me feafting, and mufic. The fword of perfecution, o'er my head Sufpended, the delicious banquet fpoils, Which in Apollo's temple fumptucus waits, For me preparM by Frederic the divine ! Elfe would my mufe, embolden'd by his fong, Melodious take new life and wing, and join Her willing notes to his heroic ftrains ! But who e'er faw, beneath the vulture's gripe, The tender phflomela fing of lore ? Scarcely had I arrived at Paris before it was whifpered to a great minifter that I had written the hiftory of his life, and that this fatirical hif- tory would loon appear in foreign countries. The flander was quickly put to confufion, but it might have been fatal. Your royal highnefs JsjJcqiUaint^^ ^oujSJILnf vf t ahiife.. . JJUBL can^ wejjLinj^^nc^ ^ " what is the fituadon of a man whole deftruclion. alSngle worinM-yJeJect^ andTthis'fituation is" , conHnua^mine.^ Tjbefe^arc^ay reward^ after j Laving cn-.:L-/.i :.vsr.:y -..; in. eu to amufe, ind :"- netim^s ^pej^psj my nation, But, 14 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. But, once again, your royal highnefs loves me, and I am far from having caufe to com- plain. You have deigned to have the Henriade engraved, and what ill can be done me which will not be inferior to fuch an honour ! _I have juft purchafed the works of Machiavel, that I may perfedly feel the force of your excel- lent refutation ; which I exped from what you intend at prefent to write ; but I believe there will be no better refutation of Machiavel than your own condud. Men feem all to be em- ployed at prefent in mutual deftrudion, and, from the empire of the Mogul to the ftraits of Gibraltar, all is war. It is fuppofed that France alfo will foot it in this vile Pyrrhic dance, 'And this is the feafon in which your royal highnefs teaches the doctrine of juftice, previous to any ... I"'"" kws S*iKSr3S f .^.fcwy***:^.., r-Zp.*!* exercife of your prowefs ! May I be permitted to afk when I fhall be/o happy as to read thefe i: . ~.-. r i J . . ',,-,,.:.-.> x leiTons of equity and wifdom ? I have feen the Iky-rockets which have been played off, at Paris, with fo much pomp; but it is my wifh men fbould begin by building a fine town-hall, beautiful fquares, convenient and fuperb market-places, and fplendid fountains, before they indulge themfelves in fireworks. I prefer Roman magnificence to fuch fmoke. Not that I condemn the latter- God forbid that I fhould CORRESPONDENCE. 1 5 ; fhould take offence at any of the pleafures of , mankind. I only feel fome regret for want of/ what we have not, while I partake of that wliich we have. Your royal highnefs no doubt is informed that Buchardon and Vaucanfon produce mafter- - pieces, each in his kind. Rameau labours to bring Italian mufic into fafhion. Thefe are men worthy of living under Frederic ; but I defy them to wim it fo earneftly as I do. I am, with the mofl profound refpecl, and tendered gratitude, &c. LETTER CIIL From the Prince Royal. MY DEAR FRIEND, Remufberg, O&. ic, 1739. I 5 As well as the public, have imagined that your reception at Paris was the beft poffible ; that every body there would be eager to mew you civilities, and render you honour, and that your abode in that immenfe city would not bedif- turbed by any difagreeable vexations. I am forfy to find myfelf deceived on a fubjecl: which I had much at heart. It appears your fate re- fembles that of mod other great men, who are x perfe- l6 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. ; perfecuted during life, and when they are dead adored as deities. The truth is that fuch a def- tiny, however bright its future fplendor, depicts the time prefent under no very agreeable afpeft. But thefe are occafions on which the mind mould affume fortitude fufficient to repel fear, and to prepare for all accidents. The fed of the ftoics was never more flourifhing than under the ty- ranny of bad emperors. And why ? Becaufe it was then neceflary to defpife pain, and death, before they could enjoy life in peace. May your ftoicifm, my dear Voltaire, at leaft be pow- erful enough to infure you unalterable tranquil- lity. Say with Horace, " I envelope myfelf in cc my virtue." If fo it might be, what welcome mould you not meet here ! My houfe fhould be an afylum for you, againft all the aflaults of fortune ; and it mould be my ftudy to procure happinefs for the man whofe works have added fo much to the delights of my life. I have received the two new acts of Zopyrus, which I have read but once, but I will anfwer for their fuccefs. I fcarcely could forbear weep- ing while I read the fcene between Zopyrus and Saide. That between Saide and Palmyra, when Saide is preparing to commit parricide, and that, likewife, in which Mahomet, fpeaking to Omar, feigns to difapprove the aft of Saide, 6 are CORRESPONDENCE. 17 are excellent. I own it appears to me that Zo- pyrus comes exprefsly to confefs on the theatre, that he may die according to rule; and that the fcene opening and (hutting at the back of the ftage, has rather a mechanical air ; but I cannot judge till I have read again. The cha- rafters, the manners, and the art of moving the paflions, difcover the hand of that great, that excellent mafter who has written this piece ; and, though it mould happen to be true that Zopyrus does not come naturally enough on the ftage, I imagine this is a blemilh which might be overlooked in a perfect beauty, and which would not be remarked except by the old, who coldly examine with fpeftacles on nofe what ought to be feen and felt with fudden tranfport. Your rejoicings at Paris have only gratified your fight. For my part, I wilh for rejoicings in which the mind and all the fenfes may profitably partake. I think it would but be the pedantry of know- ledge in pleafure to felect fubjefts of inftrudtion, and to confine their diverfions within the limits of good taile. This would be to narrow the capacity the Creator has bellowed on the human mind, which can contain more than one kind of knowledge. It would be to render ufelefs the work of a god who appears- to be an epicurean, VOL. vii. C fo 1 8 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. fo much care / h^- : he.i^enp^thepleafur:s.x)f man. J'aime If luxe ei mime la mo!leffe t Et /t'S plat/irs de toute efpece; Tout honnete homme a de tels fentimens. * We have lord Baltimore and Algarotti here, who are on their return to England. This lord is a very fenfible man, pofleffed of confiderable knowledge, and one who thinks, as we do, that the fciences are not derogatory to nobility. I have admired the genius of the Englishman, like a handfome face feen through a veil. He fpeaks French very ill, yet there is a pleafure in hearing him fpeak; and he pronounces the Eng- liih fo fail that it is not poffible to keep pace with him, He calls a Pruffian a mechanical animal, and fays that Peteriburg is the eye of Ruflia, with which it looks toward polifhed countries ; and that were it deprived of this eye, it would prefently decline into that flate of barbarity in which it fo lately flumbered. * " I love luxury, and even effeminacy ; I love pleafures of " every fpecies, and believe all worthy men are of my mind/' The Bafil edition adds It was Mofes apparently who faid this; or, if not Mofes, it was a man who would be a better legiflator than this Jewifii impoftor, and whom I efteem a thoufand times above that whole nation, fuperftitious, feeble, and cruel as it was. T. He CORRESPONDENCE. 19 He is a great partifan for the fun, nor do I think him much averfe to the dogmas of Zo- roafter. He has met with people here to whom he could fpeak without conitraint, which occa- fioned me to compofe the inclofed epiftle, and which I beg you to correct without mercy. You are acquainted with young Algarotti, who has pleafed me beyond defcription. He has promifed me to return as foon as poffible. We have converfed largely, of you, of mathe- matics, of poetry, of all the fciences, of trifles, in fine, of every thing. He poffefles much ar- dour, vivacity, and mildnefs, which to me are ex- ceedingly agreeable. He has compofed a cantata, which was immediately fet to mulic*, and with which he was very well fatisfied.- We parted with regret, and I fear it will be long before I fhall meet a man fo amiable in thefe countries. We this week expect the marquis de la Che- tardie, to whom like wife we mud bid a mourn- ful adieu. I am unacquainted with this M. d'e Valori, but I have heard him fpoken of as a man who has not the manners of polite life. They certainly might very well have omitted fending us M. de Valori, and depriving us of * SPti'on a mife aufjitot en rmifique? The prince fcems to infmuate he fet it to mufic himfelf. T. C 2 La O POSTHUMOUS WORKS. La Chetardie, who in every refpedt is a very agreeable gentleman. Be perlbaded that here at Rheinfberg we trouble ourfelves as little concerning war as . if no fuch thing exifted in the world. I am at pfefent at work on Machiavel, interrupted occa- fionally by "the idly impertinent, the race of whom is not yet extinct, notwithftanding the thunderbolts hurled at them by Moliere. I refute Machiavel chapter by chapter, fome of , which are written; but I wait till the whole is fmimed before I begin to correct. You (hall be the firft who (hall fee the work, nor (hall k quit my hands till it has been purified by the kre of your genius. I am in expectation of your corrections for the preface to the Henriade, that I may make fuch alterations as you think proper ; after which the Henriade (hall be expedited with all poffible fpeed. I have built a tower, on the top of which I have an obfervatory. The lower (lory is a grotto, the fecond a chamber for philofophic inftru- ments, and the third a fmall printing apartment. This towerjoins my library by means of a colon- nade, at the top of which is a platform. I fend you the plan, for your amufement, till fuch time as your good citizens (hall think proper to build a town-houfe and market-places in Paris. I wait CORRESPONDS NCI. II. I wait with much impatience for your letters, and intreat you will believe me as much your friend as man can be. P. S. * Cjefario will not fuffer me to be his interpreter; he rather prefers writing to you himfelf. " Though nothing can add to the fentiments " of affection, or the perfect attachment I feel " for you, fir, it is notwithftanding paft doubt " that, had it pleafed my auguft mafter to depict " them, you would have been convinced of the " truth of what I fay in a much more agreeable < f manner. In knowledge I referable a woman et whofe youth and beauty are paft, ajid who is " indebted for moft of her charms to her drefs. " Would me difpleafe you undrefled ? I believe cc not, and I dare boldly venture to (hew to you " the naked friendship with which, during life, I " (hall ever remain, fir, to you and yours, Sec. in which this ingenious and political monfter has the effrontery to fay Deve per tanto un prindpe nonfi curare dell* infamia di crudele * ; and ftill more efpecially the i8th chapter, intitled, In che modo i principi debbiano offervare la fede.-\- If I might venture to fpeak what I think to your royal highnefs, who, in heart, mind, and rank, was afluredJy born the judge of thefe fubjeets, I fnould declare that I find neither reafon nor underftanding in this chapter. It is a very excellent proof truly that a prince ought to be a villain, becaufe Achilles, according to the fable, was fed by an animal half a beaft and half a man. Jtf indeed a fox had been the preceptor of Ulyfies, there might have been * A prince ought not greatly to regard the infamy that at- tends on cruelty. f Of the vnanner in which princes ought to obfenx their contracts. fome CORRESPONDENCE. 25 fome juftice in the allegory. But what con- clufion can be drawn from Achilles, who is reprefented as the moft impetuous and leaft politic of men ? In the lame chapter he affirms it is neceiTary to be perfidious; percbe gli uominijono tri/li*; and a moment after he adds, Jono tanto Jemflici gli uomlni che colui che inganna troverajempre cbljl lajcera ingannare.-\- It feems to me that the preceptor of vice ought to be thus felf-contradidory. I have not yet received the notes of Amelot de la Houffaye ; but what commentary can be neceflary to my prince to difcover the falfe, or to confound the unjuft? Bleffed be the day when his amiable hands (hall have finifhed a work on which the happinefs of man will depend, and which ought to become the catechifm of kings ! I know not what reception the manifefto of the emperor againft his general, and againft his plenipotentiary, would meet with in this cate- chifm. It is not for me to caft a glance fo high; Paftorem, Tityrc, pingitet Pafctre ofortet oves> rue regum Itlla referre. * Becaufe men are wicked. f Mankind are fo fimple that he who wifties to deceive will Jwars find thcfc who will fuffer themfclves to be deceived. I have ^6 POSTHUMOtfS WORKS I have been vifited by the Ton of M. Gramkan, who appears to me to be a young man of merit, worthy of ferving and liftening to your royal highnefs. I hear nothing more of the journey which the baron von Kayferling was to make to Paris ; I am afraid left I mould be gone without having feen a perfon with whom I mould have paffed whole days in fpeaking of a prince who does honour to humanity. Madame du Chatelet has written to your royal highnefs. I am with the moft profound refpeft, and the moft tender gratitude, &c. :-.-{.' fir LETTER CV. From the Prince Royal. "Hi f{.', ,7 J5 r jfr! folij .'.;.v S!~- MY DEAR FRIEND, Rcmufoerg, Nov. 5, 1739. 1 WA S as much mortified by the infirm ftate of your health as I was rejoiced by the fatis- faclion which you teftify at reading my preface. I confign over the ftyle to be criticifed by every Zoihis on earth ; yet, at the fame time, perfuade myfelf it will bear examination, fmce it contains nothing CORRESPONDENCE. 2^ nothing but truths to which every thinking man mult neceiTarily aflehf.or:? 3t -: /Hie refutation of Machiavel, in favour "of which you intereft yourfelf, is finifhed. I am at prefenn beginning with the firil chapter, to correct, and, if poflible, to Tender the work worthy of pbfierity. That I may not keep you in ftifpence, I fend you a few jmorfels. o,this. rough marble, which are not yet pplifihed.^ : -vA'week fihce, I lent the preface to the mar- chionefs. You will receive the chapters in or- der, and corrected, when they (hall be complete. Though I do not with to put my name to the work, I yet defire a _if ihe public fho.uld fufpect. the author, that it might not do me an injury. For this reafon, 1 beg you would have the good- nefs frankly to point out whatever needs cor- rection. You will perceive that any indulgence, in fuch a cafe, Would be prejudicial and fscal.to rae^Tqf^ I informed a certain perfon of my defign to refute Machiavf 1, and this certain perfon allured me it was loft time, (ince the complete refuta- tion of Machiavel's // Prtntipe might be found in the political notes on Tacitus, by Amelot de la Houllaye. This induced me to read Amelot, and his notes, in which I did not find what I had been taught to expect. Some of the maxims of 28 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. of fnch dangerous and deteftable politics are there refuted, but not the whole, as a work. Where the ftyle would permit me, I have mingled the pleafant and the ferious, and have added fome Ihort digreffions to thofe chapters which prefented nothing very interefting to the reader. Thus the reafonings, which could not fail to infpire languor by their drynefs, are fol- lowed by fome hiftorical or critical remarks, to keep the attention of the reader alive. I have been filent, wherever prudence told me filencc was neceflary ; nor have I permitted my pen to endanger my tranquillity. I am acquainted with numerous anecdotes of the courts of Europe, which certainly would have diverted my readers, but I mould have com- pofed a fatire which would have been the more offenfive by being true ; and this is what I never will compofe. I am not born to afflift princes; I would rather render them wife and happy. In this packet you will find five chapters of Machiavel, the plan of Remufberg, which I have long been indebted to you, and fome pow- ders which will be excellent for your cholic ; I ufe them myfelf, and they are of infinite fervice to me. They muft be taken when going to bed, mixed with pure water. Adieu, my dear, my ever ill, and ever per- 4 focuted CORRESPONDENCE. 29 fecuted friend ; I leave you to take up my work again, and, with the fame pen which wrote the eulogy on the incomparable author of the Hen- riade, to blacken the infamous and villainous character of the advocate of vice. But this pen may much more eafily confound the corruptor of the human race than be able to praife the pre- ceptor of mankind. Eloquence is afflicted when, having great things to fay, (he finds herfelf con- tinually inferior to her fubjec~t. My friendihip to the marchionefs, and my compliments to your friends, who mould be my friends likewife, fmce they are worthy to be yours. I am with all fincerity, and poffiblc tender- nefs, my dear Voltaire, &c. LETTER CVL From M. de Voltaire. November, 1739. ijURN wand'ring Baltimore thy (hip, no more Land on Sarmatian or Morifcan more ; Plough not the feas of Bengal or Peru Thou, Algarotti, eager to purfue, Through various climes, a fage in early youth, Wifdom and pleafure, poetry and truth, Of 3-0 . POSTHUMOUS WORKS. Of man, his prefent and his future doom, At wanton Venice, or at bcailly Rome, At German feafts, French plays, court, cottage, cell, In fearch ; a/king of all what none can tell j Modern Diogenes, no more enquire : Throw by thy lantern, let thy light expire : A man is found ! An honeft, great and good ! Mount Remus is the place of his abode. A king of hearts ! To this fam'd mount repair, Behold the fage, and end your travels there. . Him having fecn, there's nothing more to fee ! Heav'ns ! When (hall I at this bleft mountain be ? Where juilice, wit, philofophy, combin'd With every virtue, form one mighty myad ? Olympus, Sinai, Thabor, are o'ercaft ! Their ancient radiance Remus has furpafs'd ! No more of Phoebus' lyre, Jove's thund'ring nods, Of prefent heroes, or of former gods ; Effac'd are they, their fame and ancient rites j Lo ! Frederic comes ! The' god in whom my heart delights ! I aik pardon, fir, of Sinai and Thabor. Hur- ried away by my ardour, I have faid more than I ought" to have faid. Neither have the thun- der and lightning of Mount Sinai any relation to the philofophic life which is -led at Mount Remus; nor is there any cxifting difpute be- tween the transfiguration on Thabor and the uni- formity of your charming character. In fine, your royal highnefs muft pardon enthufiafm, of which furely I might be permitted to have a little ; I who had but juft read the beautiful epiftle CORRESPONDENCE. t epiftle witb which your French mufe regaled lord Baltimore ! I perceive my prince has trea- fured up the Englifli language, as a part of his knowledge. Dulces Jermones cujuffumqiie lingua* I imagine this lord Baltimore muft have been greatly furprifed to fee a German prince write French poetry tq an Englishman. But what can be laid ? I am more furprifed than he. I cannot interpret this miracle of nature. I once again afk how can it happen that any one mould write fo well in the language of a country which he never "faw? For the love, of God, fir, tell me your fee ret. I too fliould fend verfes to your royal high- nefs, if I durft. You mould have had the fifth aft of Mahomet, but it is not yet tranfcribed. The four firft are now in a more polifhed ftate ; if your fine genius found fome fatisfaclion in that feeble /ketch, I will venture to hope you will (hew the fame indulgence to the work when finilhed. You will no longer meet with certain repetitions, and certain loofe unconnected lines, which were fo many {tumbling blocks. You will fee paternal love and the fecret of die birth of the children of Zopyrus in a much more in- terefting and grand point of view. Zopynis, ready to be aifaffinated by his children them- felves, offers up his prayers for them only, and 5 ' i5 3 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. is ftabbed, by the hand of his fon, while he re- quefts the gods to grant him a fight of this fon. Is fanaticifm painted as you could wifh ? Have I well exprefied the horror which Ravaillac, Poltrot, Clement, Felton, Salcede, Ehud, and I had almoft faid Judith, ought to infpire ? For, in fa*ciS4*fr~**ff*^*+ ;i^rVi-'s**%t- r * J abfurdT This M. de Valori, who has fo long been an- nounced by the public voice, fo often been pro- mifed by the gazettes, and fo tedioufly detained at Hamburg, is at length arrived at Berlin. He has taught us highly to regret La Chetardie, and daily makes us perceive how much we have loft in the departure of the latter. Our whole con- verfation at prefent is a theoretical courfe of the wars of Brabant, and of the trifles and minutiae of the French army. I inceffantly meet a man who imagines himfelf in the face of his enemy, and at the head of his brigade. I continually fear left he mould take me for a counterfcarp, - or a horn work, and mould very impolitely make an attack. He is almoft always troubled with the fpleen. He has not the manners of polite life ; he never fups, and it is faid the head-ach refpects him too much to incommode him, and that he never merits a vifit from this gueft. We have lately acquired a very able man, and very famous in experimental philofophy, D 2 whofe 36 rosTiruMotfs WORKS. whofe name is Celius. He has received inftru- ments to the value of twenty thoufand crowns, and will this year fmifh a work which will do him much honour; a mechanical machine, that perfectly demonftrates all the motions of the ftars and planets, according to the Newtonian fyftem. Perhaps, you are not acquainted with a young man who begins to be known, and whofe name is Lieberkuhn, who has an admirable mechani- cal genius. He has made aftoniming difcove- ries in optics, and has carried his art to fuch a degree of perfection that he has furpafled all his predeceflbrs. He is to return here this autumn, after having feen Paris. He has remained three years at London, and was greatly efteemed by- all the learned of England. I will fpeak more particularly concerning him, when I have feen 'him after his return. J am delighted at the fight of thefe happy products of my country ; they refemble roles growing among briars and nettles. They are like fparks of genius, which are difcovered among the embers under which, unfortunately, the arts are buried. In France, you live in all the opulence of thefe arts; here we are indigent in fcience, which may occafion us to efteem ' the little we have the more, Perhaps CORRESPONDENCE. 37 Perhaps you think me a prattler, but remem- ber it is a month fmce I wrote to you, and that rain is never more abundant than when pre- ceded by fterility. I follow you to Cirey, dear Voltaire, and par- ticipate both ia your pleafures and your pains. Profit by thefe pleafures as much as you are able, for fo ought a wife man to do ; enlighterj us, but not at the expence of your health and your life. When will thefe Voltaires and thefe Emilies travel northward ? I fear fuch phenomena, though impatiently expected, will not fuddenly appear. It mall not however be faid that I have died and have not feen you, were I even obliged to carry you off. There is no adventure I would not rather undertake, Would not you be greatly aftonimed if, fome night at Cirey, you were to fee men arrive in mafks, with torches, and a coach, and all things neceflary to bear you away ? Such an incident would fomewhat refemble that of the Penjecoft, only that we mould do you no harm, except by taking you from Emily, which I confefs would be harm enough. I do not think that either you or Emily are born for chicanery ; and, Paris happening to be on the road of the marchionefs, judgment may chance to go by default, D 3 Peojr 38 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. Poor Cefario, flill afflicted with the gout, has not ftruck his tent at Remufberg; and though I continually exert my claims, his difv eafe will not fuffer him to come. He loves you like a friend, and efleems yon as a great man. Permit me to fpeak in his behalf, and to exprefs what pain, and his prefent want of pleafure, will not fuffer him to exprefs himfelf. I do not relate the nonfenfe of the town, the trifling news of the day, or the frivolities of the times. We ought not to depart from our horizon. I ought only to fpeak to you concerning yourfelf, or the marchionefs. But I fear left I mould weary you, by being only the mirror, or the echo, of what muft be admired in you. Prefent my cqmplimente to the marchionefs, and remain convinced that I love and efteem you as much as poffible, and that I (hall ever continue your very faithful friend. LETTER CVIII. From M. de Voltaire. SIR, December 28, 1739. W H AT can we wifh in behalf of your royal highnefs, this year? Y9u poflefs every. CORRESPONDS N T C E, g thing neceflary for a prince, and more than fuf- ficient for a private perfon, who mould have his fortune to make by his talents. No, fir, I (hall not wilh for you, but, if fo you will permit, for myfelf. You know the purport of thefe wifhes> Ut videam falutare meum. I fliall wifli for the public, too ; and that is that the public may fee the refutation which my" prince has made of the corrupter of princes. A few days fincei' received the twelve ; fir fF chap- ters at Bruflels. I had before eagerly read thofe which I had received in France, It is neceflary for the good of mankind, fir, that this work (hould appear, The world muft fee the anti-.,, dote prefented by a royal hand. It is very ftrange that among the princes that have writ- ten, none of them have chofen fuch a fubjecl:, which, I will venture to affirm, it was their .duty to do. No, their filence was tacit appro- bation. It was well worthy of Henry VIII. of England to write againft Luther, and of James I. to dedicate a work to the child Jefus! At length, behold a work worthy of a prince! Nor can I doubt that an edition of Machiavel, with fuch an antidote at the end of each chapter, will be one of the moft precious monuments oT ,_ . Jt . . ^****'*^f,^^-n*-t*-&^~?i*r->>~* l t iv . f ^ literature. There are very few of what are called errors D 4 tgainft 4-3 POSTHUMOUS WORKS, againft the cuflom of the language ; and your royal highnefs will fufFer me to perform my office, by adding dots to the i's. If your royal high- nefs will deign to grant the petition I make, and'if you will beftovv this gift upon the public, my petition is that you will fufFer me to write a preface, and to be your editor. After the honour you have done me, in cauling the Hen- riade to be printed, you can add nothing, ex<- cept by confiding the edition of the Anti-Ma- chiavel to my care. My function, as it will happen, will be fuperior to yours. The Hen- riade may pleafe fome curious readers, but the Anti-Machiavel mufl become the catechifm of kings, and their minifters. Wiiryou, fir7 permit me to fay that, accord- ing to the remarks of madame du Chatelet, may i I venture to add according to mine alfo, there are fome branches of this beautiful tree which may be lopt off, without injury to the trunk ? Zeal againft the preceptor of ufurpers and ty- rants has eaten up your generous foul, and has fometimes hurried you away. If this be a defefl It is very like a virtue. The infinitely good . *.. .-,. . .I-J: ' ' ' - u. > t-> God, it is faid. infinitely hates vice. However, > J*a-*ir, eSRM*WM< >:.f-,v*W- when we have politely abufed Machiavel, we may afterward confine ourfelves to reafoning. My propofal, which I fubmit to your judgment, may CORRESPONDENCE. 41 may eafily be accomplished. I (hall wait for precife orders from my mafter, and (hall keep the manufcript till he has permitted me to re- touch and difpofe of it. It is for your royal highnefs, hereafter, to fend me French writings ; I am only an inef- fectual fervant; I receive but do not give. I am making fome emendations in the Machiavel of Afia. I am planing the knots out of Mahomet, the original (ketch of which you have feen. I (hall not here continue the hiftory of the age of Louis XIV ; I am fomewhat difgufted with it, though it was my intention to write wholly in the moderate language of which your royal highnefs has feen a fpecimen : befide that I am at prefent without my manufcripts, and my books. I (hall again apply myfelf a little to phyfics. Why am I not with fuch men as Celius, and others whom the fame of your merit has already drawn to Pruffia? I have been told that the ambaflador fo often announced was worthy both to dine and fup, but I perceive he deferves only to dine. I re- ceived a letter from Algarotti, dated London October id, which has lain three months for me, at BrufTels. Algarotti continues in aftonifh- ment at all he has feeh at Remufberg. What a prince it is ! exclaims he. He cannot recover from 4? POSTHUMOUS WORKS. from his furprife. Alas! Sir, why am not I Algarotti ? Why is not M. du Chatelet Balti- more ? Were I not with Emily I mould die if I were not with you. I am with the moft profound refpeft and the tenderefl gratitude, &c. LETTER CIX. From the Prince Royal. MY" DEAJR. VOLTAIRE, Berlin, Jan. 6, 1740, 1 HE reafon why I deferred writing to you xvas nothing more than my unwillingnefs to ap- pear with empty hands. I take this opportunity to fend you five chapters of the Anti-Machiavel, and an ode on flattery, which leifure has permit- ted me to write. Had I been at Remufoerg, you would have received the very dregs of my work ; but it is impoflible to make much progrefs amid the diffipation of Berlin. The Anti-Machiavel does not deferve to be announced in my name to the king of France. This fovereign has fo many good and great qualities, that my writings are by no means neceflary for their developement. Befide, I \vrote freely, and fpoke of France as of Pruffia, 7 England, CORRESPONDENCE. 43 England, Holland, and all the power? of Knrnpe. It is proper that the name of an author mould be unknown, who writes only for the love of truth, and who confequently puts no (hackles on his thoughts. When you (hall have read the con- clufion of the work, you will agree with me that prudence requires the name of the author {hould be buried in the difcretion of friendship. I am not interefted, and if I .can but ferve the public I mail labour without the expectation cither of reward or praife ; like thofe unknown members of fociety who are as obfcure as they are ufeful. My period at court being over, my period for Rudy will come. In a fortnight, I hope to lead that fage and peaceful life in which you fo much delight, and I then propofe to put the Jaft hand to my work, and to render it worthy of after ages. I eftimate my labour at nothing^ for it is but of {horn duration; but the produce \* of that jabpur I eftimaie.At web* for it isjja- .tended to furvive me. Happy the writers who, ; aided by a luxuriant imagination, and guided by wifdom, are able to compqfe works worthy of immortality ! They will do more honour to their age than Phidias, Praxiteles, and Zeuxis, did to the age in which they lived. The in- 4uflry of underilanding is much preferable to the. 44 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. the mechanical induftry of art. A fingle Vol- taire will do more honour to France than a thoufaad pedants, a thoufand half wits, and a thoufand great men of an inferior order. I repeat truths which I cannot avoid repeat- ing ; like as you cannot avoid maintaining the | principles of preponderating weight, or the doc- \ trine of attraction. One truth equals another, '-and all truths ought to be published. The devotees here are railing a dreadful ftorm againft thofe whom they call mifcreants. Falfe zeal is the madnefs of all cpuntries,; and I am well perfuaded would turn the brain of the -. rhoft^ratiorialj, into which it mould find ad- miflipn. < But what is mofl pleafant, when the vertigo feizes on a whole fociety, no perfon is allowed to remain neuter ; each man is required to take one fide or the other,- and to enlift under the banner of fanaticifm. This, for my own part, I own I (hall not do. I (hall remain fatisfied with compofmg fome pfalms to give a good opinion of my orthodoxy. Wafte a few of your mo- ments, dear Voltaire, after the fame manner; and with a facred quill fcribble a few of your harmonious and melodious rhymes. Socrates offered incenfe to the Penates. Cicero, who cannot be accounted one of the credulous, did the CORRESPONDENCE. the fame. It is necefiary we fhould comply with the whims of filly people to avoid blame and perfecution; for, after all, the moft. de- firable thjng jri,lhi^w^>rJW isjtp live in peace. In the company of fools let us be foolifh ; that we may attain this ftate of tranquillity. I hear of Bernard and of GrefTet as of the au- 4 thors of great works. I am told of poems which do not appear, and of pieces I believe deftined to die incognito, without having feen the light of day. Thefe young poets are too idle for their age ; they wifh to gather laurels without giving themfelves the trouble to feek them, and are fatisfied with the moft mfignificant harveft of fame. How great is the contraft between their indolence and your laborious activity ! I affirm that two years of your life are worth fixty of thofe of Greffet or Bernard. I will go farther, I will affirm that twelve thinking beings, who think deeply, will not, in a given time, furnifh a quantity equal to you. But this is one of the gifts which Providence beftows only on men of great genius. May that Providence fliower its beft gifts upon you; that is to fay, may it ftrengthen your health, that the whole world may long profit by your talents and your writ- ings. In thefe 'no perfon, dear Voltaire, takes fo much intereft as your friend, who is, and 2 ever 4$ POSTHUMOUS WORKS.; ever will remain, with all that efteem which no one can refufe you, &cc. LETTER CX. From the Prince Royal. Berlin, January IO, 1740* ji HE former fame of France thoti haft increas'd,' For which a childifti, old, ungrateful prieft Gives thee his benedi&ron * : this, I've heard, A mode of punifhment might be, but not reward ! I have read your fhort work on the age of Louis the Great. Were this prince living, you would be loaded with honours and rewards ; but in the prefent age it fliould feem that good tafte, as well as* the old cardinal, is in its dotage. Lord Chefterfield faid, in the year 25, that the world was gone mad ; and in the year 40, the world ought in my opinion to be fentto Bedlam. After the vexations and perfections you have endured, no perfon can think of writing; every thing will be criminal, every thing condem- * The JBafil edition, perhaps more correctly but lefs plea- fantly, reads has lanj/hed thee. T. nable; CORRESPONDENCE. 4^ nable; there is no longer either innocence or freedom for authors. Still, however, I con- jure you, by all the influence I may have over you, by the divine Emily, and for the love of your own glory, to finiiri the incomparable hiftory, the commencement of which you have intrufted to me. Heed not though Envy yelp and prate, Or holy Father fulminate ; Wild Fancy's Phantom, that, of yore, Our foolilh anceftors t 'adore Were idly prone, and who declares He underftands all heav'n's affairs, Though few regard what now he fays. Heed not the Bigot's blame or praife ; Should Zeal and Spleen their fury vent, Contemn their curfes impotent. Laugh at th* oftogenarian rage Of him who, in declining age, Prieft, ftatefman, cardinal is feen, The heir of artful Mazarin ; Who keeps vile Machiavel in view ; In fpeech a fophift ; ever true To intereft, while through crooked ways, Fallacious lures and falfehood's maze, He feeks to grafp the balance held By Albion proud, who has compell'd, That Europe might in fafety fleep, The Auftrian and the Gaul to keep Such equilibrium as reftraios Excefs of pow'r, and peace maintains. 48 POSTHUMOUS WORlC 5. Heed not the furious prelate's rage ; Heed not though Vice and Folly wage Inceflaiit war ; In their defpite, Honour thy country ftill, and write. When holy liars have difplay*d The facred tricks in which they trade, Or when t' increafe their filly fe&, Saint Medard's miracles they a&, Let Louis ftretch the hand of pow'r : But never let the monarch low'r On thofe fuperior minds that glow With all the wifdom they beftow! Thofe legiflators of mankind, Who captivate the heart and mind ! Son of the Graces, friend of truth And freedom from thy earlieft youth, Exert thy pow'r, nor live in dread Though thunders rumble o'er thy head ! Greflet nor Bernard imitate^ Nor let thine ardour once abate ; In indolence let them remain ; Be thou our monarch, write and reign ! Though killing blights, in evil hour, Wither the choiceft fweeteft flow'r, Buds newly blown, that Flora views, Apd. fmiling fheds her richeft dews, Yet, while the gard'ner looks and fighs, He hopes a ftill more beauteous prize ; Again he tills the teeming earth, And flow'rs more fair again take birth ! Amid the ravages mull man advance Of angry Time, and adverfe Chance. Rerenor CORRESPONDENCE. 49 Revenge thyfelf, Voltaire, and fhevr Thou'rt an unconquerable foe ; End but the work thou haft begun, The world ihall own the battle won ! This will appear to be the advice of felf-in- tereft, and fuch I will frankly own it to be* I have taken infinite pleafure in reading the hiftory of Louis XIV. and earneftly defire to fee it finimed. The honour you will hereafter ac- quire by the work will gready overbalance the chagrin you at prefent fuffer from perfecution. We muft not be to eafily repulfed. A man of your order ought to know that to leave the hif- tory of Louis XIV. imperfect would be to oc- cafion a bankruptcy in the republic of letters. Recollect that Ciefar, while combating the waves of the fea, held his commentaries with one hand over his head, that he might preferve them for pofterity. How can you fpeak of my feeble productions, after having mentioned your own immortal works ? It is my duty, however, to render you an account of my ftudies. The approbation, you beftowed on the five chapters of MachiaveL, which I fent you, encourages me to finilli the four laft. Were I at leif,.re you (hould fooa have ail the Anti-Michiavel, with my correc- tions and additions; but J am only allowed to write at intervals. VOL. vii. E Bufied JJO POSTHUMOUS WORKS. Bufied in doing nothing, Time, That old knave, fteals away my prime. The frofty hand of coming age Thofe boiling pafiions doth afluage Which early youth to ad compell'd, And in impetuous tranfports held. Dull forms and ceremonies flow, By Order led, with flately bow And meafur'd ftep, devoid of grace, Of former pleafures now take place. Thus, while to pride and pomp, unwife, I pay this punctual facrifice, Mode, cuftom, and fet-fpeech controul, And blunt the feelings of the foul, My languor and my fpleen increafe 4 And leave old Machiavel in peace. But foon again I hope to meet Delights fo rational, and fvveet ; Returning to thofe happy plains Where cheerful pleafure fearlefs reigns ! Where mirth that beft of wealth beftows Which bloated grandeur never knows I Where freedom can that quiet give For which alone the wife would live ! The chapters of Machiavel are copied by one of my fecretaries, whofe name is Gaillard. His writing greatly refembles that of Cefario. Poor Cefario ! I wifh he were able to write ! But the pitylefs gout attacks him in every limb, and for two months pad has given him no refpite. Jn pain's defpite, with garlands crown'd, The Smiles by his bedfide are found j CORRESPONDENCE. $1 But (nailing Gout again appears, And foon the fmiles are chang'd to tear* ! Poor Cupid in a corner ftands, With ufelefs bow, and idle hands ; His weeping mother ftill adores, While he their mutual lofs deplores ! Bacchus attempts to eafe his pain, With copious tears of briflc champagne ; And grieves a champion thus mould yield, Who leaves relu&antly the field ! His favourite neftar Momus quaffs, And at their noify clamours laughs. " Your godfhips are, fays he, but Turks ! '* Impoftors ! Nay, behold your works ! * But let the youth who weeping lies, ** Hereafter fhun you, and grow wife." I believe that your gentlemen Laplanders have been civil enough to fend us fome of the fubjects of /Eolus that have efcaped from their caverns , and whom we could very well have done without. I will write to Algarotti that he may pack off fome beams from his country hither; for nature, at bay, appears to be in indifpenfable need of a detatchment of heat to reftore her to life. If my powder mould once more reftore you to health, I will, from that moment, hold the god of Epidaurus in greater reverence than the Delphic deity. Why can I not contribute both to your fatisfa&ion and your health ? Why can I not render you as happy as you deferve to E 2 be? 5Z POSTHUMOUS WORKS. be ? Some people in this world have the power without the will ; others the will without the power. Be fatisfied, dear Voltaire, with the will, and with all thofe fentiments of efteem with which I remain, &c. LETTER CXI. From M. de Voltaire, SIR, BrufTels,. Jan. 26, 1740. I RECEIVED your chapters of the Anti- Machiavel, your ode on flattery, and your letter in verfe and profe, which either the abbe de Chaulieu or count Hamilton certainly dilated. For a prince to write againft flattery is as ftrange as for a pope to write againft infallibility. Louis XIV. never could have fent fuch an ode to Boi- leau, and I much doubt whether Boileau could to Louis XIV. The only favour I have at pre- fent to beg of your royal highnefs is not to un- derftand my praifes as flattery. Whatever I fay flows from the heart. My approbation of your works, and my thanks for your kindnefs, alike cfcape me, you therefore mud pardon them. 6 I am CORRESPONDENCE. 5J I am not entirely baniQied, as has been af- firmed. Mifchief in heart may well remain Of him who lately filch'd Lorraine ! But, though the fubtle prieft may hate s Exile is not yet my fate. My fins are not to be forgiven : I've libell'd monks, and flander'd heaven ! Sinner unlan&ified am I, That laugh when holy jugglers cry ! Nay, I have taunting mock'd at Rome ; And purgatory is my doom ! The fact is, however, no perfon has fpoken of Rome with more caution than I have done. It mould feem we muft not fpeak at all. There ( is an excefs of the ridiculous and of dotage in ljTT> this perfecution, which rather excites my laugh- / ter than my complaints. When, on the one part, I behold the wretched attempt to protect - Dantzic ; when I fee incer- titude in a thoufand inftances ; a war, fortunate by chance, undertaken in felf defpite, and into which we were forced by the queen of Spain ; the rnarine for ten years neglected ; government annuities * abolimed, and the annuitants plun- dered, in defiance of public faith ; and when, on the other, I contemplate the hall of Hercules, which the good man regards as his apotheofis, I exclaim * Rentes viageres. E 3 Alcides POSTHUMOUS WORKS. Alcides-Fleuri, fhort, decrepid prieft, That in the world he might not feem the leaft, In charafter refolv'd to be pourtray'd Like Hercules, an 'twere but mafqueradc ! The people ftar'd ! Though he might fpin, they fwortff They ne'er Alcides drivelling faw before ! things equally contemptible, > and even more To, are feen in all countries. I well know that to remain peaceably at home, and to fend our generals to prifon for having % done all they were able to do, and our plenipo- tentiaries for having, according to orders, con- cluded a necerTary peace ; this, I fay, is I well now not a whit better, ^utto V mcndo e fat to come la noftra famiglia* . My conclufion is that, fmce the world is thus governed, it is requifite that the Anti-Machiavel mould appear. In times of peftilence, the prefence of a Hippocrates is required. I have the twenty- third but not the twenty-fecond chapter, and your royal highnefs apparently has not written the twenty-fourth. I know not whether you have faid any thing of "the project di cacciare i barbari d' Italia *. It feems to me that there are at prefent fo many well-behaved foreigners in Italy that to drive them out would be rather uncivil. Cardinal * We do but as. other*. de*..-.,., j Of driving the barbarian s i out of Italy* Alberoni COR R.E SPO^TDENCE. 5$ Alberoni had an excellent plan,, which was to form an Italian body nearly on the fame plan as the Germanic body is formed. But when fuch projects are conceived it is neceflary the author of them mould not ftand fingle, or he will be in danger of refembling the abbe de Saint Pierre! It is with good reafon that your royal high- nefs thinks men like Greffet and Bernard indo- lent. Inftead of faying to them, Vade piger ad formicam* y as Solomon has faid ; I mould fay, Vade figcr ad Fredericum. GrefTet, however, piques himfelf on his honour; and has lately given the world a tragedy of which I have heard much good. Bernard recited a canto of his Art ef Love to me, at Paris, which I thought more gallant than that of Ovid. For my own part, fir, I am fo much difgufled with the fifth act of Mahomet that I dare not fend it you. But, if it can amufe you, I will fend you the comedy of the Devotee ; and, that you may have variety, I carneftly intreat your royal highnefs to caft an eye over the metaphy- Ccs of Newton, which I intend to add to the new edition of my elements, which is foon to be published. I have never yet had the fadsfaction to fee my Works correctly printed. I might profit by my * Go to the ant, them fluggard. 4 ftay 56 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. ftay at Bruffels to publifh an edition of them ; but Bruffels is the abode of ignorance. There is not one good printer here ; nor one engraver ; not one man of letters; and, were it not for ma- dame du Chatelet, I mould have no perfon to converfe with, on literary fubjeifts. This coun- try is befide the country of obedience : the pope has a nuncio here, but no Frederic. Madame du Chatelet prefents her refpe&s to you, in which, fir, permit me to join, with com- pliments of condolence in addition to your charming verfes on the gout of the baron von Kayferling ; but the hope that I (hall one day fee your royal highnefs affords me fupport. LETTER CXI!, From the Prince Royal. MY DEAR FRIEND, Berlin, Feb. 36, 1740. I SHOULD ha,ye anfwered you fopner if the difagreeable circumftances under which J am at prefent would have permitted, Notwith- ftanding the little time which I can call my own, I have found means to finifh the work on Ma- chiavel, the beginning of which you have'Te- ceived, CORRESPONDENCE. 57 ceived, and I IYOW fend you the continuation of my labours, . intreating that you would return your remarks. I am determined to revife and * j. __ .___ correct, without refpe'cTfor felf- love, everything you (hall think unworthy to be prefented to the public. I have fpoken too freely of all great "princes for me to fuffer the Anti-Machiavel to 'appear under my name. I have therefore re- folved, when it mall be corrected, to have it printed as an anonymous work. Fall without pity, therefore, on every fatirical allufion-whicli you think fuperfluous, and do not fuffer a fingle fault againll grammatical purity to efcape. I wait impatiently to fee the tragedy of Ma- homet finished, and retouched. I have feen it at its firft rifing; what will it be at broad noon ? So you are returned to your philofophy, and the marchionefs to her law fuit ! Rcaily, my . dear Voltaire, you are neither of you m your proper place. W e have a thoufand philofo- phers in Europe ; but no poet, no hiltorian, in any degree, your equal. Normandy itklf has a hundred marchioneifes at law, but not one who applies, herfelf to philoibphy. Let me intreat you to apply to your hiftory of L,ouis XIV. and fend for your manufcri| t and Looks to Cirey, that there may be no delay, Valori fajd you were baniQied France, as ^ pertur- 58 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. perturbator of the catholic religion, and I an- fwered that he was a liar. I wifh the old Ma- chiavel, Bound in Roman purple, would affign Berlin as the place of your exile. My defires all center in Rernufberg, as yours do in Cirey. I figh to return and falute my houfehold gods. Poor Cefario continues ill, and cannot an- fwer you. An age of torments are three months difeafe ! The fuffering foul has little hope to pleafe ; Its povv'rs benumb'd can fcarcely life detain : Or, if it live, it only lives in pain. Sweet are the founds that tremble on thy lyre, And more than pharmacy might health infpire ; But not thofe dulcet founds can move that mind Which Sicknefs, ftern-ey'd Pain, and pale Grief bind ! In yain to write would poor Cefario try ; Eagle encag'd as well might hope to fly. Confole me, dear Voltaire, by fending your charming works. You will call me infatiable, but I am like thofe perfons who, having much acidity in the flomach, have need of nutriment more frequently than others. I am glad Algarotti does not lofe all recollec- tion of Remufberg. It is a place at which men of genius will never be forgotten, aftd at which I do not defpair of feeing yon. We have juft been treated with the fight of a little bear in petticoats, a Ruffian princefs, whofe only mark 7 of CORRESPONDENCE. 59 of humanity is her drefs. She,is the daughter of prince Cantemir. Be pleafed to give the marchionefs my letter, and remain fatisfied that the efteem I have for you will never end. LETTER CXIII. From M. de Voltaire. S I R, COURTIERS and forms and grandeurs are adjournM, And you, 'tis faid, to Ruppin are return'd ; Where you, efcap'd from flattery's dangerous charms, With dalliance bleft, recline in virtue's arms. The gazettes fay your royal highnefs keeps houfe there, where there is no doubt a flail for Pegafus, which appears to me the horfe you mount ofteneft. You are aftonimed, fir, that my weak flate of health has left me fufficient force to write fome works of mediocrity, and I am more furprifed that the fituation in which you have fo long been has left you fufficient freedom of Tnffid"f6~perForm things fo Cngular. To write poetry, when I have nothing to do, does not terrify ; but to write poetry fo well, in a foreign language, and at fo violent a crifis, is very much beyond my powers. la 6O POSTHUMOUS WORKS, In fportive mood, you now regale Your hearers with poetic tale ; Anon, more grave, in godlike fong, The moral theme fwells loud and flrong ! To govern form'd, and form'd to pleafe, *Tis yours alone, with equal eafe, T' aflume or to relinquifh ftate, And win in fmall things, as in great. Rulers there are, and many fuch, Of whom I cannot fay fo much, I have not the works of Boileau here, but I recoiled that he employs two lines to tranilate the verfe of Horace. Tantalus a labris fitiens fugientia captat Flumina. You, \vho are the Boileau of princes, tranflate it in one; but fo much the better, it is the more flrong and energetic : I love to perceive in you imperitoriam brevitatcim; The Germans are not in general reproached with brevity of ftyle. And here, let mejuftob- ferve that, having done myfelf the honour to prove you have this trifling advantage over Boileau, it is not furprifmg that I mould tell you, in all humility, your epiflle contains many lines which I fhould have been very proud to have written. Your royal highnefs underftands the art of cxprefling yourfelf as well as that of being happy under all fituations. It is faid here that CORRESPONDENCE. 6 1 that his majefty is entirely recovered; the prayers f your virtuous heart have been heard. You will ever fay like Horace Naveferar magna, an parva firar, units et idem. Once more, fair Science, Pleafure, Friendfhip, haftc, With you the fweets of folitude to tafte. From Remus wifdom learning, kings fliall own, Where'er you fix your feat, there Hands a throne. With you the Virtues reign, with them the Arts ; Subdued your paflions are ; fubdued our hearts! No richer diadem you need to bear ; Vice only fuch poor trappings ought to wear. How many ftilted dwarfs, whom crowns adorn, By flattery heroes call'd, feem giants born 1 While dazzled Folly only knows to gaze, And while Ambition flavifh homage pays, They're fhunn'd and pitied by the truly wife, Who turn to Remufberg their ravifh'd eyes ! I have Tent off a large packet, fir, for that delightful retreat, of greater worth than any thing I could fend of my own, to your royal highnefs, which is the Leibnitian philofophy of a French lady, become a German becaufe of her attachment to Leibnitz, and ftill more becaufe of her attachment to you. * The prefent is a period during which I could heartily wi(h to fee a fecond volume of the fertti- ments of a certain member of the Englifh par- liament 62 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. liament on the affairs of Europe. It fcems to me that thofe of England, Sweden, and Ruflia, will merit the attention of this worthy citizen. We fee Sweden, formerly fo threatening, be- come circumfpect, embarraffed by fears for her freedom, and undecided between the money of France and England, like the afs of Buridan be- tween two bundles of hay. But will not the citizen of whom I fpeak fend me any commif- lion relative to the Anti-Machiavel ? If it be intended for the gratification of the public, there is fo little to do that edhorfhip only is necelTary : your genius has accomplished every thing. The remainder can only be adjufted by printing the text of Machiavel and the anfwer in parallel columns ; and this will not make too large a volume. I wait your orders in all things, except to admire you. It is afflicting that the gout mould feize the hand of the baron von Kayferling, when it was his intention to write to us. Poor youth, whom Frederic's friend/hip cannot fave J To whom, long fince, my willing heart I gave! This is a double proof of Fortune's fpite ; I am denied to read, for he's denied to write. Permit the Henriade, fir, once again to thank C O R R E S P^O H D E tt C E. * 6* thank you for the honour you have done it^ and humbly to fay with Statius . Nee tu dlvinam Aeneidci tenta t Scd longe fequere et vejiigla femper adora. In garb lefs fplendid, humbler be my famej I dare not emulate great Virgil's name. I am with the moft profound refpect and the. tendereft gratitude, &c. LETTER CXIV. From M. de Voltaire. SIR, February 23, 174^, 1 DID not receive the packet of your royal highnefs, dated on the third, till the twen- tieth, in which I find the cornice of the edifice in which each fovereign ought to wifh that he had placed a ftane. You allow, you even command, me to fpeak freely; and you are not among the number of thofe princes who, after having defired to hear the truth, are angry at having been obeyed, t" am fearful, on the contrary, left your love of "truth mould hereafter be in fome degree tinged with vanity, I love 64 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. I love and admire the principles of the worky to which I (hall boldly add that, in my appre-* henfion, fome of the chapters are too long. Tranfverfo calamo fignum will prefently remedy the evil, and the thread of gold will become more compact, and acquire fuperior weight and brilliancy. You begin moft of the chapters by relating the fubftance of the difcourfe of Machiavel in. the chapter which you intend to refute. But If your royal highnefs means the text of Machiavel and the refutation mould be printed together, might not thefe introductions be iuperfeded ? Though they would be abfolutely neceflary were your work to be printed feparately. It likewife feems to me that Machiavel fometimes earths himfelf in one hole, while you are digging in another. Thus, for example, in the third chap- ter he has thcfe abominable words, Si a a notare* che gli ucmini Ji debbono o vezzegiare o fpeguere ; perche Ji vendicano delle leggier i offejfe delle gram non peffcno.* (Your royal highnefs endeavours to fhow how odious this fatanic maxim is, but the accurfed' 5 Florentine only fpoke of the ufeful. Will you permit a fliort observation to be added to this * It is to be obferved that men ought either to flatter or flab; becaufe the man who is (lightly offended may avenge himfelf. ^7' chapter, CORRESPONDENCE. 65 chapter, to prove that Machiavel himfelf ought not to have regarded thefe threats as juffified by facts ? During his own times the ufurper Sforza was affaffinated in Milan; another ufurper of the fame name was confined at Loches, in a cage of iron ; a third ufurper, our Charles VIIL had been obliged to fly from Italy, which he had conquered; the tyrant Alexander VI. diedbythe |X)ifon which his own hands had prepared, and Czefar Borgia was affaffinated. Machiavel was furrounded by examples of the fatal confequences of vice. Of this your royal highnefs fpeaks in other places. Do you think it will be proper to notice it here? Is not this the beft opportunity ? I appeal to your judgment. Hercules muft tell us the manner in which Antseus is to be ilrangled. I prefent my prince with a little plan for a pre- face, which I have Sketched out ; if it mail pleafe you, fir, to frame my rude drawing, and fe*hd me your ultimate orders, I will make every prepara- tion for an edition of a book which muft contri- bute to the happinefs of mankind. M. de Valori does me great honour to imagine I have been treated like Socrates and Ariftode, former folitude well pleas'd would I depart. Thefe verfes will inform you that when the heart is full the lips are prolific. I am certain you pity me in my prefent predicament, and that you arc really interefted. Let me intreat you to fend me your Devotee, your Mahomet, and, in general, whatever you imagine may divert me. AfTure the marchionefs of my efteem, and be perfuaded that, let fate place rne in what fituation it will, you will never per- ceive any change in me, except that fomething of the efficacious may be added to that efteem and friendQSip which I have, and ever (hall have, for you. P. S. I often think of that pafiage in the Henriade which fpeaks of the courtiers of Valois. Su emtrttfaru en ptgurs, autour de hi rangis *. I (hail fend the Henriade into England to have it printed : every preparatory ftep has been taken for chat purpofe. * Hi courtiers all in tears around him ranged. F 3 LET- yOSTHUMOUS WORKS. LETTER CXVI.\W From M. de Voltaire. Bruffcls, March 10, 1740. J- IS ftrange ! Why wish to fhun that glorious throne The general voice accords to you alone ? A fuffering Father's pangs you weeping view, And Europe gives fuch filial lore its due : Th' applauding world fhall future temples build, To him who every duty has fulfill'd ! Oh! Could your royal Sire but truly read Thofe eyes that weep, the heart that thus can bleed, How would he praife, with grateful tears, the Power That gave him fuch a Son, at fuch an hour ! Nor would his breaft by deep regret be torn ; Pleas'd would he die, remembering you were born ! Remembering w hat a bleffing he fhould leave His people, and the world, no more he.'d grieve ; Except to think Rafh Mufe, thy babbling ceafe ! Admire the Son, but leave the Sire to deep in peace. I did not expect your letter, fir, dated Feb 26th, and which I received on the pth of March. This will depart on Monday, the i4th, becaufe that will be poft-day for Amsterdam. I know not what your prefent fituation is, but I never have loved, never have admired you fo much. If you are a king, you will foon render many CORRESPONDENCE. 7! many men happy; mould you remain prince royal, you will be their inftructor. Could I cftimate myfelf at any thing x I mould, for my own intereft, wifli you to remain in your happy leifure, and that you might continue to amufe yourfelf in writing thofe charming things which give me information and delight. Being a king, you will only be occupied by the means of rendering your provinces fiourifhing, in enter- ing into fage and profitable alliance?, in efta- bliming manufactures, and in meriting immor- tality. I flial! hear only of your labours and your fame; but probably (hall no longer receive thofe agreeable verfes, nor that nervous and fublime profe, which, if fo you pleafed, would acquire you another kind of immortality. The day of a king confifls but of four and twenty hours, and thefe I fee all employed in the happinefs of man- kind ; but cannot fee a minute to fpare for that literary intercourfe with which jour fdyat 'high- nefs has been pleafed to honour me. No matter, I wifh to behold you oathe throne; far I have the honefty-to prefer the felicity of fome millions to my own private fatisfaftion. I continue to wait your commands relative to Machkvel. I imagine you wiH tyrder me~*o print the tranflation of La Houffaye, by the fide of your refutation. The more jrowerfully you F 4 will ^4 fOSTHlTMOUS WORKS. will refute Machiavel, by your conduct, the higher are my hopes that you will permit the antidote, which you yourfelf have prepared, to te printed. I have done myfelf the honour to fend your royal highnefs Mahomet. The Devotee is tranfcribing ; mould (he arrive in time to amufe your royal highnefs, (he will be very fortunate ; if not, (he muft wait a leifure moment to be honoured with your notice. I have a fmgular favour to requeft of your royal highnefs, and this frankly is that you would not praife me quite fo much, in the pre- face which you have deigned to write to the Henriade. You will think me exceedingly in- folent, in wifhing to prefcribe bounds to your goodnefs j and it will feem pleafant for Voltaire to requeft not to be praifed by his prince. How- ever, I wifti to be praifed, T have that vanity to excefs ; but I earneftly requeft you would per- mit me to retrench fome things to which I feel 1 have little claim. I refemble a courtier, whofe defires are moderate (if you know any fuch) who fhould fay to you Beftow a little grandeur on me, but do not beftow too much, left you mould turn my brain. From the bottom of my heart, I thank your royal Jiighnefs, for having changed your idea of an CORRESPONDENCE. 73 an engraved edition to that of a beautiful im- preflion in the ufual way. It will be better, and I (hall fooner enjoy the ineftimable honour you have deigned to confer. I cannot promife my- felf length of life fufficient for fuch an under- taking as the engraving of the Henriade. I will foon employ the remaining time which nature (hall grant to finifii the age of Louis XIV. Madame du Chatelet had written to your royal highnefs before I received your letter of the 26th. She is become in ti rely the difciple of Leibnitz. I, for my part, draw up the briefs in behalf both of Newton and^ibnitz^and r ,der duce a ftate of the cafe which, if I do_not mif- take, may be read without contention. I afk a thoufand pardons, great prince, for prattling thus, at a moment when you mud be fo entirely occupied ^ but, king, or prince, you 'will ever be my fovereign; though you have a yery talkative fubjecl:. I am, &c. LETTER 74 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. LETTER CXVII. from the Prince Royal. DEAR VOLTAIRE, Berlin, March i8th, 1740*, JL O U have very much obliged me by your fmcerity, and by the remarks that you have aided me to make on the refutation of Machiavel. You muft naturally expect to re- ceive at leaft fome of the chapters corrected; and fuch indeed was my intention. But this is a very fearful crifis to me, and I muft rather ^TiinTTjoF^rmin^.. Machiavel by my conduct than by my writings. I promife, however, that I will correct the whole as foon as I have a few- moments to myfelf. 1 have fcarcely had time to run over the fanatical prophet of Afia ; I will not fpeak my opinion, for you know we cannot judge of works of genius till they have firft been read with cool reflection. I fend you fome few trifles in verfe, to fhew you that I fill up the little void that is left in my prefent hours in recreations with Calliope. I am exceedingly well fatisfied at the refolu- tion you have taken to finifh the age of Louis XIV. it is a work that ought to be finifhed, for * May 1 8th, in the Berlin edition, the CORRESPONDENCE. ^j* the honour of our age, and to render its triumph over all that antiquity has produced complete. It is faid that your eternal cardinal is to be pope ; if fo he may have his apotheofis painted in the dome of St. Peter's at Rome. I doubt the truth of the fad:, and imagine that the helm of the French government is more than equal to the half nifty keys of St. Peter. Machiavel might difpute pre-eminence with St. Paul, and De Fleuri might find it more conducive to his glory to dupe the councils of princes, compofed of men of underftanding, than to cheat the fu- perftitious and orthodox multitude of the catholic church. You will give me great pleafure by fending me your Devotee, and your metaphyfics. Per- haps I mail have nothing to return ; but I will truft to your generality, and hope you will kindly give me credit for fome weeks; after which Ma- chiavel, and perhaps fomething elfe equally in- fignificant, may pay off my fcore. Inclofed is a letter from Cefario, whofe health daily ftrengthens. We are continually fpeaking of our friends at Cirey ; I fee them in fancy, but I never fee them thus without wifliing a dream fo agreeable might be realifed, which, Jllufive as it is, is a fubftitute for pleafure. Adieu, dear Voltaire ; lay in an ample pro- 6 vifion 7 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. vihon of health and ftrength. Hufband your health, efpecially ; be as careful of it as I am prodigal of the femiments of efteem and friend- (lup in which you will find me ever cqnflant. I am youi very faithful friend, &c. LETTER CXVIII, from the Prince Riyal. Berlin, March 250*, 174*, FEAR not thattmpire e'er, or Gods, or FatCj Th' ecftatic lyre fhall caufe me t'abdicate : Fear not I (hould prefer, with wavering heart, Int'reft and pride to fcience and to art : As coldly I can dazzling grandeur trace As Priam's council look'd on Helen's face. Pomp, with her gaudy trappings, cannot hide Thofe rigorous laws which I muft make my guide, Science my miftrefs is, the throne's my wife ; The lover would not be a flave for life, Did not refiftlefs Fate, with malice fraught, Impofe the {hackle which hcrfelf had wrought. The world my will, in juftice, can't condemn ; I fwim but with the ftream I cannot ftera. No barometric change my friendship knows, Now high, now low, with every wind that blows j The phantom of a title, or a name, Can none but weak or vulgar irinds iaflame ; Frcra CORRESPONDENCE. 7^ From heaven immortal genius would look down, And in Voltaire a kindred fpirit own ! Well then may kings, forgetting filly pride, Poor royalty and dulnefs thrown afide, Quitting th' infidious paths where falfehood lurks, Walpole and Fleuri, with their fubtle quirks, The fool infatiate and the fawning throng, i,iften to thee, enraptur'd at the fong ! And, as thy fingers ftrike the wondrous lyre, Feel heav'nly joys revive, and catch poetic fire ! Such are my intentions. Be my deftiny what it may, you will fee me, divide my time between my duty, ~my friend, and the arts. _ Habit has made the aptitude which I had for them confti- tutional. When I can neither read nor write, I am as reftlefs as your great fnufF-takers, who continually put their hand to their pocket, when they are deprived of their box. The ornaments of the edifice are changed^ without malting any alteration j either jn the foundation or .the walls. This you may happen Jp.Cee m.ffie^fQr .the jfete, of my father is. fuch that ttee are no.remairijng hopes of his eyre ; . I j&uft jhej-efpre prepare, IP A private life would better fuit my freedorn than that to which I muli fubmit. You know I love independence, to renounce which, and to fubjecl: one's feif to the painful offices of duty, you likewife know is a fevere ta&.- My only 7 confer J POSTHUMOUS WORKS'. confolation is thfLthought of ferving my felW citizens, and being ufeful to my country. May I hope to Tee you, or will you cruelly deprive me of that fatisfadtion ? This is an idea of con- folation which dwells on my mind, like the coming of the Median on the minds of the Jews. I will make farther corrections in the preface of the Henriade ; but you will not take it ill that I mould leave truths there which only re- femble flattery becaufe they are often repeated in a filly and unfeafonable manner. I am alter- iing fome of the chapters of Machiavel ; but in my prefent predicament I proceed but flowly. Fanatic though he be, I admire Mahomet; he muft do you much honour. The conduct of the piece is excellently conceived ; there is nothing to (hock probability or rule ; the characters are perfectly well fuftained. The end of the third and the whole fourth act have moved me even to tears. As a philofopher you convince the mind, and as a poet rou affecl the heart ; and I almoft prefer the latter gift to the former, fines men are all born with fenfibility, but very few with reafon. An Ink-Hand comes, but if it came T' increafe my pleafure and my fame, When this you fent, 'twere furely fit You fltould have likewifc fent your wit/ For CORRESPONDENCE. 79 For this I thank you, as I alfo do the mar- chionefs, to whom I beg you will prefent the inclofed box, made at Berlin, from a ftone which was found at Remufberg. As I fear, my dear friend, left your remembrance of me mould not be fo frem as it was at Cirey, I fend you my portrait, which I hope wiH. never quit your ringer. Should a change happen, you mall be the firfl to be informed of it. Pity me, for I aflure you I am much to be pitied. Continue to love me, for I am better pleafed with your friendfhip than your refpect. Be perfuaded your merit is too well known to me for me not to afford you, on all occafions, marks of the perfect efteem with which I am, &c. LETTER CXIX. From M. de Voltaire. SIR, Bruffels, Aprir6th, 1740. I H AV E received a packet of the 1 8th of March, with which your royal highnefs has ho- noured me. You were certainly formed to act in a fingularly excellent manner ; as a proof of which So frosTrftJMOTTs wokks. which you have been able, in the prcfent crifis of your fate, to do things which require the ut- moft prefence of mind. All you have faid on patience appertains to the great hero, and the great genius ; it is One of the bed things you have deigned to fend me. While thanking you, fir, for the good leflbns which you there havt given me- Though fplecn my patience may abufe, Patience no doubt I ought to ufe* He who your bigot contradicts Sure penance on himfelf inflifts. Zealots, who moft forgivenefs preach^ And charity pretend to teach, Their wrath on all occafionS wreak, And, like their god, for vengeance feek. The translation of the ode Reftius vives Licini fliows that Maecenas and Horace are fometimes- wnited. You did not intend to give the literal: fenfe of Auream quifquis mediocritatem Dilifit tutus caret obfoleli Sordibus te8i, caret irruidendJl Sobrius auM. You fo well feel what is proper to our lan- guage, and what tlie beauties of the Latin are, that you have not tranflated obfoleti tefti, which would be exceedingly mean in French. Lot* CORRESPONDENCE. 8l Loin de la grandeur faflueufc, La frugalejimplicitt N*fn eft queplus dcMeufe *. Thefe expreffions are much more dignified in French than in the Latin ; they are not fo de- fcriptive, but the great misfortune of our lan- guage is, that it is not fufficiently circumftantial. I mufl obferve that medlccnte is with us a word of five fyllables ; if it be your abfolute determi- nation to make it only three or four, why you are a prince, and niuft do as you pleafe. The conclufion of the Epiflle to M. Jordan is a pledge to render mankind happy. You had no need to make the promife; I will depend upon your character, without alking your word. I here add fome pieces, half verfe, half profe, that I may pay tribute to him by whom I am continually enriched. The Epiftle to M. de Maurepas, one of our fecretaries of ftate, is as applicable to your royal highnefs as to him: for, if I do not miftake, it is your inclination to afford equal protection to all the arts ; and I am very certain that, if any one had written the edifying book of Marie ci la coque, you would not have rewarded him with the archbifhopric * Removed from the pomp of grandeur, frugal fimplicity is but the more delicious. VOL, VII. G Of SZ POSTHUMOUS WORKS. of Sens, and with an annual income of a hun- dred thoufand livres, while men of real talents were fuffered to remain in want. I know not whether your royal highnefs has received a certain midland, fent by the poft to Wefel, fealed with the arms of the princefs de la Tour, and addrefled to general Bork, or to the governor of Wefel, that it might be dili- gently expedited. Your royal highnefs has fent me fomething to drink, and I have taken the liberty to fend you fomething to write with. When wine is giv'n by royal charter, An inkhorn to return in barter, Is no great truck, I trow : But, fhould this horn prolific teem With works divine, mankind will deem Their thanks to me they owe. I hope your royal highnefs will pardon thefe exceffive freedoms. I wait your final commands concerning the refutation of the preceptor of ftatefrnen. There is little to alter, and I ftill continue to think it will be an advantage to the human race to make this antidote public. I am tranfcribing my little Abftradl of the Metaphyfics of Newton and Leibnitz. It will make a large packet. Muft I fend it by the way of Wefel ? I wait your orders, to which I (hall always conform ; for you know that Mi- nerva, CORRESPONDENCE. 8j nerva, Apollo, and Virtue, have made me your fubject. Madame du Chatelet will have the honour to fend your royal highnefs fomething, which will be forne recompence for my tedioufnefs. I am, &c. LETTER CXX. -f.M .v^O'j 1-.) ; ' .'.-..' j From tbe Prince Royal. DEAR VOLTAIRE, Berlin, April 15, 1740*. YOUR Devotee f is arrived at the mod fortunate moment poffible; me is a charming creature ! The characters are well fupported, the plot is well conducted, and the denouement natural. Csefario and I have read it with great pleafure, earneftly wifhing to fee it reprefented here, before its author, before the friend whom we fo much defire to meet. My half-fick, half- well friend compliments you for having, ill as you are, worked harder, and to better purpofe, than fo many other authors who are in full health. I cannot account for a being fo peculiar. Among * Undated in the Berlin edition. -j- La Prude, eu la Gardeuft dt Caffftte. The Prude, or the Keeper of the Ca&ct, a comedy by Voltaire. T. G 2 US 84 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. us common mortals, the mind always fuffers with the body. The leaft thing renders me incapable of thought; but your foul, fuperior to the or- gans of fenfe, triumphs over them all. Oh ! that it might triumph over death himfelf ! Be kind enough to read a (hortTale, ill enough written, which I here fend you ; and an Epiftle, in which I have thought proper to addrefs a fort of people who are feldom inclined to regulate their conduct by the morality of poets. Ma- chiavel muft follow when he can. You muft have the patience to wait till I can apply myfelf to the work. The people here are fo deceitful, fo reftlefs, fo turbulent, thatlt is hardly poffible to efcape rhe epidemic difeafe. All I am able to do is to iFrih'g a few follies in rhime. I wait till I (hall find myfelf in a more tranquil ftate, that I may recur to occupations more ferious, and which re- quire reflection. We have at prefent a wretched round of feafting ; and feaft we muft, be the con- fequence what it may. We liften to a fucceflion of inconfiftent harangues, which it is necefTaiy to applaud with an air of conviction. I fubmit to this much againft my will, for I hate every r ""tHl_ng which approaches hypocrify and fajfehood. Algarotti writes me word that Pine has not yet finiflied his edition of Virgil, and that the Henriadc CORRESPONDENCE. 85 Henriade mufl be laid on the fhelf in the mean time. I have not failed to grumble, for it feems to me that Since Maro, with becoming grace, As foon as you appearM, gave place, *Tis odd that matter Pine fliould choofe His paltry honours to refufe ! You fee, dear Voltaire, the difference there is between the decrees of Apollo and the whims of a printer. I do but aid the glory of this deity by accelerating the publication of your work; and I hope foon to fubdue the frenzy of the Englifhman, by gratifying his interefted avidity. Be kind enough to affure the marchionefs of my attentions. Take care of the health of the man whom I love ; and never forget that, ap- pertaining as you do to me, you ought to pay every refpec"l to the prefervation of the greateft good the gods ever conferred on me. Let me foon hear news of your convalefcence ; and be certain that, of all the news I ever {hall receive during life, this will be the moft agreeable. Adieu, wholly yours. Inclofed is a fmall packet from Casfario; I hope you will not remember him with indif- ference, but that you will hear with pleafure of the daily recovery of his health. G 3 LET- 86 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. LETTER CXXI. From the Prince Royal. DEAR VOLTAIRE, Berlin, April^ 6, 1740. galleons of Bruffels are arrived, and have brought me ineftimable treafures. I am aftonimed at the prodigious fecundity of your Pern. Your means feem inexhauftible. You foften the bittcreft moments of my life. Why cannot I equally contribute to your hap- pinefs ? In my prefent ftate of inquietude I have neither time nor fufficient tranquillity of mind to correct Machiavel. I abandon my work to you, perfuaded it will be embelliihed by your hands. It muft pafs through your crucible, that the gold and the drofs may be feparated. I fend you an Epiftle on theNeceffity of culti- vating the Arts; of this neceffity you are well perfuaded, but there are fome who think dif- ferently. Adieu, dear Voltaire ; I wait for your letters with impatience. What relates to your health interefts me as much as the products of your ge- nius. AfTure the marchionefs of my efteem, and reft perfuaded I cannot be more perfectly than I am, Your very faithful friend. LET- CORRESPONDING I. 87 LETTER CXXII. From M. dc Voltaire. SIR, April, 1740. YOUR image haunts me day and night. I dream of my prince, as a lover dreams of his miflrefs. Temptu erat quoprima qiuu mortaKbut tgrls Inclpit, et dono eCvum gratiflimaferpit : Infonani ecce ante ocvlot pulchtrrimus bent I have beheld you afcending a throne of folid filver, which had not been raifed by yourfelf, and on which you fat rather in grief than gladnefs More forrowful, a dying father to behold, Than cheer 5 d by courtier's fmiles, or globe* of gh'tt*ring gold. I faw crowds of courtiers, who had negle&ed to vifit his royal highnefs at Remufberg, aflem- ble to falute his majefty at Berlin Their lace, their gilding, and their fringe I fpied, Their native infignificance to hide. Nor can I doubt their high and ancient race ; Janus was their progenitor, with double face, G 4 They 88 POSTHUMOUS WORK*. They might be defcendants on the mother's fide from the prophet Elitha, who, according to the moft holy Scripture, had a double fpirit; which inheritance has defccnded to many a prieft, as well as to courtiers Surrounded by a motly crew, With fage benevolence, I view My generous prince with fmiles accoft Of former foes a fawning hoft. They duty plead, the plea is good, Nor can by Frederic be withflood ; But, while he clemency to thefe extends, He fhow'rs his favours on his well-tried friends. Antoninus, Titus, Trajan, and Julian defcend- cd from heaven to behold the triumph Thcfe ancient heroes look with much difdain Tow'rd Rome, and think they fiirely have mifta'en Th' abode of conqueft, honour, arts, and arms ; They own Berlin can boaft fuperior charms. They might, if they pleafed, be prefent at the election of a pope ; but Titus and Marcus Aurelius are unacquainted with cardinals, and the Holy Ghoft. Truth, which thefe heroes love, is not of the conclave ; for I faw Truth ftanding befide the throne of filver Frankly the hero plac'd her by his fide ; She wonder'd at herfelf, and godlike guide ; Wonder'd, and blufh'd with half embarrafs'd air, That Truth in freedom mould be feated there ! She CORRESPONDENCE. 89 She knew well that the throne was as little her place as the conclave, and that fo much honour did not belong to a poor exile; but Frederic encouraged her, and fpoke to her as to a perfon with whom he was well acquainted The Florentine, old Machiavel, Saw this, and fought his native hell : And as he fled, with fhame increas'd, A cardinal, a ftatefman, prieft, And Jefuit, fled with equal pain, ; Hateful of heav'n-born truth, and Frederic's reign. Frederic however recalled Machiavel, nor would fuffer him to depart, after having made his appearance, without firft making honourable amends to the human race, in the perfon of its protector. He ordered him to kneel And now, confufed, the Florentine Avow'd that Virtue is divine ; Reluftant own'd that honefty Is ftifl the beft of policy. The Virtues then all began to carefs the con- queror of Machiavel Sage Liberality was there, Gen'rous and juft in aft and air ; Mad Prodigality he chcck'd, L And treated Avarice with negleft. Duty and Labour too were feen, ~ With fovereign and dctcrmin'd mien. *>C POSTHUMOUS WORKS, The Loves, and all their fportive train, Were in their turn allow'dto reign. Courteous to all, on all he fmil'd : Stern Labour wore an afpe& mild ; While frolic Love his tricks was bade t* abate, And by Decorum taught to captivate. Mars and Policy however pointed to a map of Juliers and Berg, and the hero drew his fword ; yet was ready to return it to the fcabbard, for the good of his fubjefts, and the happinefs of the world. The fine arts came from all countries to pay homage to their proteclor. Mufic, Paint- ing, Eloquence, Hiftory, Philefophy, laboured under his infpeftion ; he prefided over all, and feemed born for thefe arts as much as to govern and to pleafe. A theatre rofe ; an academy was formed, not like that of the forty French Cy- phers Ridiculoufly learned, hear them preach On airy emptinefs ; or gravely teach How words to weigh, on periods to difpute, And guilty commas catch and execute. This academy, founded by my fovereign, re- fembled that of the Sciences, and of the Royal Society at London. In fine, whatever was good, beautiful, true, juft, and amiable, had aflembled round this throne. I have not forgotten my dream, like the madman of the fcripture, who threatened CORRESPONDENCE. 91 threatened to jnit all his ftate-counfellors to death,, if they did not divine the vifion that had efcaped his memory ; I remember it perfectly, and want neither a Daniel nor a Jofeph fpr an interpreter. Nor were all thefe the phantoms of a dream : With other kings indeed fuch things but feem j Potent, compaffionate, as good as wife, My prince my golden dreams will realize. In my laft letter I reproached my fovereiga for having reduced mediocrite to a word of four fyllables ; the fault was enormous, and one of the great eft he will ever commi;. LETTER CXXIII. From tbe Prince Rcyal. MY DEAR VOLTAIRE, Remulberg, May 3, 1740. J T muft be owned that your dreams are equal to the waking thoughts of many men of wit ; not becaufe I am the theme of your verfe, but becaufe it is fcarcely poffible to fay more elegant or more agreeable things on fo trifling a fubjed. The God of Tafte, to whofe divine abode Thou haft fo charmingly defcrib'd the road, Firft wrote the verfes ; then, to give them fame, Before he fent, he fign'd them with thy nam^. This 2 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. This I cannot but believe : you have mu- tually been guilty of artifice- Divine Voltaire his thoughts communicates ; The God of Tafte but writes what he diftates. Inform us therefore whether this be truth ; and how your fingular invention could combine fo much imagination with fo much juftnefs, fuch depth of thought, and fuch fportive levity. Grace, learning, geniusi wifdom, wit, Do, each- aad all, their pow'rs tranfmit : To charm Emilia, thou art fraught With all the laughing loves have taught : And fage Urania grants that thine Shall be her compafs, rule, and line. I imagine this will be a riddle to future times, and the touchftone of thofe who hereafter (hall wifli to be learned and amiable. Your dream, my dear Voltaire, though exceedingly advantageous to me, feems to contain the real charaderiftic of dreams, which never perfectly refemble truth. But not to mention that many things are necef- fary to accomplish this dream, if I am not mif- taken, the prophetic fpirit (hould have added- Berlin, thy Genius lately wing'd her way, O'er many a wealthy land obliged to ftray, A fage to feek whofe ample mind, Expanfive and refin'd, The CORRESPONDENCE, pj The fine arts might again reftore, To Wifdom give her ancient lore, And all their wants and all their wifhes grant : To find this wond'rous prize, Around fhe caft her eager eyes Not on the dotard, proud in purple robe, By ftarving wretch or abject author prais'd, Who ruling France, rules half the globe To thee, Voltaire, fhe turn'd, on thee (he gaz'd j Saw Pallas, thee, and Truth, with beam fevere, Strange to relate ! weigh this our pond'rous fphcre I " Certes, the throne " Of Pruffia \vere thy own, " If now,'* fhe cried, " as heretofore, ** Men chofe their monarchs from among the wife. *' Enough ! the fage is found ! the fearch is o'er ! " Though laws abfurd, to knave, or fool, -.? " Or tyrant, grant the fceptreand the rule, " Let knave, or fool, or tyrant, lord it o'er their kind, " Voltaire (hall reign the monarch of the mind." * The Genius of Pruffia will not ftop here; but j will wifli, be the price what it may, to place you at the head of the new academy mentioned in j the dream. I tell the Genius that we are hot ) yet fo near the attainment of this bleffing as we believe Beauty and Emily more potent far Than bays and academic honours are. The Genius difputes the point ; and pretends to prove that the pleafure of knowing is prefer- able to that of enjoying. 4 But 94 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. But enough ! 'Tis the ditum of prudent Boileau, That the art to be dull is to fay all we know. From the fortunate Genius of Pruffia I pafs to the guardian-angel of Remufberg, the protection of whom was manifeft in the dreadful fire by which a great part of the town was reduced to afhes. The palace was with difficulty preferved ; but there is no miracle in its prefervation, for you no doubt know that your portrait is kept there Thou, bleft Palladium, only could'ft protect Its ancient turrets, or repel the flames That foon in undulating volumes rofe, And half the town in fmoky ruins laid. But thou wert there, great image, and didft awe, ^ And drive far off, the raging fiends of fire ! By flames aflail'd, old Troy forgot to guard The heav'nly effigy her walls inclos'd ; But foon fhe wept her folly, when fhe faw The Grecian fire thofe haughty walls confume. This Palladium is placed in the fanctuary of the palace; that is to fay, in the library, where the arts and fciences, aflembled, may be faid to ferve as its frame The wit, the fcholar, and the fage, Of every country, every age, Collefted here, their homage pay, Their gifts upon your altars lay j Your CORRESPONDENCE. 95 Tour various works they bow before ; Proftrate, your Henriade adore ; They liften, wonder, and revere, As courtiers eager, and as faints fbcere. Good Mary of Lorerto, fey, Though finnersfaft, and bigots pray ; Though priefts in pompons robes await, To (hew thy jewels, robes, and plate ; WhDe Ign'rance lifts its foeep,'ifc eyes, And Craft purloins fame new-nr.de prize ; Can praife, fc caught, fuch bKfs impart, Ac praife which flows from fedicg bean ; Spontaneous, nay uncezfing, flows, Nor ar*rice, guOe, nor prieftcraft knows ? I entreat you to criticife both my verfe and profe; for, in proportion as the oracles arrive, I correct. And, that I may furnifh you new materials for caftigation, I fend you a Tale, witli the fubject of which 1 was fumithed during my ftay at Berlin. The chief incidents are true; the fad is this: A peribn named Kirch, an aflronomerby pro- feffion, and as I believe fomething of an aibolo- ger from inclination, died of an apoplexy. A minifter of the reformed church, one of his friends, came to vifit his fillers, who were both aftronomers, and advifed them not to inter their brother, becaufe there had been many examples of pcrfons who had been buried before they were 6 really 96 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. really dead. The credulous fifters, in confe- quence of this advice, kept the corpfe three weeks before they put it in the grave ; which they were forced to do, by the difagreeable odour it emitted, in oppofition to the remon- flrances of the minifter, who was in daily ex- pectation of the refurrection of M. Kirch. I thought the flory fo fingular that it deferved to be put into rhime, as a Tale. My only object was to amufe myfelf ; and, if it be too long, you muft attribute the error to my intemperance for rhiming. Suffer not my ring, dear Voltaire, ever to quit your finger. It is a talifman, compofed of wifhes for your welfare, and cannot but bring you good fortune. To this I myfelf (hall take every means of contributing, alluring you that I am, invariably, Your mofl faithful friend, FREDERIC. Be kind enough to give my compliments to the lovely marcbionefs. LET- CORRESPONDENCE. 97 LETTER CXXIV. From the Prince Royal *. -~ __ Rcmufberg, May 18, 1740. 5TERN proof, demanding faith, befets me here ; There eloquence delights my ravifh'd ear; Aflaii'd on this fide, charm'd on that, I find Th' ambiguous tyrant, Doubt, enflaves my mind. Man, born to aft, to aft is furely free ; But reafon and his paffiotis difagree. Nor can his cumbrous organs vvifdom teach ; That thing call'd ATOM is beyond his reach : j Bodies too vaft are equally unknown ; Not all his lens can render them his own ; His fcientific arts and wiles are vain ; And, pleas'd or angry, blind he muft remain. This is all the judgment I can give, between the marchionefs and M. de Voltaire. When I read your Metaphyfics, I exclaim, admire, and believe : when I perufe the Phyfical Inftitutions of the marchionefs, I begin to waver, and know not whether I am deceived, or deceive myfelfi In a word, a man muft poffefs an intelligence as fuperior to yours, as that which you poflefs is * The beginning of this letter relates to a Treatife on Me- taphyfics, in which M. de Voltaire had difcufled fome princi- ple* of Leibnitz, maintained by madame du Chatelet, in her Injlitutions Phyfiques* VOL. vii. H fuperior 98 POSTHUMO-US WORKS. fuperior to other thinking beings, to decide ,which of you is right. I humbly own that I greatly refpect the ade- quate caufe ; but that I believe its ufe would be infinitely more certain, if our knowledge were as extenfive as this adequate caufe requires it to be. We have only a few ideas of the attributes of matter, and the laws of mechanics; but I doubt not that the eternal Architect has an infi- nite number of fecrets, which we fhall never dif- cover, and which confequently will render the application of the adequate caufe inadequate, when employed by us. On the other hand, I own that thofe fuppofed limple beings, who think, appear to me exceed- ingly metaphyfical ; and that I do not compre- hend the vacuum of Newton, and but little of the fpace of Leibnitz. It appears to me impof- fible for men to reafon on the attributes and acts of the Creator, without being abfurd. I have no idea of God except that he is a being infinitely good. I know not whether his freedom and the ade- quate caufe be contradictory, or whether laws co-eternal with his exiftence have rendered his actions neceffarily fubject to their determina- tion ; but I am very well convinced that every thing is tolerably as it mould be, in this world ; and CORRESPONDENCE, 99 and that, if God had meant to make us meta- phyficians, he would affuredly have communi- cated information, and intelligence, infinitely 7 fuperior to what we pofTefs* It is to be lamented that philofophers are re- quired to give a reafon for everything; for, when they have no palpable reafon to give, they muft imagine one. Notwithstanding all this, it is my duty to tell you, that I am exceedingly well fatisfied with your Treatife on Metaphyfics, I It is the Pitt, or the great Sancy *, which in a! fmall compafs includes immenfe wealth. The folidity of your arguments, and the moderation of your decifions, mould ferve as examples to all philofophers, and thofe who interfere in the difcuffion of truth. The defire of information .\ appears to be their natural end, but the pleafure j of contention is too often the refulu I wifh I were ia the. peaceful and tranquil ftate in which you fuppofe me. I aflure you, philofophy appears to me more charming, and more attractive, than the throne. Its jpleafures areTcTurable ; it is fuperipr to the chimeras and errors of man ; and thofe who can follow, it into the countries of virtue and truth, are very blatn- able to forfake it for that of vice and illufiQfl. * Two well-known diamonds. H 2 Efcap'd IOO POSTHUMOUS WORKS. Efcap'd from Circe's palace, and the cries Of crowds, who fly the virtuous and the wife, From dangers free, in ftudy's calm retreat I thought myfelf, and thought my blifs complete ; But low'ring ftorms and new-born cares obtrude, And threat to wreft me from my folitude. Thus are appearances, in this world, very de- ceitful. To tell you the honeft truth, I muft inform you that the language of the gazettes is more than ever falfe, and that the love of life and hope are infeparable from human nature. Thefe are the foundation of that pretended ftate of convalefcence, the reality of which I wifh I could fee. The king's malady, my dear Voltaire, is a complication of difeafes, the progrefs of which deprives us of all hope of cure, and par- takes both of dropfy and atrophy. The moft alarming fymptoms are frequent vomitings, which greatly enfeeble the patient. He hopes and believes he (hall fave himfelf, by the efforts he makes to appear in public; and this it is which deceives thofe who are not well-informed of the true ftate of things. What moft we wifli we ne'er enjoy : A miflrefs charms the am'rous boy ; A kingdom is ambition's claim ; The poet hunts an empty name ; A title courtiers keep in view, And ribbands covet, red and blue ; The CORRESPONDENCE. IOI The fage delights in truth, and eafe : But wifhing is the mind's difeafe j And man, in every rank and Hate, Muft firft refolve to meet his fate, And aft his ill-allotted part, Ere he can know content of heart. Then, be my brows with laurel bound, Or with more fplendid bauble crown'd, Me fhall you view with equal pace Continue my predeftin'd race ; Nor feek without thofe joys to win Which only can be found within. This is the. only thing I hav to .refolve -,QIV; &rS3*iSi3^^ retreat is not in my power. I (hall .quit my indepen- dence with regret jand_.wJbule, on . the,, greatf tneatrTcTtne world, JE, jfce,ad.the,.jchi.Qn?, fliall lamerit'the lofs of my; goce .happy obfcudty. "Had I that freedom of mind which you fup- pofe in man, I mould fend you fomething better than bad verfes : but learn that thefe are not the laft, and that you are menaced with a new epif- tle. Another epiftle ! Yes, my dear Voltaire ; another epiftle : it muft be fo. Now we are fpeaking of poetry, let me tell you I have feen the tragedy of Greflet, intitled Edward. The verification appears good, but I think the characters ill depided. The paf- fions muft be ftudied, in order to put them in H 3 aciipn; 102 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. action ; the human heart muft be known, that, by imitating its fecret fprings, the theatrical automaton may refemble and ad conformably to nature. Greffet does not appear to me to have drunken at the right dream. Individual beauties may render his tragedy fupportable to the reader, but will not be fufficient to give it vigour in reprefentation. Autre eft la voix. d'un perroquety Autre eft cells de Melpomene *. He who wrote this fatirical remark has per* ceived the real defects of Greffet. There is (omething indefcribable, fomething of the effe- minate and the languid, in the part of Edward* which cannot fail to infpire the auditor with dul- nefs. Weary of the tedioufnefs of Mr. Pine, I have determined to have the Henriade printed under my own infpection, and have fent exprefsly for fome of the moft elegant filver type that can be procured in England. Our artifts are all at work; on the plates and the vignettes. Coft what it; vrill, we are determined to produce a matter- piece, worthy of the fubjecl: * " The voice of a parrot is very different from that of Melpomene." This refers to the well-known tale of Greflet, intitkd ^er-Fert. T. With CORRESPONDENCE. IQJ With trumpet arm'd, I'll ad the part of fame ; And to the liftening world your worth proclaim. I imagine you will think me, at prejent, if not the moft impertinent, at leaft the moft prattling of princes. But prolixity is one of the defects of my nation, and errors are but {lowly eradi- cated. I aik pardon, my dear Voltaire, on behalf of myfelf and my countrymen. I am however one of the moft excufable of them ; for I find fo much pleafure in converting with you, that hours appear to me no more than moments. If you wim my letters to be more fhort, do you be lefs amiable : but this, according to the twelfth para- graph of Leibnitz, implies a contradiction ; con- fequently, &c. Continue to love me a little, for I am jealous of your efteem; and reft perfuaded that you cannot do lefs, without much ingratitude to- ward him who is with admiration, &c. LETTER CXXV. From the King. MY BEAR FRIEND, Charlottenburg, June 6, 1740. 1 HE die is l^fe^LfiidSLfi^E^Ll^fe^ / / I have been prefent at the laft moments of the ^ H 4 '"^ing, 104 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. king, his agony, and death. I certainly had jn need, while "ft^pping toward royalty, of fuch a leflbn, in order to infpire me with difguft for the vanity of hurnan grandejiMV, I had planned a fmall work on metaphyfics, which is thus metamorphofedto^politics. I ima- gined ^^!|^jljo^ia|^t with, jjtie amiable Voltaire, .and am obligee! to enter the lifts with jthe old mitred Machiavel *. In fine, my dear x Voltaire, jveare not mafters of our own deftiny ; \ t ' the whirlwind of incident hurries us away, and we are driven perforce. J^ej: me entreat you to regard me only as a zealous- citizen, a philofo- pher ; fomewhat fceptical, . ..but -a - truly faithful friend. ^ , For the love of God write JQ _me_ as a^ man, and defpife titles, name, and exterior - . ^ '^r-^JWWWAl -r < -.- -W'.- '* ' v^;--^-"*-**^-"* ^'^ J| ^V5P'.'"-W^itT*fcf>^ (-* --:^<,'^^rT- fplendour. "'THave hitherto fcarcely had time to recollect myfelf. I have infinite employment, and am giving myfelf more ; but, notwithftanding all my labours, I have dill time enough to admire your works, and to find in them information and amufement. Affure the marchionefs of my efteem ; tell her I admire her, as much as her vaft knowledge, and uncommon abilities, deferve to be admired. | * The cardinal de Fleury. Farewel, CORRESPONDENCE. 105 Farewel, my dear Voltaire. If I live I will lee you this very year. Love me always, and continue always to deal fincerely with your friend. LETTER CXXVL prom M. de Voltaire. IB I R E, June 18, 17^9. ALTHOUGH your de{liny be changed, the beauties of your mind are the fame. My mind however is altered : I was inclined to mif- anthropy, an4 was top much afflicted at remark- irrglhe^juftice of men. At prefent I give my- felf up to joy, in com|ranj^trrfhe whole world. Triaril? to Heaven, your majefty has already ful- fillecf all my predictions : you are already be- loved, ii^Pjjjffia, ..and in Europe. The em- peror's refident, during the laft war, faid to the cardinal de Fleury ' * ' w This CORRESPONDENCE.*' H"] This is rather too much for one man, fire. Buf you are~3eftined to fucceed in all jpujun- eJertake ;^for I know, from good authority, you poffefs that fortitude of mind which is the bails of great virtues. Befide that heaven will un- doubtedly blefs the reign of a monarch who is " aTHmari^r-a "man^wLg^ after being thoroughly fatigued with having acted the king all day, has dill the goodnefs to beftow a few y^rfes^oa jjis letter, and on me^ infignificant as I am Yours is the happy art to pleafe, To write with haite, yet write with eafe. In your lail fix delightful lines, In which confpicuous goodnefs fhines, You rife on generous Bounty's wings, O'er vulgar wits and vulgar kings. How adorable is your kind manner of fpeak- ing, on the fubject of your journey to Cleves 1 Too much my conftancy you p^aife. Yet, know the truth ; Love is, alas, for youth . l But facred friendfliip's laws my heart obeys. I indulge in the moil flattering hopes of the beatific vifion of Cleves. Should the king of France fend the perfon I with to compliment your majefty, I will pay my refpects to you lhould he not, ftill I will do the fame. Will not your majefty fuffer a man to come and $o I 3 hom agc Il8 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. horrlage to you privately, in his own name, without all the forms of ceremony ? One way or other, Simeon will behold his Saviour. The work of Marcus Aurelius will foon be wltottT^prTrTted. It has the fubjed of five of my Tetters "to your majefty, and I fent it accord- ing to your own exprefs permiffion ; yet M. Camas now tells me there are one or two paf- fages which will give offence, to certain powers. I myfelf, however, have taken the liberty to foften thofe two paffages ; and I will venture to affirm that the book will be as honourable to its author, be he who he will, as it will be ufefuj^ to the human race. However, mould your majefty feel i.iy remorfe, you muft be kind enough to expedite your commands; for, in a country like Holland, there 'is no flopping the avidity of a bookfeller, who remembers that his : money is in the prefs. Did you know, fire, how much your work is fuperipr to that of Machiavel, even in ftyle, you would not^Ja t ^/ fupprefs it. I ha've many things to fay to your majefty, . r . . _ r i i i f. -, '-i on tne iubject or the academy, which is foon to "flourifli under your aufpiccs. Will you permit me to prefent my ideas to you, and fubmit them to your better knowledge ? I ever remain, with the moft refpedful and devoted affedtion, &c. LET- CORRESPONDENCE, lig BETTER CXXXI. From the King. MY DEAR VOLTAIRE, Charlottenburg. June 2J, 1740. YOUR letters continually give me in- finite pleafure ; not becaufe of the praifes which they beftow on me, but from the inftructive profe and charming verfes they contain. You wifh me to fpeak of myfelf like the never-end<- |ng abbe de Chaulieu. No matter ; you mud be fatisfied. Here then follows the Berlin gazette, accord- ing to your requeft. On Friday evening I arrived at Potfdam, where F found the late king in a fituation which made me augur that his end was near. He gave me a thoufand marks of kindnefs, and fpoke to me a full hour, on foreign and do- meftic affairs, with all juftnefs of underftanding and good fenfe imaginable. He repeated thefe converfations on Saturday, Sunday, and Mon- day ; appearing to be exceedingly refigned, with refpeft to himfelf, and fupporting his infinite fufferings with unabating fortitude. He re- figned the regency into my hands, on Tuefday I 4 morning, 12 POSTHUMOUS WORKS/ morning, at five o'clock ; and took an affection- ate leave of my brothers, of all the chief pfficers, and of me. The queen, my brothers, and I were prefent, during his laft moments, in which he difplayed the ftoicifm of Cato. He died with the curiofity of a philofopher, concerning what pafled within himfelf, at the inftant of death ; and with the heroifm of a great man, leaving us Sincerely to regret his lofs, and affording us an ^example fuch as we ought to follow, hereafter. The numerous affairs which have devolved upon me, fince this time, havefcarcely given me time to grieve. " I have fnppofed, fince the lofs of my father, that my country claimed me wholly; and, fo fuppofing, have laboured with all poflible diligence, to make the moft fpeedy arrangements for the public welfare. I immediately began by augmenting the army, with fixteen battalions, five Iquadrons of huflars, and a fquadron of body guards. I have laid the foundation of our new academy, and have ac- quired Wolf, Maupertuis, and Algarotri. I am waiting for the anfwers of s'Gravefende, Vaucanion, and Euler. I have formed a new college for tra^e a'vl rnar.uiucTiures, have en- gaged painters a:>', A > icul^ tors, and am no ; .v de- parting for Prufiia, there to receive homage ; without ihc holy phial, or the^ufciefs and friyp- - . lous CORRESPONDENCE. 12 1 ious ceremonies which ignorance eftablifhed, and cuftom continues. The life I lead has hitherto. been fufficiently irregular ; for the faculty has thought proper to order me, ex officio, to drink Pyrmont water. I rife at four, take the waters till eight;, write till ten, examine the troops rill noon, write till five^ and in the evening unbend in good company. When I (hall have performed my journeys, my mode of life will be more tranquil, arid uniform; but hitherto I have been .obliged to attend to the routine of bufinefs, and to all new eftablimments in addition} not to mention fruidefs compli- ments to fend, and circular orders which I have to give. The_th[ng rapft difficult is the eftablimment of magazines, fufficiently confiderable, through- out the pro viaces^. to make, pro vifion of grain, enough for eighteen months confummation for ihe whole kingdom. But let me change the vapid theme j Of raptures rather let me dream ! Of that bleft hour when, face to face, I thee {hall meet in fweet embrace ! . When every fenfe, and found, (hall be Confus'd in mingled ecftafy ! Not Orpheus, when grim Pluto, charm'd, P.eturn'd Eurydice, unharm'd, Not |23< POSTHUMOUS WORKS. Not Orpheus with fuch tranfport {hook, Nor trembled, as he touch'd and took The hand of her he lov'd fo well, To guide her through the depths of hell, \ Nor long'd fo much a glance to {teal, Nor felt fach joys, as I {hall feel I Stern were the pow'rs 'twas his to face 3 Gloomy the gulphs he had to trace. For many a fpetre, fprite, and fpell, In thofe infernal regions dwell. Yet, ah, how weak thefe powers, combin'dj To thofe which captivate thy mind ! Them I'd encounter, nay defpife, But not the magic of Emilia's eyes ! I may without rancour, madame du Chatelct a be allowed to envy you the good you poflefs, and which I mould prefer to many other pof- feffions that have been left me. I return to you, my dear Voltaire; you muft make my peace with the marchionefs. Let hen preferve the firft place in your heart, but permit me to have the fecond. I fuppofe my man of the epiftle has, by this, delivered you my letter, and the Hungarian wine. I pay you in very grofs matter for all the mind you beftow upon me, my dear Vol- taire; but you muft confole yourfelf, for, in the whole world, you certainly will not find a perfon who will enter the lifts of wrtrwith you. If friend- Ihip CORRESPONDENCE. 133 fhip be called in queftion, this I will difpute with any man ; and I aflure you it is impoflible to love or efteem you more than I do. Farewel. BETTER CXXXII. From M. de Voltaire. The Hague, July 20, 1730. W^HILE you in eafy chariot roll, And journey tow'rd our ar&ic pole, To fcatter blefiings as you go, On Lithuanian lands of fnow, With {tore of gloom, and dearth of wit, In this tluck Belgic air I fit ; Not {till, but jolted, here and there, In that precife pofh travelling chair The Dev'l invented for the damn'd ; In which fat burgomafler, cramm'd, By quicken'd pulfe and makes 'endur'd, Of apoplexy might be cur'd : Though French bare bones, and {lender back, Like mine, might weH prefer the rack. At the Hague I yefterday arrived, after hav- ing with much difficulty obtained leave of ab- fence But 124 POSTHUMOUS w DRIEST But duty pleads, and I her laws revere ; My king's commands to me are ever dear ; Pnly for him awhile could I forfake Emilia's prefence, or her bondage break. Your orders feem to me to be pofitive ; arid ;he kind and afifeding bounty, with which your humanity* iffued them, rendered them addi- tionally facred. For this reafon I did not lofe a moment. I grieved to travel, and not to travel in your train j but I confole myfelf, fince I perform fomething which your, majefty wifhes I mould perform in Holland. Thefe Dutqh^ men are A free but avaricious race, That vegetate in pent-up fpace j In boats exift, and mete out air, And water, with right niggard care. For both you pay ! Nay more", as dear As if they both were pure and clear. That knavifli herd, bookfellers nam'd, Fatt'ning on wits lefs fed than fam'd, Like many a preacher in the land, Vend what they do not underftand. From them you Germans buy the trafh up, Which our French authors cook, and hafh up ; * Tour humanity was an epithet which M. de Voltaire gave, and continued occafionally to give, the king, in confequence .f the diftin&ion, which he had in his former letters dvy^lt upon, between the ling and the man. T. Our CORRESPONDENCE. 125 Our thread-bare fentiments, new fpun ; Our novels that have bad a run ; Paper which we may well call wafte, And all the refiife of good tafte. The firft thing I did yefterday, on my arrival, was to go to the moft crabbed and daring book- filler in the coiinfrJ7"wEo Tiad undertaken the affair in queflion. I once again repeat toj r qux majefty that I had not left a word in the manu- fcript, of which anj^perfon in Europe could have complained j but x fince your majefly was fo-de^ Crous to withdraw the edition, I had no. .other will than that of executing your withes. I had already founded that emerprizing knave, named John Vanduren*, and had fent a man poft, who, by way of precaution, was at leaft to get back fome meets of the man ufcript, which was not half printed, under plaufible pretexts : for I knew that my Dutchman would liften to no propofal. In effect, I arrived juft in time ; for the rafcal had refufed to give ug a fingle page of the^ manufcript. I fent for him, quef- tioned him, and turned him every way ; but he gave me to underftand that, having the manu- fcript in his poiTeffion, he would not part with it, for aliy^confideration whatever : having be- gun, he \vould finiQi the impreffion. m * -The Dutch bookfeller xvho fird printed the Anti- i When 126 > POSTHUMOUS WORKS. When I faw I had to deal with a Dutchman* who abufed the liberty of his country, and a bookfeller, who extended his right of perfecuting authors to excefs, unable to confide my fecret to any perfon, or to implore the aid of authority, I recollected what your majefty fays, in one of the chapters of the Anti-Machiavel, that in ne- gociation honeft artifice may be employed ! I therefore told John Vanduren that I was only come to correct fome pages of the manufcript " I am very willing you mould do that, fir/* faid he; " come to my houfe, and I will gene- " roufly entruft them to you, meet by meet. " You fliall correct what you pleafe, fhut up " in my chamber, in prefence of my family and my journeymen." I accepted his friendly offer, went home with him, and really corrected fome fheets, which he took, as they were finiihed, to fee that there was no deception. Having thus infpired him with a little lefs diffidence, I returned this morning into the fame prifon, in which I was fhut up with the fame formalities ; and, having obtained fix chapters at once, to examine and compare them with each other, I made erafures, and interlineations, of fuch intolerable and ridiculous nonfenfe, that it no longer refembled the work. This iswhat is called blowing up your (hip,rather 3 than CORRESPONDENCE. ll'j than differing it to fall into the hands of the ene- my. I was in defpair, to facrifice fo beautiful a \ work ; but it was in obedience to the king whom j I idolize, and I therefore acted thus moft wil- > lingly. It is now my very honeft bookfeller's \ turn to be aftonimed, and confounded ; and I hope to-morrow to make a reafonable bargain with him, and oblige him to reftore what is printed, and the remainder of the manufcript, 1 of which I (hall render an account to your majefty. LETTER CXXXIII. r . l From the King. MY DEAR FRIEND, Charlottenburg, July 9, 1740. Cy E R T A I N travellers, returning from the banks of the Frichhaf, have read your charming works ; which appear to them an ad- mirable reftorative, and of which they had great need, to bring them back to life. I mail fay nothing of your verfes ; though I mould praife them much, were I not the fubject of them. Deduct a little of the praife, and nothing can be more charming, Mr *2$ POSTHUMOUS My huge ambafTador, with paunch well filPd y * Salutes your king, in fpeech learnt all by rote ; And, well to prove himfelf in rhetoric fkill'd, Harangues an inflammation in his throat. Fleuri returns a babbler of his fchool, Wanting a hand ; a courteous fquire is he ! My envoy wants an arm ; yet he's no fool ; Camas has conri'd his tafk, as you (hall fee. > be.: ,rir The letters of Camas fpeak only of Bruffcls; It is a fubjedt of which he is never weary ; and> judging from them, it mould feem his embaffy was to Voltaire and not to Louis. I fend you the only verfes I have long had time to write. Algarotti gave birth to them, and the fubjedt is enjoyment. The Italian fup- pofes we inhabitants of the north are not capa- ble of the fame degree of feeling, as the people who live near the lake Guarda. I exprefled my feelings to the beft of my abilities, to prove to him that our organization is equally capable of enjoyment. You muft judge whether I have painted well or ill ; but do not forget that there are moments as difficult to reprefent as is the fun, in his meridian fplendour : no colours are fufficiently vivid for them; and the imagination of the reader muft fupply the deficiencies of art. I am very much obliged to you for the trouble you have taken, relative to the impreflion of the Aaft- CORRESPONDENCE. izg 9 Anti-Machiavel. The work was not yet wor- thy of being publifhed ; but, from its nature, ought to be confidered, and reconfidered, that it may not appear in an incongruous manner, before the public, who are ever inclined to fatire. I mail foon depart for the country of Cleves. Thy lyre, full on my rapturM ear, Shall vibrate founds divine j The joys fliall then be mine Thee to contemplate, thee to hear ! Then fliall I view thy piercing eye, Which could, from native light, Submerg'd in Nature's night, Great Nature's fecret waysdefcry. Thofe lips, of eloquence the throne, Thofe lips, that tafte, and fenfe, Wifdom, and wit difpenfe, At that bleft moment (hall be known ! Great indeed will be my joy, to fee the man whom of the whole world I mod love, and efteem. Pardon my lap/us calami, and other faults. I am not yet allowed to ftudy in tranquillity. I muft perform my journey : after which I hope to have fome moments to myfelf. - Adieu, charming, divine Voltaire! Do not forget the poor mortals of Berlin, who are dili- gently preparing to vifit the gods of Cirey. Fak. VOL. vn. K LET- POSTHUMOUS WORKS. * LETTER CXXXIV. From M. de Voltaire. SIRE, Auguft, I O U R humanity will not this poft re- ceive one of my enormous packets. A trifling drunken accident, among the printers, has re- tarded the rimming of the work on which I am bufied ; but it (hall be fent the next time I write. The knave Vanduren, however, is felling his merchandifc; of which he has already fold but too much. Among that true refpeftful praife Which ev'ry tongue with juftice pays The work you wrote, one man is found * (Dull coufin to Cambray, renown 'd, Who tale long-winded did produce) One man who buzzes zeal's abufe, And fecret warfare on you makes ; By private mining, undertakes To blow, with apoftolic care, You and your work the Lord knows where j That both may broil, as is but fit, In priefts and Satan's pleafant pib. * The marquis of Fenelon, ambaffador at that time to the States General, and related to the immortal author of Teli- machus* He was very religious ; but was an amiable man, and a good officer. "Ok CORRESPONDENCE. 13! " Oh w/etch profane, who thus could write! " Like dog he's damn'd, in fame's defpite. * A fage, a man of worth, is he ; " A knaTe ! a chriftian knave for me ! * A fon of Rome, with daggers arm'd I" Thus fpeaks the zealot, when he's warm'd ! Of tottering church the tottering ftay, Whofe creed is firft to ftab, then pray ; One whom, as blockhead, we may jeer ; But whom, as bigot, we muft fear. He and the Jefuit La Ville *, who is his fecre^ tary, begin however to fhorten their prolix and infolent phrafes, in favour of the prelate of Liege, on which they fpoke with too much in- decency. The laft letter of your majefty has every where produced an admirable effect. Per- mit me to reprefent to you, (ire, that you refer, in this public letter, to the proteilations entered againft clandeftine contracts of exchange, and to the reafons deduced in the memorial of 1737. As the abridgment I have made of this memo- rial is the only piece which has been known, and inferted in the gazettes, I flatter myfelf it is to * Afterward firft clerk (or fecretary) for foreign affairs. He forfook the Jefuits ; whereas Lavaur, fecretary to the mSrquis de Fenelon, ceded his place to La Viile, that he might affume the habit of Saint Ignatius. This was the Lavaur who afterward acled fo fingular a part, in the affair of the cointe deLaffl. K 2 this 132 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. this abridgment that you refer; and confe- quently that your majefty is not difpleafed with me, for having dared to fupport your claims, with a hand which is deftined to write your praifes. Yet I receive no intelligence from your majefty, relative either to this fubjedt or to Machiavel. This is certainly a pleafant country. Would your majefty imagine that Vanduren, having firft advertifed the fale of the Anti-Machiavel, is therefore, according to law, empowered to fell the work; and thinks he may prevent it from being fold by any other bookfeller ? j^.s it is abfolutely neceflary, however, in or- der to filence certain people, that the work mould aflume a fomewhat more chriftian-like guife, I have myfelf taken charge of the edition, to avoid all difpute ; and mail fend copies, as prefents, into all parts. This conduct will be expeditious, determined, and conciliatory; three things which I think of great importance. From thefe dark climes refolv'd to go, That arrant hypocrite, Roufleau, Of an old Jew th' old parafite (The name DuLia of th' Ifraelite, The richeft rafcal in the land) Roufieau, I fay, with ready hand, Fiv hundred ducats has receiv'd From Jacob's fon ; who thus relieved His rhymer, indigent and old, And gloried in the wit of gold. But .CORRESPONDENCE. 133 But gold is vain, when death is near, And mortal palfies interfere ! The foul fatiric of Roufleau Muft vifit, foon, the {hades below. LETTER CXXXV. From the King. MY DEAR VOLTAIRE, Berlin, Aug. 5, 1740. I HAVE received three of your letters, in a day of reftleflhefs, ceremony, and wearinefs; for which I am infinitely obliged to you. ._ All the anfwer I can at prefent fend is, that I leave the difpofal of Machiavel to you ; nor have I any doubt but that you will employ this power, fo as not to give me any caufe to repent of the confidence which I place in you. I entirely de- pend on my dear editor. I (hall write to madame du Chatelet, in con- fequence of your requeft. To fpeak frankly relative to her journey, it is Voltaire, it is you, it is my friend, whom I defire to fee ; and the 1 goddefs Emilia, with all her divinity, is but the fatellite of the Newtonian Apollo. I cannot yet inform you whether I fhall or mall not travel. Know, my dear Voltaire, the king of Pruffia is but a political weathercock ; K 3 the 134 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. the impulfe of certain favourable winds is necef- fary for my journey, and to determine what muft be my route. In fine,, I am confirmed in the opinion that a king is a thoufand times more Ky/": .unfortunate than a private perfon. J_am the 7\f ilave of the whims of fo many other powers that tTTevef can difpofe of myfelf as I pleafe. Hap- pen what" will, however, I natter myfelf I mail * leFyouT "Oh that you might for ever become one of my flock ! Adieu, my dear friend ! Genius fublime ! Firil born of thinking beings ! Continue very fmcerely to love me ; and reft perfuaded that no man can efteem and love you more than I do. Vale. FREDERIC LETTER CXXXVI. From the King. MY DEAR FRIEND, Berlin, Augufl 6, 1740. LCONFORM entirely to your opinions; I make you arbitrator, and wiQi you to judge as you think proper, while I remain perfectly tran- quil ; for I have committed my interefts into A . ,^-v^-fc;-.!.^.^ ... . ' J good hands. You mud have received a letter from me, dated CORRESPONDENCE. 135 dated yefterday ; and here is a fecond, which I write to you from Berlin. I refer you to the contents of the former. If Emily mufl accom- pany Apollo, I conlent ; but, could I fee you. alone, I mould be better pleafed. J foould. be too much dazzled ; I could not fupport fo much fplendor at once. The veil of Mofes would be neceffary, to temper the mingled rays of two fuch deities. Here am I, my dear Voltaire, overloaded with bufinefs. I labour unceafmgly, and muft entreat you to grant me a truce : allow me but one month, and I am yours everlaftingly. You cannot increafe my obligations to you ; or that perfed efteem with which I mall ever remain your inviolable friend, FREDERIC LETTER CXXXVII. From the King. MY DEAR VOLTAIRE, I IMAGINE that Vanduren is more troublefome to you than was Henry IV. While you verfified the deeds of a hero, you did buc write the hiftory of your own thoughts; but, K 4 while Ij6 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. while annoying a rafcal, you tilt with an enemy unworthy to enter the lifts with you. My obli- gation to you is the greater, becaufe of the affec- tion with which you take my intereft to heart ; nor do I require any thing more, nor is there any thing which would pleafe me more, than to teftify my gratitude. Set the prefs at work, there- fore, fince it is neceflary thus to punim the raf- cally proceedings of a wretch. Erafe, alter, cor- rect, and interline whatever paffages you pleafe ; I entirely rely on your judgment. I fhall depart forDantzic, and on the 22d I intend to be at Frankfort ; fhould you be there, I expect that, as I pafs, you will come and vifit me. But I hold it certain that I fliall embrace you either at Cleves or in Holland. Maupertuis may be faid to be engaged to usj but many other men of learning are ftill want- ing, whom if you will point out you will give me pleafure. Adieu, enchanting Voltaire. I am obliged to quit the mod amiable of the fons of men, to wrangle with all kinds of political Vandurens; who, to increafe the misfortune, have no Car- melites for confeffors. Continue to love me, and be certain of my inviolable efteem, FREDERIC, CORRESPONDENCE. 137 LETTER CXXXVIII. From M. de Voltaire. Bruffels, Auguft 22, 1740. ANOTHER Solomon, they fay, To Sheba's queen intends to pay Another vilit ! Former gods Have quitted their divine abodes ! Should hence fome Hercules take birth, Great would the blefiing be to earth ; Yet frankly be it here confefs'd, I do not wifh the world thus blefs'd. One god , one goddefs, thus to ferve, Is furely more than we deferve : At flirines like theirs let us adore ; The world and I can afk no move. Such, fire, is the fact. The world watches my Solomon with the eyes of a lynx. " Is it tf true," fays one, " that he is going to France?" " He will vifit Italy," replies another ; " and " they will eleft him Pope, for the renovation of old Rome. Will he pafs through Bruf- " fels?" Wagers are laid for and againft. "If he " mould," fays madame the princefs de la Tour, " he mall have apartments in my houfe." * Oh no, and pleafe your royal highnefs, not fo : * mould his majefty come to BrufTels he will * choofe to be exceedingly private there ; and 138 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. * he and his amiable fuite will be entertained by ' Emily. Her houfe is the lad in the city : re- * moved from the crowd and their Bruffels high- ' neffes ; here he will be as much at his eafe as ' in your palace ; though her hired houfe is not ' fo magnificently furnimed as yours.* Such are my thoughts. But how does the princefs de la Tour act, in the country where (he now is ? She fends, in all hafte, to enquire of madame du Chatelet whether your majefty will pafs this way ; and madame du Chatelet replies, there is not a word of truth in the report, but that the whole is a fable. Not fo fatisfied, (he immediately fends off couriers, to learn the truth.. People, fire, are very curious. We need but have it inferred, in the gazettes, that your ma- jefty will vifit Aix-la-Chapelle, or Spa, and we (hall put the newfmongers off their fcent. Should it however be true that your humanity will pafs through Bruffels, I entreat you will be pleafed to bring fome Englifh drops * in your pocket, for 1 mall faint in ecilafy. M. de Manpertuis is at Wefel, there to ob- ferve and meafure your majefty. He never has feen, nor ever will fee ftar of fuch happy in- fluence. The affair of the Anjti-Machiavel is in a very * Des gouttcs d'Anjfleterre. good e O R R E S P O N D E N C E. 139 good train, for the inftruclion and happinefs of mankind. Your fubjeds, lire, are fortunate, which they are not backward to proclaim : but I fhall be even more fortunate than they are, at the beginning of September. I am, with the moft profound refpefl, and a Hundred other inexpreffible fentiments, &c. LETTER CXXXIX. From M. de Voltaire. SIRE, JJruffels, September I, IVl Y king is at Cleves ; a fmall houfe is ready for him at Bruflels, anu a palace almoft worthy of him at Paris, while I am waiting here for my mafter. My beating heart proclaims the moment near, When I (hall view the man I moft revere ! The king, whofe prefence muft high blifs afford j The poet, whom full often I've ador'd ; And hear, from him, of tafte and truth thofe laws Which Rome had liften'd to with loud applaufe ! Oh Paris ! Abode of the nobk and the frivo- lous ; of good and ill tafte ; of equity and injuf- tice ; great emporium of whatever is good and beautiful, ridiculous and malignant; render thy- 7 felf 14 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. felf worthy, if fo thou mayeft, of the conqueror whom thou wilt receive within thy irregular and bemired walls ! May he obferve triee, himfelf unobferved ; and enjoy all thy pleafures, with- out the incumbrance of royalty ! May he fee, yet .not be feen, except when he fhali pleafe ! For- tunate houfe of Du Chatelet, that art the refi,- dence of the Mufes, and containeft the gallery of Hercules, and the hall of Love ! Abodes of blifs ! The pencils of Le Sueur And great Le Brun, with magic art, To you did erft impart Genius fublime ! As wonderful as rare ! The fitters nine themfelves juft pref 'rence give To you, and here their temples build ; . In prophecy well fldll'd, They knew the gueft you're fated to receive ! By what I can learn from this great city of Paris, I think it will be neceflary that a word (hould be inferted in the gazettes, concerning a letter from your majefty to M. de Maupertuis, which has been printed. There have, no doubt, been fome omiffions made in the incorrect copy which has appeared. To any other perfon, thefe would be a matter of fmall fignification ; but you, fire, are obferved by all Europe. Men fpeak of the provinces, and the minifters, of other monarchs ; whereas they converfe on you your- CORRESPONDENCE. 141 yourfelf ; they examine you, weigh your words, and already judge of you, and them, with feve- rity proportionate to your merit, and your fame. Pardon, fire, the franknefs of a heart which adores you. Perhaps I am importunate ; but no matter, llnce this heart is guilty of no offence. Should your majefty think with me, you will fend the news-writers the ihort paragraph I have here added ; if not, you will view my too fcru- pulous affection with indulgence; remembering that whatever in the leaft affects your perfon, to jne is facred ; fmall things then appear to me vaft in their magnitude. Pardon my zeal, though you ftiould not approve | 'Tis the firft feature in the face of love. LETTER CXL. From the King. MY DEAR VOLTARE, Wefel, Sept. 2, 1740. ON my arrival, I received three of your letters ; the profe of which is charming, and the verfe divine. I (hould have anfvverecl imme- diately, had I not been prevented by a fever, which has attacked me here, in very ill time ; and the more fo as it deranges the whole plan which'*! had formed. 5 Yow 142 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. You wifh to know what has become of me, fince my departure from Berlin. Inclofed is a defcription. 1 (hill not vifit Paris, as has been rumoured ; it was not my defign to go there this year. Perhaps I may make a journey into the Netherlands. In fine, the fever, and my im- patience at not yet having feen you, are the two objeds which mod occupy me at prefent. I will write to inform you, as foon as my health will permit, where and when I ihall have the Jpleafure to embrace you. FREDERIC. I have feen a letter written by you to Mau- pertuis, than which nothing can be more charm- ing. 1 again return you a thoufand thanks, for the trouble you have taken at the Hague, rela- tive to the affair you wot of. Continue your friendfhip for me everlaftingly. I well know how eftimable are friends of your worth. LETTER CXLI. From the King. Wefel, September 5, 1740. \^V his office as proud as a lord of the land, Sicur Honi came here, with your paflport in hand * : * Alluding to an epiftle, in verfe, which M. de Voltairri feat, by the wine-merchant, Honi, to the king. CORRESPONDENCE. 143 Of Bacchus a worthy difciple is he* For pity I begg'd -" Mr. Honi, you fee, *' Of your liquor no longer can I be receiver. " Would you have a man drink when he's dead of a ferer?" To this he replied" From Apollo I hold '* (Of phyfic and verfe he's the god, as I'm told) *' Prefcription fo potent that, pleafe but to read, " You'll to death bid defiance, from fever be freed." The verfe, fign'd Voltaire, foon my fancy inflam'd ; I read ! And I read ! And in raptures exclaim'd " Bleft art ! which the dying to ftrength can reftore : * Eleft bard ! whom all nations and times (hall adore ; *' Thee let me embrace, let me hold to my heart ! " Fly, Honi, I follow ; for Flanders depart ; " For the feat of the mufes, of Venus the fluine! " Thy motive is intereft, gratitude mine. I wait for to-morrow, as the day which is to decide my fate, when the prognoftics of fever or of cure will appear. Should the fever leave me, I fliall be at Anvers on Tuefday fe'Aiught, where I flatter myfelf I fha.il havejjie jpleafure to" meet you and the marchionefs. This will "fee trie mod delightful day of mv life. I believe ___ , ___-_-~ .. .*~ M K.^*?-Uf- i S A***..*-*. > JJV> **>* ' ~~ -^M^u,.. ~- I mail expire ; but a more delightful kind _of death I certainly could not have chofen.. Adieu, my dear Voltaire; a thoufand times I embrace you. FREDERIC. LET- 144 POSTHUMOUS WORKS, LETTER CXLII. From the King. MY DEAR VOLTAIRE, September 6, 1740. 1 H AV E been obliged, in my own de- fpite, to cede the victory to the fever ; which is more obftinate than a Janfenift - y and, however ardent my wi(h to go to Anvers, and from thence to Bruflels, I do not find myfelf able to under- take the journey, without rifk. I have there- fore to aik whether you will not think it too far fo come from Bruflels to Cleves, to meet me. This is the only remaining means I have to fee you. Surely you muft own I am very unfortu- nate ; for now, when I could have difpofed of my perfon as I mould have pleafed, and when no over-ruling power could have difappointed me, a fever interferes, feemingly with an inten- tion to difpute my enjoyment of this pleafure. Let us, my dear Voltaire, deceive this fever, and let me have the fatisfaction to embrace you. Fail not to pay my excufes to the marchionefs, that I cannot have the pleafure to fee her at Bruflels. My whole court is a witnefs of the intention I had to come, which nothing but the fever would have prevented. On CORRESPONDENCE. 145 On Sunday I (hall be at a fmall place near Cleves, where I can enjoy your company en- tirely at ray cafe. Should the fight of you not cure me, I will fend for the prieft, and confefs immediately. Adieu. You know my fentiments, and my heart. FREDERIC. LETTER CXLIII. From the King. September 8, 1740. I DARE not talk to a fon of Apollo of horfes, coaches, relays, and fuch trifles. They are matters with which the gods do not interfere, and which we mortals take upon ourfelves. You will, if you pleafe, depart on Monday in the afternoon for Bareuth ; and, if you think proper, you may dine with me as you pafs. The remainder of my memorial is fo blotted, and in fuch bad condition, that I cannot fend it you. I have ordered the eighth and ninth can- tos^of the Maid of Orleans to be copied. Ac prefent I poffefs the firft and fecond, the fourth VOL. vn. L and 146 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. and fifth, and the eighth and ninth. I keep them under three keys, that they may not be feen by mortal eye. We are told you Cupped yefterday in good company t The wits of all the diftrift came, And fat aflembled in your name : Men worthy well the feaft to fhare ; All zealous for their god, Voltaire ; For they decreed that place to own As heav'n, where you mould fix your throne. Pray obferve that the word heaven is here underflood, in a general fenfe, as a place of joy and pleafure. I refer you to your own remark on the laft line of the Mundane *. Vale. FREDERIC. * This remark no longer fubfifts : it had been made by M. de Voltaire, to avoid the clamours of hypocrites, who pre- tended to take offence at the line " Le paraf&s terrejlre cjt ou je fuis" Where pleafure is, my paradife is there. LET- CORRESPONDENCE. 147 LETTER CXLIV*. From the King. September, 1740* 1 ONCE more thank you, with all pof- fible gratitude, for every trouble which you have taken with my works. I have not the fmalleft objection to make to what you have done ; ex- cept that I regret the time you have thus wafted on fuch trifles. Let me entreat you to inform me of the ex- pences, and the fums advanced by you, for the impreflion ; that I may, at leaft, pay my debts in part. From you I expect comedians, men of learn- ing, works of wit and of fcience, and an infinity of emanations from your great mind. I have no- thing to return but much efteem and gratitude, and that perfect friendship with which I am en- tirely yours. FREDERIC. * This letter is not in the Berlin edition. T. LET- 148 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. LETTER CXLV. From M. de Voltaire. . The Hague, September 12, 1740. JN O R death, nor ficknefs, in the lea,ft As yet difturb our kingly prieft ; Him vainly England's wifh would fend, In heav'n, eternity to fpend. He eats and drinks, and dines and fups, And laughs and jokes, and takes his cups, With rofy cheek and 'vivid eye, As if he never meant to die ! Thou, tyrant Fever, know'ft no fears ; Thou fetter'ft kings the world reveres. Avaunt ! and give my hero eafe : Begone! our cardinal to feize; Or fifty cardinals at once, Fat monks, rich abbots, friars, and nuns, The Pope himfelfj and all his court ; . Thefe make thy victims, thefe thy fport : Such vermin haunt, torment, infeft ; But Frederic leave in peace and. reft. I fend my adorable matter the Anti-Machia- vel, fuch as it is at prefent beginning to be printed. Perhaps the copy will be rather (diffi- cult to read, but time preiTes. It was neceffary to have copies, to fend to London, Paris, and Holland ; and afterward to read and to correct all thofe CORRESPONDENCE. 149 thofe copies. Should your majefty think proper i to have the one I fend tranfcribed, and fliould \ you revife it, and with alterations to be made, I ' am here but to obey your commands. It is an affair which, as it perfonally regards you, I have very much at heart. Continue as you have be- gun, moft amiable man, as well as great prince! Man fo little like to other men ; and like to' other kings in nothing! ^'Cxfar* at chapel daily counts Ills beads ; Such He is tdld are worthy deeds. To idiot indolence inclines The monarch of the minesf ; His old confefibr and his youthful wife Lead him a woeful life. Yarmouth, the Dutch-bred beauty, Sways royal George, and keeps him to his duty. Of Louis praife or filence is the due ; He is my kingwould it were you ! M. de Fenelon came the day before yefterday to queftion me concerning your majefty. I told him that you loved, but did not fear, France; that you- dengrTtea in peace,"^f"Wsr*tfioW ) m^.j*-mt*~r"'** f ''* fJ *~'^' r ' ""i -r*v '-^ % - CV^VMUV/*-;^:.' * I Capable than any man of making war.; that 1 you laboured to make the arts flourim, under 'the protection of the laws ; that you ated wholly ^ ......... , ^ ^^ritasaUU^- -'-"- '-~^*^*^.^U^^> * The Emperor of Germany.' '\ T. f The king of Spain. T. L 3 for JjJO POSTHUMOUS WORKS. for and from yourfelf, yet that you liftencd to good advice. He afterward fpoke of the bi (hop .... of Liege, whom he feemed rather to excufe. But the biftiop is not the lefs wrong ; of which there are two thoitfand proofs at Mafeck *. - ~!, nr ,--ll- l| - JI.'MlMl I'rf"^' 'i'lM*rT "^ ' !ll conform to your majefty's intentions. It will be particularly neceffary immediately to know j on what your majefty mail determine ; in order j to direct the perfons who tranflate the work ; into Englifh and Italian. It is a monument for the lateft pofterity ; the only book worthy of a kmg-which has appeared for thefe fifteen hun- dred years. Your glory is the fubject in queftion, " lor 156 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. for which I have almoft as much aflcaion as for your perfon. Be pleafcd therefore to fend me precife orders. Should your majefty not think the edition of Vanduren fufHciently fuppreffed by the new edition, and if you wifh me to buy up as many / copies as I can of the former, you have only to fend me your commands. I will likewife buy up as many as 1 can without affectation in other countries ; for he has begun to fend his book abroad. It is one of thofe knavifh tricks for which there is no remedy. 1 am obliged here to maintain a law-fuit againft him : the intention of the rafcal was to keep both the firft and the fe- cond editions to himfelf. He wiftied to print from the manufcript which I endeavoured to get back from him, and even that which I have corrected, and toT cheat under the cloak of the law. He founds his claims on having received the firft manufcript from me ; and afferts that he alone has a right to print the book. Well may he act thus; for the two editions, and thofe which muft follow, would make his fortune : I being per- fuacled that any bookfdler in Europe, who fhould have the fole copy- right to himfelf, would at leaft gain thirty thoufand ducats. This man has given me much trouble; but a word under your majefty 's hand will be my con- 6 folation. CORRESPONDENCE. 1 $*] isolation. Of this I have great need, for I am on a bed of thorns. I live in your palace ; and, though it be true that I do not put your envoy to any expence, yet, after a certain time, a gueft becomes trouble- fome. I can neither leave it nor live in it with perfeft propriety, unlefs your majefly mould write a line to your envoy. To this packet I add the copy of my letter to the wretched curate with whom the manufcript was depofited ; for I wifh your majefty to be in- formed of every ftep I take. I am, &c. LETTER CXLVIII. From the King. Remufberg, Oftober 1740. 1 AM afliamed of being three letters in your debt, but ftill more afliamed of the con- tinuance of my fever. Truly, my dear Voltaire, we are poor creatures ! 'A very trifle diforders and fubdues us. I have profited by your advice relative to } the bifliop of Liege, and you will fee my claims \ printed in the gazettes. The affair however is drawing of all the arts As all that 's exquifite, in fruiti, Concentrates in the pine ; So all that's exquifite, in art, Voltaire, is duly thine ! You talk to me concerning my health, and think me full of prejudices, while I think it my misfortune that I have too few- Hippocrates, and all his faints, In vain would I adore : Pois'nous to me their drugs and pills ; Then why their aid implore ? Of faints, indeed^ the trade I hold In little eftimation ; Knaves, fools, or madmen, them I deem, Whate'er their fe& or nation. For you, ye qttacks, forbear to vaunt That ye can life impart ; Wifdom and Fate but laugh to view The antics of your art. The lawyer, proud in argument, To fave the world from harm, His well-cloth'd client naked leaves, Then aflcs him " How ! Not warm ?" Thus prieft, phyfician, lawyer, all Unite an awful trine ! One cries, Your purfe ! Your life ! the next ; The third, Your foul is mine ! VOL. vii. M But i6a POSTHUMOUS WORKS* But lawyer, empiric, and prieft, Of noble pedigree, Aflaflins, rafcals, traitors, hence ! You 're not the men for me. I have entirely read Machiavel, and, to own the"truTh7arn^ not quite fatisfied ; for which rea- tbn I am determined to change what does not* pleafe me, and to print a new edition, at Berlin, under my own infpection. With this intent I have fent an article to the public papers, in which the author of the work difavows the two editions. 1 afk your pardon, but I could not MMMM>MS*MMM>-'- < ^ K ^Vr!^~~'* > '- 1 ~ r ^'*^ i "^ i '**^*'-*-~- 1&> *-' : '^"--"-'- *.- '.ff aft otherwife ; for there are fo many alterations in your edition, thajjit is no longer my work. I have found the fifteenth and fixteenth chapters very different to what I wiftied them to be ; and it will be the employment of the winter to new-model the book. Let me however entreat you not to mention my name too freely_, for this gives me no pleafure. You know likewife that, when I fent you the manufcript, I exaded in- violable fecrecy. I have taken young Luifius into my fervice. As to his father, he efcaped, I believe, about a year ago, from the country of Cleves ; and I think it will be a matter of great indifference where the lunatic ends his life. I know not at what place you will receive this letter, but (hall be very glad mould it meet you near CORRESPONDENCE. 163 hear Pruffia. Every thing is prepared for your reception, and I wait the moment to embrace you with impatience. Many thanks for what you have written in my favour. Friendmip with you has no limits ; my gratitude is equally unbounded *. Your marquis t and your Dutchmen doze On down, and vent their dreams ; Out-ftretch'd at eafe, the world reform, And me reprove, it feems. So let them idly loll and preach, I envy not fuch blifs : 'Tis certain thofe who nothing do Can never do amifs. LETTER CL. From M. de Voltaire. The Hague, Ofloter 17, 174*. JL O Berlin foon the mock-majeftic race, With ruffle, fword, bag-wig, and unwalh'd face, Hail, rain, and thunder, poniard, trumpet, drum, Silk rags, and patch-work finery, mall come ; * This paragraph, and the following verfes, are added from the Bafil edition. T. t The ambaflador, Fenelon. M 2 Law* 164 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. Laws and religion, human and divine, Nightly to teach, that they next day may dine r With hero ftalk and ftamp, and beggar pride, Ena&ing how the mighty Caefar died ; And how, in robes Dutch-gilt and linen foul, The world he rul'd, with ftrut, and rant, and howl. Half woman and half feather, head and heel, Hear dwarfifh heroine Dido's woes reveal To fix-foot confidante ; whofe virtuous tears Are interfpers'd with wanton winks and leers, At lovers aim'd, who wait till weeping queen* Retire to cure their griefs, behind the fcenes. God be praifed that your rnajefty has made the generous refolution foon to take pleafure. This is the only advice I have dared to give ; but I defy politicians to give better. Recoiled: the conftant pain in your fide ; a difeafe which labouring in the cabinet will increafe, and which pleafure will cure. He who renders others happy deferves happinefs himfelf ; but will not obtain it, if he have a pain in his fide. At length I fend you copies of the new edi- tion of the Anti-Machiavel. I think I have taken the only part which remained to be taken, and that I have obeyed your facred commands. I perfifl in believing it was neceflary to fqften fome paffages, which might have given offence to the feeble, and difguft to certain politicians. 1 repeat that fuch a book has no need of fuch L CORRESPONDENCE. 165 ornamentjujDarts. The ambaflador Camas would be thrown off the hinges, were he to encounter thefe tickling maxims at Paris, which however he practifes a little too much. The very devout will be your admirers. They arc no partifans of rrjine, indeed ; but I am more cautious in jour behalf and refpedlable monarch, the mofl amiable of kingSj JhfflLLld.pl cafe, the whole world. After the ode of Greffet, there is no poffibility, fire, that you mould conceal yourfelf. The mine is blown,; and kisrequifite boldly to appear on the breach. None but Oftrogoths and Vandals can think it wrong that a young prince, of twenty-five or twenty-fix, mould employ his leifure to render men better, and to inftruct them while inftrudr.- ing himfelf. You made yourfelf wings, when at Rheinfberg, on which, to mount, to. imrnor- jality. Though you will difcover every road to fame, yet this is not the leaft glorious of paths ''^^~'i-fl^,,-^^^ V f^f^^'f : '^^-'^ty^^}i^'^^ ! ^' > 'J**'--*.'.->V .p...... ... .-..,. Witnefe the god whom Titus bow'd before, Nor blufti'd Aurelius at his ftirine t' adore ; Blafphem'd by bigots, worfhipp'd by the wife, Whofe gifts my monarch fhall immortalize. Young French officers are daily coming here, who, when aiked what is their intention, anfwer M 3 they l66 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. they are going to feek employment in Pruffia. There are at prefent four of my acquaintance, one of whom is the fon of the governor of Berg- Saint- Vinox ; another is fub-major of the regif ment of Luxembourg ; a third the fon of a preii- dent ; and the fourth the baftard of a bimop. One has run away with a girl ; another has run away with himfelf; this has married the daughter of his taylor; and the fourth wimes to turn player, till he can obtain a regiment. I have heard intelligence, by which my to- lerant fpirit is enraptured : your majefty has in- vited the poor anabaptifts back, who had been driven out of Pruffia, I do not very well knovy why If John exorcife, or be exorcis'd ; If he have twice been, or not once, baptiz'd ; Be facraments, or be they not, his due ; If he be Chriftian, Brachman, Turk, or Jew, I aflc not. What is country, faith, or birth ? I only aflc " Is John a man of worth ?" While he refpe&s the magiftrate, and laws, While he is virtuous, he has my applaufe. Your faints can feed on faith, however crude ; For me, I find it unfubftantial food. LET, CORRESPONDENCE. 167 LETTER CLI. From tbe King. MY DEAR VOLTAIRE, 1 AM a thoufand times obliged to you for the good offices you have done me ; for the man of Liege, whom you have vanquifhed ; for Vanduren, whom you keep in awe ; and in fine for all your acts of friendfhip. In a word, you are the guardian of my works, and the for- tunate genius whom no doubt fome beneficent being has fent to fupport and infpire me Ungrateful mortals, fenfelefs hearts of ftone, Whom afts of human courtefy difown, Abjure your felfifh arts, hear Virtue's claim, Admjlfion grant to Friendfhip's facred flame. Oh Friendfhip ! Child of heav'n ! By hcav'n endow'4 With all the gifts of which the gods are proud ! Jealous Affection, burning Zeal, are thine ; And all that renders man, mere man, divine I , " ., . '. i.- .. -. ~, . ',-. - . '?; " M * The date in the Berlin edition is Oftober 2j, 1740. M 4 Souls l68 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. Souls high in virtue doft thou feck, and bind In th* unfeen fetters of congenial mind j Souls that the fmiles or frowns of Fate difdain, Souls that o'er Fate herfelf unfhaken reign 1 Nyfus ! Euryalus! Immortal pair, Sacred to friendship ! Dauntlefs, noble, fair ! Wife in the captivating bloom of youth ; Victims of patriot-love, and mutual truth ! / Yes, matchlcfs youths! Fame has to you decreed That frefheft, faireft wreath, bleft Friend/hip's meed ! Nor Time Iragu'd with Oblivion, Merit's foes, Shall wreft the blooming honours from your brows. Yet, hark ! I hear a more exalted name ; One whofe demands are higher ftill on Fame ; Voltaire, refounding, fills aftonifu'd fpace ! *'" ! JYiendfhip's high-prieft, in office firft and place. Mornay * had long the fplendid ftation held, For far had Mornay modern friends excell'd ; Hearing thy name, refpedful he retir'd, And thus addrefo'd thee Truth his bofom fir'd : *' From duty 1 my fov'reign's rights maintain'd ; <{ Traitors my fword, my tongue, my pen difdain'd ; '* Motives more gen'rous ftill thy bofom knows, " With fecrtt acts of love thy friendship glows. *' By virtues properly thy own fupplied, '* By thee my worth made known, by thee outvied : " In giving fame thou but infpireft awe } " When thou appear'ft 'tio fit that I withdraw." * Warrior, ambafTador and friend of Henry IV. ; and one of the principal characters in the Henriude. T. Thus CORRESPONDENCE. 169 Thus fpoke the fage ; each cherubim-fraught cloud j His words to liftening earth repeats aloud : The liilf-mng earth reverb'rates back th* applaufe : And Truth, Voltaire, and Friendfhip, gain their caufe ! While heav'n and earth combin'd the founds renew, Yet do but grant the praife that is thy due, In France, exerting friend's prerogative, For thee I plead, that tyrants may forgive. Gift of the godlike ! Friendfhip, be thou mine ! Thy virtues, nay thy weaknefles, divine ! Thou art of magnanimity the fource ; Venus compar'd to thee wants love, Alcides force. I am exerting my whole rhetoric with Her- cules* de Fleuri, to try whether he may not be ^umanized, j;ejanviejo_. jmirlejjf. You know what a kind of animal a prieft, a politician, and luf obftmate man is j and I moft particularly en-> treat you will not render me refponfible for the fuccefs of my felicitations. He is a Vanduren, feated on a throne Thisred-capp'd Machiavel, whom Falfe Report, Evafion, Quiik, and new-born Lye furround, Reais now and then his creft, and Worth makes blufli. Strange that, unlefs th' old Idol be perfum'd With myrrh, frankincenfe, and Arabia's fpice, * Hercules was the chriilian name of cardinal de Fleuri. T. Unlefs 170 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. Unlefs his praife be trumpeted aloud, Murder ! Decorum 's murder'd, is the cry I I know thy heart, where lurk nor abjeft praife, Nor daftard fear : thou greatnefs doft not worfm'p. Sincere and upright, franknefs fuch as thine But ill can pleafe this old, this mitred monarch. To charms of Philis, ay or Emily, What tho' divine, thou Freedom doft prefer. Born for her arms, the miftrefs of thy heart The fplendid beauty reigns ; and reign ftill might, Would'fl thou but hither come, and join with me In worfhip at her flirine. And ah ! Why not ? Can none but France, ungrateful France, true plcafures yield? There is an additional paragraph to this letter, in the Berlin edition, which contains the fubftance of letter CXLIV. It is difficult to fay whether it were or were not a feparatc letter. T. LET- CORRESPONDENCE. 171 LETTER GUI. Ffom. M. de Voltaire, The Hague, GOofer *$ 1740' OH lovely Hope ! Delightful (hade! With blifs thou doft the foul pervade. Say, fhall I fee the king, whofe art Enraptures and fubdues the heart ? 'Tis odd enough, but we are told By Mr. Bible (author old) That Mofes faw his God, I ween, Although he was not to be feen. . With bold aflertion, one verfe fays, He view'd Jehovah face to face ; Another frankly dares to teach He fpoke with nothing but his breech. The book incongruous has been call'd j No matter though the text be bald, Or whether lips that gave the wig4 Before were ftation'd, or behind. 'Tis very clear his God he faw, From him receiv'd his written law. Your laws, I own, give more delight ; There's greater rapture in your fight ! I've feen the monarch twice, I'll fay, Who ready homage deigns to pay Tp Love, when Love is pleas'd to call ; To Mirth, when Mirth laughs in the hall. Palis* IJZ POSTHUMOUS WORKS. Pallas and Mars to him are known ; To ev ? ry noble art he's prone : And Minos' laws, and Mufes' lyre, His genius epercife, and fire. And yet he fwerves, oh ftrange to tell ! From precepts which he knows fo wefl : Himfelf neglecling, back he flies, And with a burning fever dies! The prince of Hefle has this moment aflured me, fire, that the king of Sweden, having long been of your majefty's opinion, and having dif- fered under a kind of continual fever, at length yielded in obftinacy to the difeafe, took the bark, and is cured. Earth's kings colle&ive muft indeed Bluflung before my kjng recede ; His foul is far a brighter flame : Alas ! His body 's much the fame. If, in the climate of Sweden, a king, whether he be or be hot the partifan of France, be cured by the Jefuits' powder, why will you, fire, not take this powder ? To Loyola, in this, obedience fliew j Let your Lutherian fpirit prove He little knew of things above; But take the bark, and own his pow'r below. I wifti, fire, to travel to Berlin, accompanied bv CORRESPONDENCE. iyj by a packet of the powder of bark. In vain would your majefty continue your labours, while afflicted with the fever, and employ.your leifure in writing the profe of Cicero and the poetry of Catullus. If you continue to neglect this accurfed fever, I fhall inceffantly be uneafy. If it be your majefty's with that I fhould, for a few days, be happy enough to pay you my court, My heart, and this my meagre frame* Are prompt your bounteous fmiles to claim ; Nor is my promptitude unknown ; You 're well convinced my heart 's your own. I (hall be under the indifpenfable neceflity of returning foon to Bruflels, to aid madame du Chatelet in her kw-fuit, and to quit Marcus Aurelius for chicanery. But where is the man who is matter of his own aftions ? Have not you yourfelf an immenfe load to bear, which fre- quently, by the neceffity of fulfilling your (acred J duties, impedes the gratification of your inclina- tions ? I am, &c. .LET- 174 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. LETTER CLIII. From the King. MY DEAR VOLTAIRE, oa. 26,1740, 1 H E moft unexpected accident on earth at prefent prevents me from opening my heart to you, as ufual, and prattling as much as I wifti. l The Emperor is dead To monarchy not born, he firfl was king, Emperor next ; Eugene his glory was ; But, to the heraldry of future fame Derogatory, bankrupt has he died. His death deranges all my pacific ideas ; and I imagine that, in the month of June, there will be more talk of gunpowder, foldiers, and fortified towns, than of aflrcfles, balls, and theatres ; fo that I am obliged to fufpend the agreement into which we were to have entered. My affair with Liege is terminated ; but the prefent bufinefs is of much greater confequencc "" tgliTf Europe : it is the moment of total change ' Jt uf " :f " ~.^-.r o r ' -;*aV'-"" x >* ..*->- -= in the old fyftem of politics. It is the (tone hewn out of the rock without hands, in the dream of Nebuchodonofor ; and which, falling upon the Tour metals, deftroyed them aljL^ m """a ' I am CORRESPONDENCE. 175 I am a thoufand times obliged to you for the finifhed impreffion of Machiavel. I can do no- thing more at it, at prefent, for I am overloaded, with affairs. Tffiall fend my fever about its bu- fmefs, having need of my machine, and it being neceflary that every advantage (hould be taken which the moment affords. J __,.^_~*~ ~--- M*-t- ----SC.^tW -..-. i<*-M,., I fend you an ode, in anfwer to that of Greffet. Adieu, dear friend. Never forget me, but remain perfuaded of the tender efteem with which I am Your very faithful friend. LETTER CUV. From the King. Remulberg, November 8, 1 740. A BO VE the clouds, with rapid flight, Soon art thou loft to mortal fight ; While crawling here, on earth, I rove ; The fport of thunder-bearing Jove, Of malice, and of furious zeal ; Which laft hath oft made mortal feel Such torments as, from juftice fwervM, Itfelf alone could have defervM. But leave we bigots preaching folly, Howling to make men melancholy. Of fell exploit, and warlike deed, Of thrones, and pow'rs, and princes, read Thou 176 POSTHUMOUS WORK3. Thou willing would'ft, in book which Fate Ne'er man permitted to tranflate ; And book that ne'er was read t* explain Might puzzle a very learned brain. Go fearch the records of the dome By Voltaire built, for Henry's home ; Fame's temple, where in blooming youthy Spotlefs and pure, ftands naked Truth. There ev'ry queftion thou malt afk To folve will be an eafy talk. But, if thy curious wifh re nand Fantaftic figures by my hand, I take the brufli, and Sketches draw, Exceeding all that Callot * faw. Firft then behold ma'am Glory's pot, By iloker fiend kept boiling hot ; While lunatics, in fearch of fame, Gaze at andfnuff the fumes and flame. With vifage black, and fiery brand Whirling aloft in either hand, Turn here and view a fpe®rim, A female of diftorted limb, Such jargon muttering, in her fear, As nevtr ftruck on mortal ear ! Sufpicion her fupport ; and Pride, Through dark uncertainty, her guide. Groping in doubt and dread fhe creeps, And ricTer imilesj and never fleeps. Implacant harpy ! Hear her name ! 'Tis Policy ! From hell me came ; She and the dam that gave her birth, Int'reft Their end ? To trouble earth ! * A famous defigner of the grctefque. TV Their CORRESPONDENCE. 177 Their imps and they, on envy's wings, Pervade the courts and hearts of kings j Nations embroil, and hatred fpread, And rage, that die not with the dead. And, hark ! I hear the thund'ring drum ! Of madd'ning heroes thoufands come j Rape, murder, faccage they purfue ; And while exultingly they view The flow'r of manhood mangled, flain, The flirieking infant, bleeding plain, The wafted field, the burning town, They vaunt of valour and renown ! Loud fwells the ftorm ! Of crowds bereft, Of honour ftript, in mifery left, The potent and the proud I fee ! No more The reft I leave to thee ! All I omit, where, when, and why, Thy rapid fancy can fupply. Shift thou the ghaftly fcene of death ; For, wanting words, and out of breath, Offended, fick'ning at the fight, My mufe half frighten'd takes her flight. This is an excellent hiftory of the things which f you forefee. Had Don Louis Acunha, cardinal Alberoni, or the mitred Hercules, any fecretary who mould prefent them with fimilar plans, I imagine he would quit their cabinet with the lofs of a pair of ears. Yon muft however be fa- tisfied for the prefent. I leave you to imagine as much more as you mall pleafe. With refpect to the affairs of your own private politics, we will VOL. vn. N 178 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. confult on them at Berlin ; and I imagine I mail foon have the means of rendering you perfect fatisfaction. Adieu, dear fwan. Let me occafionally hear you fing ; but not, according to the fiction of the poet, by furrendering your foul on the banks of the Simois. I wifh to receive your letters, and to fee you in good health, even better than you are in at prefent. You know the efteem I have for you, of which you are perfuaded. LETTER CLV. From M. de Voltaire. Herford, November n, 1740. HERE traveling poft to Paradlfe, Through ruts of fnow and hills of ice, Some fiend malignant, griev'd to fee My car roll onward firm and free, A ftorm firft rais'd of rain and hail, Comes me behind, and whifks his tail ; Crafh ! Down I go, and out. I roll : And here am left by this damn'd foul ! With pride imprudent oft did I Fortune in former times defy : But I recant : her fecret fprings Govern coach wheels, as well as kings j One king excepted, pray take note To her my pray'rs I thus devota To CORRESPONDENCE. 179 *' To meet thy matter, yet thy pride, " Oh lady, grant my fteps to guide ! " Smile and accord this happy day, " And be the world befide thy prey* Fortune, fire, has been too envious of my ac- cefs to your majefty. Far from granting my prayers, me has juft broken down the coach which was bringing us to the promifed land, on the Herford road. Du Molard, the Orientalift, whom I bring with me into Pruffia, according to your rnajefty's orders, pretends that never had pilgrim of Mecca a more vexatious accident in Arabia; and that the Jews, in the wildernefs, were not fo much to be pitied. Here one fervant fcampers to requeft aid from the Weftphalians, who imagine he is come to afk for fomething to drink ; another runs he knows not whither. Du Molard, who promifes him- felf to write the narrative of our journey in Ara- bic and Syriac, is as capable of ufing his hands and legs as if he were not a man of learning : he is gone on difcovery, half on foot, half in a cart ; and I, in my velvet breeches, filk flock- ings, and galofhes, am mounted upon a reftive horfe, Without faddle, or moes, a moft forrowful elf, Aftride on a courfer as lean as myfelf i N 2 You'4 ISO POSTHUMOUS WORKS. You'd have afk'd, had you feen, while your fides muft have fplit, Can this be that animal men call a wit ? Tkus wander'd, as we by Cervantes are told, Through forefls and deferts, Don Quixote of old : He griev'd not, and fure I've lefs caufe to repine ; His goal was Tobofo, but Potfdam is mine ! Arriving at Herford thus equipped, the fenti- nel demanded my name. I very properly an- fvvered Don Quixote; and under this name was admitted. When fhall I be able to throw myfelf at your majefty's feet ? At thofe of your creature, your admirer, your &c. LETTER CLVI. From M. de Voltaire *. A fragment. I leave my king, 'tis true 5 but my torn heart Tells how reluctantly, how griev'd I part. Four years in faith this heart has never err'd , Ten years affection ftill muft be preferr'd. * This, being one of M. de Voltaire's letters, is not in tfie Berlin edition ; and is with ftrange inaccuracy afcribed to Frederic by the Bafil editors. T. Hero CORRESPONDENCE. l8l Hero of friend/hip, I appeal to you, If yours the firft, is not the latter due ? I love, yet leave ; my miftrefs chides my ftay ; I hear, I turn, I figh, yet willingly obey,. Your ode is perfed, and I mould feel envy did I not feel rapture. I caft myfelf at the feet of your humanity. I have dared tenderly to attach myfelf to the moft amiable of men : I ad- mire the protedlor of the empire, of his fubjefts, and of th arts. LETTER CLVII. From M. de Voltaire. Cleves, December 15, 1740. I RIGHTLY foretold that Berlin mould be queen Of the arts and the pleafures, as Athens had been. An'd when Algarotti the tender has prefs'd The handfome Lujac, his young friend, to his breaft, I've thought I beheld, with exception of age, Alcibiades lock'd in the arms of the fage. Not the flat-fac'd, the black-brow'd, the large-fronted Grecian j But the blue-eyed, the Roman-nos'd, charmingVenetian*. Of Venice and Greece let me prattle no more. For Frederic I quitted what moft I adore- * Count Algarotti was a native of Venice. T. N 3 My i8a POSTHUMOUS WORKS. My books and my miftrefr ; to hear and admire The ftrong yet mellifluous founds of his lyre, He ftruck ! And its harmony told me to ftay j But the trumpet difcordant now drives me Undaunted, the temple of Janus you throw Wide open to wretchednefs, warfare, and woe. While you with a paffion fo different burn, Confus'd to the Temple of Love I return ; At Emily's feet my juft homage to pay, And henceforth the precepts of beauty obey* I pray Heaven, fire, that peace and war may favour all your grand enterprizes; and that I may again foon meet my hero at Berlin, loaded with a double wreath of laurel, &c. LETTER CLVIII. From the King* MY DEAR VOLTAIRE, 1 HAVE received your two letters, but have not been able to anfwer them fooner. I am like the check-mated king of Charles XII. which ftill kept moving. During this laft fort- night we have been continually on the foot, and have the fineft weather poffible. J am too much fatigued to anfwer your charm- ing CORRESPONDENCE. 1 83 Ing verfes, and too cold to tafte all their beau- ties; but thefe troubles will pafs away. Aik not poetry from a man who has actually turned carter ; and is fometimes even a very befpattered carter. Do you wifh to know the life I lead ? We march from feven in the morning till four in the afternoon. I then dine. I afterward work, and receive dull vifits ; to which fucceeds a routine of infipid affairs. I have the fcrupu- lous to convince, the ardenfto reftrain, the idle t& fnf ke aclive, the choleric to cool, the rapacious to contain within the bounds of equity, the pro- lix to hear, and the mute to cbriverfe with. In fine, it is neceiTary to drink with the drunkard, to cat with the glutton, anxLto become a Jew witri Jews, and a heathen with heathens. Such are my occupations, which I would wil- lingly yield to another, did riot" the phantom called Fame pay me too frequent vifits. This is truly a great folly; a difeafe for which, being once imbibed into the habit, it is difficult to find a cure. 1 ' ' Adieu, my dear Voltaire. May Heaven pre- ferve from danger him with whom I wifh to fup, after having fought this morning. The fwan of Padua *, I 'imagine, will profit by my abfence, * His fweet, his dear,' his harmonious fwan of Padua, were epithets beftowed by the king on. count Algarotti, who had ftudied at Bologqa and Padua. T. N 4 and 184 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. and make a tour to Paris ; the philofophic ma- thematician * will fquare the circle; the philo- fophic man of letters -j~ will tranflate from the Greek ; and the learned Dodiffime { will do nothing, or fomething perhaps very like nothing. Once again, dear Voltaire, adieu. Do not forget the abfent who love you. LETTER CLIX. B. I .- . --^ . ., From the King. i i r^- 7 ^^ OWau, April i 3 r founds be affigned to each. Doubt of every thing, if you pleafe, except that I with you never to entertain fcepticifm relative to the efteem "1 have for yon. Beperfuaded that I love you ever. !$(3ieu. LET- 186 . POSTHUMOUS' WORKS. LETTER CLX. From the King. The camp of Molwitr, May j, 174*. FR O M this portative city, fo light That it (hakes with each guft of the wind, Where brick, mortar, and ftone Are unknown ; Where, ill at our eafe, We fleep under trees, In fields that are gloomily glorious 5 Where Pruffia's proud warriors, victorious, Their fugitive enemies chafe ; From this oddly-built city I write, Where cruel ambition difplays The'blood-dripping banners of **I*o prove human pity a farce ; I write to my friend, who, reclin'd On the temperate bofom of peace, The loves and the pleafures unites ; The living inftru&s and delights, * Of wifdom the ftores to increafe. While I, where contentions are bred, Am doom*d to behold, Amid nations untold, Heroes number'd each day with the dead ! This is all my warlike mufe has to fay, feated in a cold camp. I do not dwell on tJie Delicate minutize of fenfibility, for there is no- 'fHing refined in the manner in which ._we here converfe. CORRESPONDENCE. 187 converfc^JThis I continually regret ; and, while I fubjed the obedient fury of my troops, it is continually at the expence of my feelings, which fuffer under the neceflary evil which I cannot avoid committing. Marflial de Belleifle is come hither, with a fuite of very intelligent men. I imagine very little underftanding can be left among the French, after what has been exported by thefe gentlemen of the embafly. To fee Frenchmen who are not lunatics that ought to be manacled, is thought a very ftrange phenomenon in Germany. Such are the prejudices of nations. Of thefe fome people of genius rid themfelves; but this is mud in which the vulgar are continually be- mired : error is their inheritance. To you, who combat error, be health, pro- fperity, and glory everlafting ! Adieu. LETTER CLXI. From M. de Voltaire. \J N C E I believ'd one common foul was ours ; Which yet is much, for fools have none, we find ; JBut no fo vaft, fo wondrous are your pow'rs, Earth's fum of fools you might fupply with miiid. Pallas, l8 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. Pallas, 'tis plain, your politics direfts ; Tour lyre, Apollo ; Mars your foes fubjefts. Your bed a gun, your canopy the fky ; Neupcrg and all his hofl before you fly. Caefar, your patron, letters lov'd and arts : Of kingdoms conquer'd, and his own deferts, He boldly wrote ; and what he wrote remains : But wrote he verfes on Pharfalia's plains ? Your pen, the flying Auflrian in the field, You ardent feize, while yet your fword you wield : This I forefaw, great king, nor would oppofe ; My genius yields fubmiflive as your foes. Tojmtejvgrf^jind charming verfes, after a victory, fire, is a thing unique in its kind, and was confequently referved for your majefty. You 'have beaten Ncuperg and Voltaire. Your ma- jefty ought to inclofe laurel leaves in your let- ters, as did the old Roman generals. At once you merit the triumph of the victor and of the $two laurel branches at leaft are your J due. I hear that Maupertuis is at Vienna. I pity him more than any one ; but I pity all who are not near your perfon. Colonel Camus, it is faid, is dead, very much vexed that he was not killed in your majefty's prefence. Major Knobertoff (whofe name I write improperly) has had this gloomy honour ; from which God preferve your majefty ! CORRESPONDENCE. 189 majefty ! I am certain, great king, of your fame; but not fo of your life. Amid how many dan- gers, and how many labours, do you pafs this glorious life ! Leagues to anticipate or break, allies to procure or to retain, fieges, battles, ne trifles of a hero. Perhaps you will enjoy every thing ex- " "cept happinefs. You can make an emperor, prevent an em- peror being made, or make you rfelf emperor. Should the latter happen, your majefty will not therefore to me be : 'tfie "more' facredj*. T am very" impatient to dedicate Mahomet to that adorable majefty. I have had it aded at Lille, where it was performed better than at Paris; but, however great the emotions which it excited, they do not equal the emotions my heart feels, when I recoiled all your heroic ads. * Sacred is one of the titles which acsompany the dignity f emperor. T. LET- i^o POSTHUMOUS WORKS. LETTER CLXII. From the King. The camp of Molwitz, May 13, 1741. 1 HE Paris gazettes affirm you are at the point of death, and that madame du Chate- let never moves from your pillow. They made me tremble for the life of a man whom I love, at the moment when the receipt of your letter informed me this fame man was full of life, and ftill my friend. It is not my brother who has been wounded, but prince William my coufm. On this fortu- nate and unfortunate day we have loft many good fubjeJb. I tenderly regret fome friends, the memory of whom will never be effaced from my heart. Sorrow for friends flain is an evil which Providence has deigned to annex to fuc- cefsin war, in order to temper that immoderate joy which is raifed by advantages gained over our enemies. The lofs of brave men is the more fenfibfy felt, becaule the debt of gratitude is due to their manes ; which is a debt I never TKall fufficiently difchargg^J. My prefent fituation will foon lead me, my dear Voltaire, into new dangers. Having fell- ed a tree, it is good to cut away the very roots ; ~ lea ' CORRESPONDENCE. *l left the old flock mould fend forth new icions. We have therefore to fee what we can do with this free, of which marflial Neuperg may be re- garded as the fap. I have converted much with marfhal de Belleifle, who in all countries would be what is called a very great man. In what relates to war, at leaft, he is a Newton ; and as amiable, in private life, as he is intelligent and profound in public affairs. He does infinite honour to his nation, and to the choice of his in after. I wifti with my whole heart to hear none but good news concerning you; in which be per- fuaded no one interefts himfelf more than your faithful friend. LETTER CLXIII. From the King. The camp of Grotkau, June 2, 1741. ATTAINING ev'ry art withUe, Efpecially the art to pleafe ; A volunteer in Venus' wars, You who on us and our huflars A thought beftow ; who well have told Of Locke the/age, and Charles the bold ; And, while you fing the wife and brave, Of woman are the willing Have ; > Ruling, Ip2 POSTHUMOtTS WORKS. Ruling, though rul'd, as is but fit, The realms of wifdom and of wit ; ~J^ Accept, from camp in which platoons Give fire for fire, and fierce dragoons Cut, hack, and hew, that they may dwell On feats which they perform fo well Accept a /ketch of this our life, Exhal'd in turbulence and ftrife. Czfario young, and Jordan mort, Hsfreboth been here to pay their court ; Tully and Horace with them came, And fome few other folks of fame. Wits, politicians, here have been ; Heroes and marfhals have we feen j Soldiers we've view'd, whofe worthy trade Is impudence, and ambufcade ; While falfehood, ftratagem, and trap ; Mine, battery, battle, and mifliap ; All thefe have pafs'd before our fight : While Atropos, with fiend-like fpite, Has cut and mow'd down men like grafs. And yet the multitude, that afs, By nature faddled to be ridden, Has proudly march'd to death when bidden. Should I be happier, what though more Follies had pafs'd thefe eyes before ? With you of wifdom's cup to drink ; Of pleafures tafte, yet tailing think ; With you to live, converfe, and cares difmifs, This, or I know it not, were perfeft blifs ! Neither my brother nor theKnobelfdorf, whom frou are acquainted with, were in the battle. The 4 perfons CORRESfONDENfcE. lJ perfons, who had the misfortune to be killed, were one of my coufins, and a major of dra- goons, named Knobelfdorf. Let me hear from you oftener, continue to love me ever, and be perfuaded of the efteem I have for you. Adieu* LETTER CLXIV. From the King* The camp of Strehlen, July 5, 1741. The publication of your hiftory gives me great pleafure ; nor will this be a trifling laurel, in ad- dition to thofe with which the hand of immorta- lity is preparing to bind your brow. It is your glory that I cherifh. 1 am interefted in the Age of Louis XIV. I admire you as a philofopher, but I love you much better as a poet. Sublime in rapturous harmony and fhe, Oh Horace ! who would not prefer thy lyre To thofe' gigantic ftrides which pedants take, Who trade in worlds, and fleepy fyftems make j Who vainly fluids, heat, and air difiecl: j And hunt for errors they can ne'er deteft? voi. vir. O One *$4 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. One man writes a philofophical romances another mounts with much difficulty, and adjufts the different ramifications of a fyftem which is the offspring of his own filly brain. In dreams let us not lofe our time ; In pleafures we mould fpend our prime. Fair fcience little progrefe makes, By round affertion and miftakes : He who would fearch her myftcwes out Mull firft learn modeilly to doubt. Hiftory and poetry prefent the mind with a field much more free, and treat on fubje&s more capable of general comprehenfion. The one relates fadts ; the other prefents pleafmg pictures. True phiiofophy confifts in fortitude of foul, and that perfpicacity of mind which prevents us from falling into vulgar errors, and believing in effeds without a caufe. Yours no doubt is beautiful poetry, and con- tains whatever has been beft effected by the poets of antiquity* As graceful as the beauteous dove, Your mufe the mother feems of Love, Whene'er, in language fweet, yet ftrong, Love is the fubje& pf her fong ; But, when of war me paints the courfe, Hers is the dreadful thunder's force. You and your mufe transform yourfclves into what CORRESPONDENCE. 195 what you pleafe ; but it is not given to all to aft the Proteus, like you. We common mortals are obliged to be fatisfied with that trifling talent which avaricious Nature has deigned to beftow. I have no ne,w& tg, fend you from the camp, for here we live in the utmofl tranquillity. The huffars are the heroes of the piece, during the interlude; while ambafladors harangue me, while Siiefian cuckoldom thrives, and while &c. &c. My compliments to the marchionefs. With refpect to yourfelf, you cannot but be perfuaded of the perfect efteem and friendfhip I ihall ever maintain for you. Farewel. P. S, Poor Cefario is ill at Berlin, whither I have fent him to be cured ; and Jordan, who is juft arrived from Berlin, is quite fatigued with the journey. LETTER CLXV. From M. de Voltaire. Bruffcls, June 39, OF different men how different is the doom ! A vigorous youthful eagle, full in plume (But not th* Imperial ; he has long furviv'd Thofe claws and beak of which he 's beeu depyiyM), O 3 Caring, 196 POSTHUMOUS WORKS- Daring, has glory waken 'd to renown ; Glory that flept far diftant from the throne. A cunning fox * lies watchful, in his den, For chickens, ftraying from the clacking hen. An artlefs dove, nor warrior he, nor knave, In antique dove-coat feeks himfelf to fave. This dove forlorn am I ; far off I view The royal bird the timid flocks purfue. Ah ! Were I lefs a dove, and did I dare, How would I rife and cleave the yielding air ! How would I hover o'er my hero's head 5 Nay haply too, o'erta'en, in mortal dread, Stript, pillag'd by huflars, like Maupertuis, Neuperg I might in plight diftrefsful fee ; Recalling to his mind how great his foe, With plaintive fong, might foothe him in his woe. Pleafures fo fweet, and glory like to this, Accords not heav'n 'my pray'rs, nor grants fuch blifs. But, what though wings of eagles are denied, Your progrcfs to attend is Fancy's pride. With you /he marches to the proud Breflau, To Molwitz -field, and ramparts of Glogau. From Vid'ry's wing flie fees you pluck the quill, With which, on head of drum, you write at will, In fportive eafe, with diftiqn neat and terfe, The playful fi&ion, and the wealthy verfe. Hindford and Ginkel, ye of barb'rous name, That put the cadence of my verfe to fliame, Wherefore approach him thus, with ftudied art ? Or wherefore, Valori, thy fchemes impart, Theirs counteracting ? Know ye not your wiles, Your preffing arguments, and court-fet fmiles, To him familiar, nothing can avail ? He knows on which Ade int'reft turns the fcale ; * Cardinal deEeuri. T. What CORRESPONDENCE. IpjT What friend or treaty's moft with wifdom fraught: In pow'r a king, a king in act and thought, The wonder of the world, the firft of men, Both with the fword he governs, and the pen. His pen indeed is my delight, and pride : TV affairs and fools that fwim down each day's tide Having difpatch'd ; of politics and war, Of envoy, plenipo, ambaffador, (Deceivers all, and often all deceiv'd) Of camps prefcrib'd, of marches, guards reliev'd, Poltroon difgrac'd, the warrior brave preferr'd, Of bread, and oats, and forage having heard ; Thefe and five hundred other imps of care Difpatch'd I fay, he writes to me, Voltaire ; ^Forgetting all the fplendors of a crown, With lighten'd heart and happy fits he down ; His crowding thoughts no intermifiion know, And fweetly does the verfe begin to flow. George, Louis, Charles, are high-born kings, and great? But poets I prefer to pomp and ftate : Nor Bourbon's fons, nor Auftria's daughters, e'er Corapos'd one verfe, to eafe my heart of care. I prize not fceptres, globes, or anceftry j Or let them rhyme, or they're no kings for me. Frederic, write on, with wits and foes contend ; Be ftill a warrior, but be ftill my friend. The moft profaic of your fervants, fire, can rhyme no more. I am at prefent deep in hif- tory, which. daily becomes more dear to me, perceiving as I do the illullrious rank you there will hold. I forefee that your majefty will fome O 3 day I$S POSTHUMOUS WORKS. day amufe yourfelf with writing the narrative of your two campaigns. Happy the man who {hall be your fecretary; and thrice happy he who (hall be your reader. It is for Csefar to write his own commentaries. 1 entreat you, meffieurs de la Croze and Jordan, lend me your old books, and your new lights, to difcover the ancient truths I feek. But, when I attempt to ; write the age of Frederic, permit me to have re- courfe immediately to our hero. Oh ! Jordan, how happy art thou ! Thou, who feeft this hero, and haft befide a noble library. Not fo I : here have I no hero, and very few- books. I am induftrious neverthelefs ; for the indolent are not x formed to give Frederic plea* fure. His noble ardour wakes, in me, The aftive foul of induftry. For aftion heaven men decreed ; A _-..- To labour fome, and fome to bleed" : "" * King, poet, ploughman, warrior, prieft^ By labour find their joys increas'd. My hero's joys how num'rous thenj.. ., All life, all aft, the firft of men J Of your majefty, of your humanity, of your activity, of your underftanding, and of your heart, I am the admirer and the fubjed. CORRESPONDENCE. 199 LETTER CLXVI. yly.... i .f- < j'fi:ii; i From the King. The camp of Strchlen, July 22, 1741. After the fentence which you have pronounced, feated on your Helicon, I muft only write to you in verfe. Of this I take advantage, that I may win your affedions. Were you the mediator between me and the queen of Hungary, I would plead my caufe in verfe; and my old rhyming documents mould ferve as the amufement of my pacificator. There certainly will not be fo much of hiatus, in the hiftory whicK you~are"wfltirig, as there is "of void in our campaign. &ut our ina&ivity will not long continue; though we fufpend the blow, it is but to ftrike in a more certain and more remarkable manner. To you I recommend the interefts of the di- vine age which you fo elegantly depict. I would rather have written this work than have' gained a hundred battles. Adieu, dear Voltaire. When you made war $n your bookfellers and your other enemies I 04 wrote; 2QO POSTHUMOUS WORKS, wrote ; and at prefent, while you write, I am at ut and thrufl : but fo goes the world. Doubt not of the perfed friendfhip with which I am entirely yours. FREDERIC. LETTER CLXVII. From M. de Voltaire. Bruffcls, Auguft, 3, 1741, IN genius premature, fublime, Parnaffian heights with eafe you climb, Nor let nor hindrance meet : O'er war and death you tow'ring fly ; Of verfe the dangers you defy ; Nor fear nor know defeat. Of Fame the favour'd lover, you Wifh I mould hifl'ry's path purfuc, And glorious deeds recite j While, from the temple of renown, On vicVry's wing, you deign look down, To guide me as I write. But no, 'tis yours ; oh arduous ta/k ! Of you to paint thofe beams we aik Which round your vifage blaze. Thus Csfar wrote ; thus Caefar fought \ And him, in mighty deed and thought* You rival ; we but praife. Lo C p R R E S ? O N D E N C K . &OI ,0 with what gofpel complaifancc Our mild king-cardinal of France, That mildnefs to denote, With cannon, bombs, and pioneers, Four armies fends, tovv'rd our frontiers, Peace folely to promote, Not he, but Jordan is my pride, With impious Englimman allied, On bigots war to make ; That gloom-bred idol to deftroy Which knaves knew fools might beft decoy. And bid the world awake. The royal fage, as brave as good, Julian the wife, well underftood How dang'rous prieftly pride : This he had rooted from the world, Its gods and altars down had hurl'd, But that too foon he died. Of truth be thou the rifmg fun ; Conclude the work by him begun ; i Fair freedom's thine to give : Let indignation nobly rife ! Of zeal, with all her hell-born lyes, Break thou the chains, and live. A fage and monarch, why fhouldft thou Fear what thy fathers * durft avow ? Or why thy wrath fubdue ? They found too long they'd been eaflav'd, And, pious curfes having brav'd, Chaftis'd the monkilh crew. * The anceftors of Frederic, in the fourteenth century, xpelled the priefts. Merc 462 tfdSTfcUMOUS WORKS, More politic, ala ! tha they, Thoa folly leav'ft the lawful prey Of that deceitful race. Fanatics, feiz'd with fears, long fince Complain'd that thou, a chriftian prince, Jiadft little chriftian grace. From all their whims and vice exempt, Thou turn'ft away, in juft contempt^ And leav'ft them to their will : Thus Folly plum'd o'er Wifdom reigns, And vulgar prejudice remains Of kings the tyrant ftill. I Thus your majefiy combats only with princes, and leaves Jordan to oppofe the facred errors of this world. Since lie could not become a poet, in your majefty's company, may his profe be worthy of the king whom both he and I are am- bitious to imitate. I flatter,. my/elf that Silefia will produce a, good work, againft what you wot of. After having read the beautiful verfes which you fent me, from the environs of Neifs, I cannot but remark that, had not your majefty hap- pened to go to Silefia, French verfes would cer- tainly never have been there written. I imagine that you are more occupied than ever at prefent; but this does not terrify me ; and, having re- ceived fuch charming verfes from you the day after CORRESPONDENCE. after a vi&ory, there is no miracle that will afto- nifh me. I do not ceafe to hope that I fliall be fortu* nate enough to obtain a narrative of your cam- paigns ; like as I obtained one of your journey to Stralburg, &c. LETTER CLXVIIl. From the King. The camp of Reichenbach, Auguft 14, 74Ji, TO cleanfe th' Augean ftable wherefore doom My feeble arm ? Madrid, Geneva, Rome, Proceffions, inquifitions, autos, bulls, With all their hydra-feds, can I repulfe? Ah ! Know me better, friend ; nor once believe In miracles, which I mall ne'er achieve ! That ancient monfter, which the world adores, Religion, whofe falfe aid falie fear implores, By Ignorance begotten on Caprice, Of yore was chas'd, by dauntlefs Truth, thro* Greece ; In terror too, at Rome, me mrieking fled When bold Lucretius' fword hung o'er her head. Even you, though arm'd with ridicule and wit, Defirous {he to reafon mould fubmit, Wifhing (he might the world no more annoy, Ev'n you in vain the forc'refs would deftroy ! Man's wayward age, once prejudic'd in youth, J*uts more faitk in the gofpel than in truth. Indeed 204 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. Indeed dame Nature, when fhe deign'd devife The thing call'd man, ne'er meant to make him wife. Logic to teach, and bid him underftand, Were labour loft, on ox that ploughs the land. 'Twere wifer far to gain the hard-fought field, And conqueft fnatch from foe full loath to yield ; To crufh to duft, where dangers dire prefide, The fcorpion Envy, and the viper Pride j To conquefts end that long have been begun, And win that great renown our great forefathers won. Unworthy common-fenfe mould interpofe, In error's dreams leave we the world to dofe. What are its dreams to me, if I but hear Thy verfe mellifluous ftrike my ravifh'd ear ? Or if returning peace and Pallas bring To me the arts, and thee, on willing wing ? Through vale and grove we'll ftray, till foliage brown Shall bid us tafte the pleafures of the town. Abjuring Mars, and war's definitive pow'rs, Epicurean tranfports mail be ours : And while our joys in flowing cups we quaff, At madmen and at madmen's fchemes we'll laugh. Be metaphyfics yours, ye babbling crew ; Projectors, the perpetual motion is your due ; Ye quacks, the grand elixir find and vend ; Ye ftatefmen, Machiavel (hall be your friend : Eleft of God and Chrift, the grace divine And faith be yours ; be this world's bleffings mine ~, Contented I with wifdom, wit, and love, To you I leave the joys of heav'n above. Jordan translates his Englifli author with the fame fidelity as the feventy tranflated the Bible. 2, I imagine CORRESPONDENCE. 205 I imagine the work will foon be finifhed. There are fo many excellent things which may be faid againft religion, that I am aftoniflied they fhould not enter the minds of all people. But men arc not made for truth. I regard them as a herd of deer, in the park of a great lord ; and fuppofc their only function is to well people their inclo- I imagine we fhall foon fight. This is mad work ! But what is to be done ? We muft be mad fome time in our lives. Adieu, my dear Voltaire. Write to me oftener; but take care not to be offended, mould I not have time to anfwer you. Of my fentimentt you cannot be ignorant. FREDERIC. LETTER CLXIX. From M. de Voltaire. CireY, December ar, 174.1. PALE torch of winter, father of old Earth, To whom 'tis faid we poets owe our birth, Dwarfs tho' too oft we are ; fay, glorious fun ! Why at fuch diftance, ere the year V begun, Leav'ft thou Berlin ? Know that within her walls Lives the fam'd youth th world its wonder calls i WltKfl 206 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. Within his glowing heart and mind, I grant, Bright flames the fire thou fuffer'ft us to want* Lo, as thou flieft our black'ning hemifphere, The vanquifh'd walls of Neifs his laws revere ! Ah, wherefore tow'rd the burning torrid ftray, Its dark nymphs vifit with thy blaze of day? From eaftern chambers come illuftrioua forth ; My hero imitate, mine out and blefs the north ! Thus, fire, did I this morning addrefs myfelfto your comrade the Tun, which is certainly the foul of a part of this world. I mould have faid much more to him, concerning your majefty, had I the fame facility in writing pBetry which I no lon- ger, but which you fo perfectly poflefs. I have received the verfes which you wrote at Neifs with as much eafe as you took the town. This J . little anecdote, added to the lines which your humanity fent me immediately after the victory of Molwitz, will one day furnifh. very fingular memoirs for the aid of hiftory. Louis XIV. took Franche Comte, during the winter; but he neither gave battle nor wrote verfes, in the camp before Dole, or before Be- fan9on. I therefore take the liberty to inform your majefty that the hiftory of Louis XIV. ap- peared to me a circle too confined ; I have dif- covered that Frederic will enlarge the fphere of my ideas. The verfes which your majefty wrote, at Neifs, referable thofe which Solomon made, in all his glory, when, having tried all, he faid 3 All CORRESPONDENCE. 2Of -' All is vanity !" True it is the good man talked thus, furrounded by three hundred wivesj and feven hundred concubines ; and without having fought battles, or laid iiege. But no offence, fire, to Solomon and you, or lather. to_ you and Solomon; let him fay what be will, there is fomediing real in this world.. Of conqueft tir'd, and war's alarms, Return t'enjoy the Mufes* charms; Return, and gite the brave and fair To tafte of pleafure, .after cari_ To be vi&orious, lovM, andJearM, JA war renown'd, in peace reyerM^,^^ Of private life the charm,ai44ddP ... The people's boaft, the kingdom's guide, *The man of bufinefs, and the bard \Vhom Greece and Rome would deign reward, And whom pofterity mail own Worthy alike the lyre and throne Afl thefe to be might fore content Each wiih that fancy could invent ! And he who has them well may deem - Pleafure is not all a dream. Your majefly has performed many things in a ftiort time. ~ Tlim~perruadethno pertbn on earth is more occupied, or more hurried away by a variety of affairs, of every kind. But, withrfuch a capacious genius, which embraces every kind of fubjedt, you fail not to prcferve that fupcriQ- ritjr loS POSTHUMOUS WORKS. rity of reafon which elevates you above yourfelf^ and even above your actions. My whole fear is left you fhould finally con- temn mankind too much. The millions of un- feathered bipeds that people the earth, are at art immenfe diftance from you, as well in rank as in mind. Milton finely fays, Amongft unequals no fociety. There is ftill another danger ; which is that your majefty fo accurately defcribes the noble knavery of politicians, the interefted arts of courtiers, &c. it is to be feared you will finally fufpect the affection of all mankind j and will believe it to be a moral demonftration, that a king is never loved for himfelf. Permit me, fire, to take the liberty alfo to make a demon- ftration. Is it not true that we cannot but love, for his own fake, a manofafuperior mind, pofleffedof various talents ; and who, in addition to all thofe talents, has the art of pleafing ? And if, by fome misfortune, this fuperior genius mould happen to be a king, muft he be rendered worfe by his fituation ? Or muft he be lefs beloved, becaufe he wears a crown ? For my part, I feel that the crown does not in the leaft cool my affections. I am, &c. LET- CORRESPONDENCE. 209 LETTER CLXX. From -the King. MY DEAR VOLTAIRE, 1 O my great regret, I am two letters in- debted to you j and I jfind myfelf fo occupied, by thofe grand alfairs which -the jphilofpphers call abfurdities, that I have not yet leifure to think when I pleafe, which is the only real good cTFfe.^3^ma^ne' < tISr 4 tiie Deity created afies, Doric pillars, and kin^s", to bear the burthens of this world ; in which fo many other beings are created to enjoy the good he has beftowed. Here am I areuinor with twenty Machiavels, - ..- >..= *&^&* < !&^*** K i V &,:,***~*-<******- *-~r-^ -- " - ** all more or lefs dangerous^ Lovely poetry .{lands waiting at the door, witbQut gaining admif- iion. One talks to me of limits ; another of claims; a third of indemnification; a fourth of auxiliaries, marriage- contracts, debts to be paid, intrigues to'^egmj^recoSmen^ppns, difpofi/v tions, &c. Public aflertions are made that we have done fucli or (ucn a thing, oflwljich^we had never once thought. We are furjpofedjto take fuch an event ill, at which we rejoice. _News arrives from Mexico, or Utopia, that we mean to attack fuch a one, \vhomjt is our in- VOL. vu. P tereft 2IO POSTHUMOUS WORKS. tereft to court. We are ridiculed, cenfured, or fatirized by gazette writers ; our reputation i* mercilefsly torn by our neighbours ; and we are configned over to all the fiends, while we are loaded with proteftations of friendfliip. But fuch is mankind,- and iuch are, in grofs, the affairs by which I am occupied. Now tell me whether you have any inclina- tion to barter poetry for politics ! The only re- femblance between them is, that both politicians and poets are the fport of the public ; and the fubjeft of fatire to their refpective fraternities. The day after to-morrow I (hall depart for Remufberg, again to take up the crook and the lyre. Heaven grant I never more may lay them down ! From this fweet folitude I mall write to you with more tranquillity of mind ; and per- haps Calliope again may vifit me. I am wholly yours, FREDERIC. LET- CORRESPONDENCE. 211 LETTER CLXXI. From tbt King, MY DEAR VOLTAIRE, Olmtitz, Feb. 3, 1741. 1 H E wandering demon, by which I have hitherto been poffeffed, has led me to Olmutz, to repair thofe errors which my allies are faid to have committed, T knovThot what will be the confequence ; but I know that mine is an erratic "" ftan. What can you expect from a brain wholly fluffed with hay, oats, and chopped ftraw?! fancy the only rhimes I (hall at prefent be able to make will all end in hay and pay, oat and moat, ftraw and claw, &c. Leave awhile the winds to howl ; Wait till Mars mall ceafe to fcowl ; Wait till Peace, with all her arts, Jocund for Berlin departs. Mufe, I mini my pipe reiign, Mufe, till thou, with art divine, Bidding air with raptures fwell, Shalt the trumpet's diicord quell* Perhaps I put you off to a very diftant day ; nothing however can be done at prefent, and from an ill pay-mailer you muft ;ake what you can get. Pa I am 212 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. I am now reading, or rather devouring, your Age of Louis the Great. If you love me, fend me what you have further written of that work, which is my fole confolation, my recreation, my delight. Employed, as you are, in fol- lowing your inclinations, and indulging your enius, have pity on. a . Could it have been fuppofed, my dear Vol- taire, that a child of the Mufes was deftined, in conjunction with a dozen grave madmen, who are called great politicians, to turn For- tune's grand wheel for all Europe ? It is an au- thentic fact notwithstanding ; nor is it any great honour to Providence. I recollect, on this occafion, the tale tolcj of a parfon, to whom a peafant fpoke of his facramental god with an idiotic veneration " Pfhaw !" faid the good pried; " you imagine " a great deal more than is true. I, who make " fuch things, and fell them by dozens, know t their intrinfic value." A fuperftitious idea is ufually entertained by the world, concerning the great revolutions of empires ; but thofe who are behind the fcenes generally know that the.' mod magical changes : ' y "are" effected hy the fimpleft machinery, and by dirty fccne-fhifters, who, were they to appear fuch CORRESPONDENCE. 213 &ich as they are, would draw on themfelv.es the Indignation of the public;. "^fW^^T^Sj^^SdjdujiHcityi are unfor- tunately the prevailing charaderiftics o? ^rnoK who are at' the Head oFnatTohs, to whicB they ou|;rFtoTe^ - - ,.. ; -,,^. ; - ,J^.-^..^---^ ;V --* ?V -'* W ' T humiliating that the ftudy of the human Jhe.a.Jtj, iir'Tuch people, does but lead ..me a .thoufand times to regret my dear rej.reat, my friends^ the. arts, and independence. Adieu, dear Voltaire. Perhaps I (hall one day recover ..ail.thaU.liax^atJj^^UQlLi- am, with all the fentiments which you can imagine, Your faithful friend, FREDERIC. LETTER CLXXIL I . j\ From the fang. MY DEAR VOLTAIRE, I FEAR to write to you ; for I have no intelligence to fend, except fuch as "yoOT Care but little for, or fuch as you abhor. Were"!, for example, to fay ct The nations f oflhe two kingdoms of Germany ^have left < their dwellings, to play the cut-throat with P 3 "other 214 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. " other nations, of the very names of which "they are ignorant; and that they march for " this purpofe into diftant lands, becaufe their " mafters have entered into a contract with an- f{ other prince, and becaufe two of thefe princes " have combined together to murder a third** You would reply (t They are lunatics! They (l are fools ! They are raging mad ! thus to v yield to the caprices and the barbarity of their " di&ators." Were I to inform you that " We *' are moft carefully preparing to batter down " ivalls which have been buHt np at a prodi- " gious expence ; that we are reaping where " we have not fown ; and that we ad the matter ' where no one is ftrong enough to refift us"' You vfo\ ild exclaim" Oh barbarians ! Robbers ! (f Inhuman as you are, the wicked (hall not in- " herit the kingdom of heaven." According to St. MattheWj chapter the twelfth, verfe the twenty- fourth*. Since I forefee all you would fay to me on fuch fubjefls, I (hall not mention them to you, I fhall fatisfy myfelf with informing you that a alf madman, of whom you have heard mention y the name of the king of Pruffia, being told that the provinces of his ally, the emperor, had * This is a fanciful, not ao accurate, quotation, T. been CORRESPONDENCE. 215 been ruined by the queen of Hungary .Jlevygg his affiftance; that he has joined his forces with thofc of the king of Poland, to make a diversion into Lower Auftria; and that he has been fo very fuccefsful, that he fliprtly expects to induce the principal forces of the queen of Hungaryjto enter into the fervice of his ally. This, fay you, is generous ! This is heroic ! Yet, my dear Voltaire, this picture and the. former are one and the fame. It is the fame woman, firft feen in her night- cap, and after- ward bedecked and..painted. Under how many different faces are fubjects feen ! How much do the judgments of men vary T'Ar-ntght -they condemn what in the morning they approved". The fame fun which delighted " tfie'tn at fifing, 'wearies them at fet- ting. "Hence the fame of thofe which is firft confirmed, afterward deftroyed, and then once again re-eftablifliedr " Writfr Bad enough to biify ourfelves, during our whole lives, in the acquisition of fame. Is it poflible we mould thus continue to be cheated by fifch counterfeit com, 'when it is fo well known ? I do not write in verfe to you, becaufe I have not time to meafure out fyllables by the foot. Suffer me to remind you of the Hiftory of Louis XIV. ; and obferve I threaten you with P 4 excom- 4l6 POSTHUMOUS WORKS, excommunication from Parnaffus, if you do not finifh the work. Adieu, my dear Voltaire. Let me entreat you to beftow a little love on the renegado from Apollo, who has enlifted under Bellona. Per- haps he may one day return to the fervice of his old mafter. I am your admirer, and friend, FREDERIC. LETTER CLXXIII. From tbe King. Trihan, April 12, 1741. ' SET up on bridges, hills, highways, Here wooden faints wait worthy praifc From fhiv'ring beggar, who attends, Froft-bitten blows his finger-ends, And prays, and hopes he may fupprefs His hunger by his holinefs. Here each Bohemian potent count, Whofe anceftors to Adam mount, While hunting he high feats achieves, To ftarve his vaflals kindly leaves : On horfe and dog he waftes his pelf, Till finally he ftarves himfelf. Fat friars how learned, fir ! In what ? The fav'ry fumes of fpit and pot. Aught CORRESPONDENCE. Aught of the poor, their wants and woes, Shew me a monk or prieft who knows : The weak and wealthy are their tools, Themfelves the deities of fools. Frenchmen, although they^ in Bohemia, are not the lefs amiable and fatiri- cal. Perhapsjhey are_ the only people, wliocaa Jind, Jn misfortune .itfglfLjl- .fource of rnir and pleafantry. Marfhal de Broglio called fo loudly for help that I was induced to haften to his aid; and this is the reafon that Moravia muft lie uncultivated till autumn. You afk me for what ,lejp^l^Qjime have.rneffieurs my com- rades^ agreed to Tintfe ^attlu. Xa wjb^h I , anfwer, I cannot tell.: J3ut that r at prefent^ it.is . trie faflnon to make war j and that probably this .will long continue to be. the ikfliioo^, ^._ The abbe de Saint Pierre, who diftinguifhes ) me fo far as to honour me with his correfpond- - ence, has fent me a mod excellent treatife, on the means of reftoring peace to all Europe, and on the manner of preferving it continually. The thing is exceedingly practicable ; nm_j$_zn% thing, except the confent of all Europe, and fome other fuch-like trifles, wanting for its ac- complimment. - How much am I indebted to you, my dear Voltaire, for the very great pleafure which you 3 promife 2l POSTHUMOUS WORKS. promife me, in giving me to hope that I fliall foon receive the Hiftory of Louis XIV.! Ac- cuftomed as I am to this indulgence, I am avari- cioufly defirous of your works. Do not difap- point me, dear Voltaire. I \vifh to learn them by rote ; for, without you> there is no falvation in the heaven of literature. You think perhaps I have not troubles enough, and that it was neceiTary to alarm me concerning your health. It is your duty to be more careful of yourfelf. Let me entreat you to recoiled how much this fubject interefts me, and how entirely you ought to be attached to this world, of which you are the delight. has effected no change in my character, nor in my manner of thinking. I ftill love Remufberg, and tran- quillity ; but we are obliged to attend to our occupations in this world, and to make our duties our pleasures. Peace being made, wife Maupertuis once more, Induftrious Algarotti, and the lore By deep refearch and midnight labour brought, (A mafs of wifdom, and a mine of thought !) Adding the Loves, the Graces, and the Wiles, Which ever wait on blooming Beauty's {miles ; Adding the Arts, whofe pleafures ne'er can cloy, Thefc, and retreat, oh, how mull I enjoy ! Yet thefe will all be joylefs, mould Voltaire Refufe the rich, the godlike feaft. to fharc. Being CORRESPONDENCE. 219 Being on the point of continuing my march, I have not time to fay more. Adieu, dear Voltaire. jjn|Jil ot jhe .JB22 Ixion, who is labouring like a miferable wretcja at the great wheel of politics ; but whofe jtdk miration of you is egu^to his affection. FREDERIC. LETTER CLXXIV. From M. de Voltaire. SIRE, April, 1742. VvHILE I was ill, your majefty per- formed a greater number of fine actions than I fuffered fits of the fever. I cannot anfwer your majefty's Jaft favours. WherejunJ to addreis my letter; to Vienna, to JPrefburg, or to Temef- F^lJ... It * s poffible that you are in one of thefc cities.,,. 7iSS3TIf there "Be"~any being who can Be in feveral places at once, it is certamly "you f;as being a king, confcquently the image of the"" Deity, and moreover a moft thinking and'a&TvF' image In fine 3 fire, I have not written, becauTeT was in bed while ycur ir.a;efty \vas galloping over the fnow^ in chafe of fame. 22O POSTHUMOUS WORKS. In that flrange country, half interr'd, Where e'en your fame muft ne'er be heard,, I've lately been, or foon muft be, As all our wifeft quacks agree : A land where trav'llers never ufe To tell their lyes, or tell their news; A land to which you daily fend The bodies both of foe and friend; While fouls of pandours, gruff and glum, To hell pack off by beat of drum ; A fand which Chriftian, Turk, and Jew, Defcribe as if they really knew ; Whofe limits learned doftors teacji, Whenever learned doftors preach. So will your Paris politician Sit, with fatiric inquiiltion, On Frederic, Flanders, France, and Greece ; I On Rome, and home, and war, and peace : Of all that 's bad, and all that 's good. ! Will talk as if he underftood; So volubly his jargon vending, * | As he the world's rights were defending : '.;; With arms, alarms, and wife difcourfe, W r as ne'er fo fluff' d the Trojan horfe. I have only fet one foot on the Stygian fhore : but I was exceedingly lorry to fee the numerous wretches that came there, to demand apaffage; fome from Scharding, feme from Prague, and others from I glow ; while you, and the kings your rades, never ceafe to ravage that earth which you fay you have fo great a defire to render hap- py- CORRESPONDENCE. 221 of that horrible war in which each of you muft encounter misfortune^ wh^do^jou not refer 'you r d i ^^^^^J^^S^liiLji^S^^ Pierre ? He would fettle them with .as. much eafe as that with which Lycurgus divided ihe,JLace- demoriiah lands; in which djyifloja .W .jimft the fifteen domains of Henry IV. But be'lt'rTere^oHervecl'that Henry IV. never dreamed of any fuch project. The fecretaries of the duke de Sulli, who compofed his Memoirs, have mentioned it j but the fecretary of ftate, Villeroi, the minifter for foreign affairs^ has not. It is pleafant enough to fee a project for over- throwing all the thrones of Europe attributed to Henry IV. before he fcarcely was well feated on his own. Till fuch time as the European diet (hall af- femble, in order to render all monarchs mo- derate and contented, your maieih r commands , - . - .--:.-'..-.4*^- .----=- =^**- .>-^.- - "'** C t'*'-- me to fend yQji,^ajc, t l,iia.ys. furthej: written of _; rt^J^jlJ^^ ; timT to read when others^ cannot. I will ac- cordingly fend to Brufiels for my pagejre^^hich fliall be tranfcribed in obedience to your com- mands. Perhaps you will think I have not fuf- ficiently limited my fubjeft-j.butl labour chiefly for you, and have imagined the whole earth wa& not 222 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. not too extenfive. I (hall therefore, fire, have the honour to fend an enormous packet ; which may probably arrive during the heat of bat- tle, or be delivered to you in an entrenchment. I know not whether you are more happy amid all this" tumult of glory than you were in the SJIM"W-.TV- V --"-kVIf-^Tws^,. fvveet folkude of Remufberg -,,**>_;. -- >"- ^..-, r--.^r.-xr*' But, be it fo or be it not, My friend can never be forgot : I love you now as much as when, ' Not firft of kings, but firft of men, Reclufe at Rheinfberg, there to fight With error was your great delight. In love with truth, you meaner things To politicians left, and kings. Accept, fire, with your ufual goodnefs, my profound refped:, with affurances of that vene- ration which never will end, and of that affec- tion which will end only when you (hall ceafe to love me. LET- CORRESPONDENCE. 22 LETTER CLXXV. From M. de Voltaire. Paris, May i, 1742. 1HOUGH eril ycur father could your body hind. -^ .. ._ _ ^i- ,,.--_.% ^~ v->>4--r^-.~v-.- .-.?.-:-*->". -- - -W-- ' StflTyou yourfelf reign'd monarch of your mind : it .._, "jflding'in words, in truth you 're now a Have. How many defpots all your efforts brave ! Fame ftands the firft ; Remorfe h"er pow*r arraigns ; _ She pgj[nJs4^y^ilj: t , you forget your dfiaTnsC Next Policy, left fple.ndid, not lefs ftrong, Infidious plods his crooked paths aiuoug ; Now breaks a treaty, now a plot can fmell; Alks at what market treach'ty bcft will fell; Sleeplefs at midnight, flumb'ring at noon-day, Ke dreams he has to glory found the way. Though rarely do they make one houfe their home, Int'reft and Honeily perchance united conjg^^ "i Scarcely indeed can gooilbe hop'd from tliofe Who, dang'rous friends, are always fecret foes. Inflicting by contention mutual pain, The heart diiputing, o' M jB.j^rjiiii "' ii And now in crowds new plans and perils rife ; Sings tumult in the' ear, "confuffon bHnds the eyes. All mull be pacified, all made agree ; Some paid with reafdn, Tome \\hh repartee ; Some \vith a promife, others with a iye; For ftatefmen's tongue muft never want reply. Ah medley ftrange of virtue and of v:c c ! la live a hero, ah how great the price 1 ";, &&%&fm All 22 POSTHUMOUS WORKS* All this, fire, cofts yon nothing ; it is natural to yon. You perform great and faee actions *wrwi,,,.. 1 D fc> . V _.., VW 3 B >*'- .with the fame facility as you compofeunufic and poetry.; or as you write thofe letters which would give a wit of France a diftinguimed rank among wits, by whom he would be envied. " v T*conceive fome hopes that your majefty, af- ter having fliaken Europe, will reflore her to order; and that my fellow mortals, after having admired, will blefs you. Not that my hopes are entirely founded on the project which the abbe de Saint Pierre has fent your majefty *. I pre-, fume you difcover things which the pacificator, who is not enough attended to in this world, willies to. difcover; and- that the philofophic ^l/^' kins; is perfectly acquainted with what the phi- D 1 lofopher, who is not a king, vainly endeavours to divine. '"What gives me perfect fecurity is fome dozen cutters of capers, for whom your majefly has fent to France, and who are repairing to Pruf- fia. Men feldom dance but when they are at peace. True it is that you have made fome neighbouring powers pay the piper; but this was both for the common and for your own indi- "****:_ ..^'v^^.-.jwy.wsett^ The abbe de Saint Pierre wrote many volumes on poli- tics; and often fent plans for a general pacification to the \ .king of Pniffia, and other princes. Cardinal du Bois called ; bis works the dreams of a worthy man. , a vidual CORRESPONDENCE. 125 vidual good. You have re-eftabliftied v***~~~.^^^J:r-~--*. ^&&*4**'*''*~** ai inff***^^*** ****** . ^ dignity and prerogatives of the eledors, you have fuddenly become the arbitrator of "Ger- many, and, after having made an emperor, - you yourfelf want nothing but the title. Add to this, you nave one hundred and twenty thoiifand effective men, well armed, well cloth- ed, well fed, and well affected. You have gained battles, and taken cities, at their head. It is for you, fire, to dance. Voiture would have told you, you have danced to fome tune : but I am not fo familiar as he was" with great men and kings. It does not become me trius to trifle with them in proverbial wit. *^^^ g9$ academi- cians/ you have twelve good fUncers. xhe lat- . --t.AW",.f-.*"-^'-* =>*>.' -">* -,jt^..< f '**3&C.>*X*.-~4.^^ -- ter indeed are the moft eafily.to be met ^vith, andjire the merrieft. ^Academicians have fprne- times been known to weary heroes who have been diverted by the aclors of an opera. ^^^.^^ ____ i LM i * iHuA LjU~rTT~"* r *T^ h *"^ dtvCry. t \ This opera, with which your majefty is embel- liihing Berlin, does not prevent you from think- ing of the belles-lettres. One art doeg no injury , to another; Some minds have but alfitigte paT- *v^. N '^ v J t f**sJKV*+&**^**>**Gu*?Sts~, r fion ; your foul includes them all ; and, did God love men but a little, he would beftow this 1 uni- 'on every princ3fiKthey YOL. vii. Q_ be 226 POSTHUMOUS WORKS.' be able to difcern, and to protect, good tafte'of -every kind. For this purpofe, I imagin.e, kings were ori- ginally inftkuted. I am acquainted with fome tragic actors, who \ ire not deftitute of abilities, who might fuit your majefty ; for I flatter myfelf you will not confine your views to Italian nonfenfe, and French gam- bado. A hero is always pi e^fed with the theatre on which heroes are reprefented. May you, lire, foon enjoy every fpecies of plea- fure, like as you have acquired every fpecies of glory ! Such is the fincere with of your majefly.'s admirer } your fubject in his heart, though unfor- tunately he dgeTlioT live in your kingdom ; wliofe mind is ^penetrateS^y the grandeur of yolorspahd whofe affeftions arc interefted as much in your happinefs as you yourfelf are. Accept, fire, with your ufual goodnefs, my moft profound refpects. LET- CORRESPONDENCE. 22 f LETTER CLXXVI. From M. de Voltaire. Paris, May 16, 1748. WlSE Solomon, and valiant Philip's fon, Henceforth give place ; from both the laurel's won. The hero comes ; earth's idol, Austria's fcourge ! Lb7~ rays of terror round his head diverge! By him be taught, as fages were before ; Learn, warrior, learn on Vict'ry's wing to foar. Yet thund'ring heroes little do I love : ,1 conq'rors hate, nor conqueft can approve : *' Yes, conq'rors hate ; foes of theinfelv.es, and peace> Who would the woes of wretchednefs increafe ! InlearchofDeathwho ftalk the bloody field7 ^XnHlcUng horror where they ought to fhield! _ ? :ij Gorei carnage, writhes, and groans, and pangs, tfieir joy; " ^Themfelvesliut'men, 'mankind they would deflroy. Of heroes firft, how much you merit hate ! But ah ! To love you ever is my fate ; WrTarthougH the youflg, the ufeful, and the brave, PaH*iTby-yotrr hand, find an untimely grave ! Your reafon curfes your ambitious rage ; For, though a hero, ftill are you a fage. While you on murd'rous cannon tiptoe ftand, Confronting Danger, ifluing Death's command ; While red the waters ftream that courfe the plain. Definition thrives, and flain are heap'd on flain : Let fome remorfe but in your bofom live j Weep o'er your victories, and IJorgiyguTv^ O 2 AM- 1 love ftra POSTHUMOUS WORKS. , I love humanity, fire, even more than I love you. But after having, with the abbe de Saint _ Pierre, wept for the human race, of which you ,,rtfnr'-"-ii "are become the terror, I yield to all the joy ifrhic'h your acquired fame infpires. This fame would be complete, mould your majefty compel . the queen of Hungary to accept peace, and the Germans to be happy. You are now the hero of Germany, and the arbitrator of Europe-; the pacificator you (hall be, and our opera pro- logues* mall hereafter be all addrefled to you. Fortune, which fports with mankind , but which you feem to have.enflaved, mod whimfically ar-^ ranges the affairs of this world. I well knew you 1 would perform great actions, and was certain of the approach of the fine age to which you were to give birth : but I never fufpected, when the count du Four-f- went to vifit marfhal de Broglio, with whom he was not too well fatif- fied, that this count du Four would one day have the goodnefs to march, with a triumphant army, to the aid of the marmal, and bring him deliverance by a victory. Your majefty has not "hitherto deigned to inform the world of the de- tails of that day. 1 imagine you have had fome- f~*. Famous for their flattery.^" 1 ^ T. * f JTh namiTwWctrfhTKhg" of Fruffia had affumed when 1! 1 ' "*'^^^^ J '^ < ^ 1 %ir>-JV^^'*=' v -* ! >^*'*n* : he travelled incognito. 1. thing CORRESPONDENCE. 22p thing better to do than to write narratives^ but your m'odefty" is betrayed by certain ocuUr wit- ~who affirm that" the battle waV gained * l ^^l^;-^^^-V'>^ S ^ i _^,,S8^^ ^ ^-.^fep'-- v bv the excefs of courage, and the b rent entirely by the excefs of courage, and tKe~|reat prudence, which you difplayed. They add that ~"my herolSll has a feeling heart; and that^^ ~maa "wEo "Kas occaiibhed Hthe* dfeath" of fo*"rnany men is ieated by the Tick bed of count von Rottemburg, Thefe are things of which you do not inform me ; yet which-yo*j mary-veau^gT- avow, as being natural to you. Go on, (ire; but, let it be^to make as many ^ : men happy in this world as you have deprive^ j Tt~orT Oh may my Alexander again become -^^.-.^ - i.-^tJ^-.t^r^f-.-'-'"^-"^-^^ oolomoh as foon as poflible ; that he may deign oc'cadonally to recollecl: his former adrriirer, who is in heart his fubject, and who would come to pafs his life at his feet, were he. not detained;2yj friendmi|),_which ..is jnore ,po\v;ejf^|.h^n kings and heroes ! He ftill will ever remain attached "to your majefty, with the moft profound refpeft, and the moft tender veneration. 0.3 LET- POSTHUMOUS WORKS. LETTER CLXXVII. From the King. The camp of Kuttemberg, June i, 1744. THE palm of peace to dread alarm gives refpite ; In olive groves we fmiling pile our arms. No more is heard the fanguinary found Of timbal, clarion {hrill, or fhouting foe. Thofe fields which late, by rage, with blood of man, Carnage, and death were fullied, foon mall laugh, With corn, and wine, and oil abundant crown'd. The warrior brave, whofe tyrant's int'reft. vile Him enemies uprais'd, or feeming fuch, Shall with the warrior live in brotherhood ; Performing gentle acls of couitefy ' To him againft whofe life, but yefterday, In rage he rear'd his hand. Death hears ! Again The brand of difcord, vainly feizing, makes; And, there to wait new crimes, once more th' abhorrent, Spectre plunges down to his native hell ! Come then, oh Peace !. With garlands never fading Come, prodigaTm charms, with bleflmgs ftor'd, To heal earth's wounds, and diy her fcalding tears ! Ah I World accurs'd i Infatuated man ! Not even thou, oh Peace ! All lovely as thou art ! In good cxhauftlefs ! No, till thou hail chas'd The monfters AVrice and Ambition hence (Divad warfare for a form fo {bit and fair.! ) Not thou canft fix on earth thy fure abode ! * * Thefe vcrfes were likewife fent to M. Jordan, See vol. ix. p. 264. T. After CORRESPONDENCE. 23 1 After having made, my peace with my foes, I hopefTmay in turn make my peace with you. ^s'flirm token of this, on your part, I aik the age of Louis XIV. I fend you the relation of the laft battle, which I wrote myfelf, , according to your requefl. i^nnot yet entertain you with any thing but marches, difgraceful retreats, purfcits, coward- ieepantl ~a!T "forts ' oFYccuients"; which, though they relate Wth^moft graVe ^matters, are* not the Icfs ridiculous. Rottemburg begins to recover his health, and . is entirely out of danger. Donot think me cruel, f j "but reafonable enough not to choofe an evil, ex- cept when a greater evil is thus to be avoided., Any man, who has courage enough to have a , -carious tooth drawn, will fight a battle m^pliran encTto a "Var. To fhed blood, tinder fuch cir-_ "cuh^(?ance^ls^l)e fparins; SnTTjtis to bleed " -^~ ^T^>^^ J ^^i^'-^-^U^c^"*r^^^^^*- J ^'~ ? '" TC ''**' ^*~ '*-'** an enemy in his delirium, by this means to bring "him to his fcnfes. jSdieu, my dear Voltaire. Fail not continu- ally to believe, till I mail tell you the contrary, that I (hall all my life efteem and love you. FREDERIC. LET- g22 POSTHUMOUS WORKS, LETTER CLXXVIII, From the King, The camp of Kuttemberg, June 20, 1741, RETURN'D at length, friend Borck relate$ How Emily ftill captivates Your languid body by her charms/ And locks you in her loving arms. But oh ! I'm pleas'd to hear that ftill, Though weak your frame, you've wit at will ; Wit, too, whofe keen and fplendid rays, Through ev'ry clime mankind amaze ; And that from Paris, where they firll dilate, To regions dull as thefe they penetrate ! You've heard how Broglio lately loft, Not breeches old of little coft* He loft, by having turn'd his breech, Without a battle or a fpeech, His honour, on his flight to Prague ; From pandour fcamp'ring as from plague. Young Louis, far from ftern rebuke, For this has made the man a duke. I fhould have wonder 'd lefs had he Promoted been by th' enemy. The life we lead is different enough from that led at Verfaiiles ; and ftill more fo from that we ..,.-. , . r^t^t'-rtStis-ja* led at Remufberg. To-day an ambaflador arrived, to make prppofitions to me. Yefterday * See vol. ix. p. 234. T. an CORRESPONDENCE, 233 an ambaflador of fmoke * departed ; and to* Inorrovv a third will make his appearance^ear* ing Galbanum, Yefterday morning fome forty Talpafli pri- foners were brought in, who are very haridfoms fellows. Our huffars are at prefent counting. the country to bring in peafants, waggons, and pro* vifiohs. We are tranfporting our fick and wound- ed'to^arfl that country into which we foon fliall '^ May you enjoy an uninterrupted, firm, and vigorous flate of health ! May you, more a philofopher than you at prefent are, prefer the f9}itude of Charlottenburg to the charming pa- lace of Armida which you inhabit ! May you be the happieft of mortals, as you are the moft amiable ! Such are the heart- felt wimes of your pf 3 friend, Adieu. FREDERIC. # Un thaKgt defhmee. 234 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. LETTER CLXXIX. From M. de Voltaire. Par it, June, 1742. TH I S city J s yours, or fo mould feem ; For here are you the general theme. In cowl or cloak, long robe, cut fkirt, Wit, fool, and pedant, fop and flirt, Both night and morn, and morn and flight, Of you to talk in crowds unite. In houfe or alley, fquare or ftrect, : t'm afk'd, by er'ry foul I meet, At ev'ry window, ev'ry door, To tell them all I know, and more. f I Oh ! Ay ! You've feen him ! Hey ? Yes well, " A prodigy! A ! Nay, now tell | " Ay tell us Ts he politician, " Poet, warrior, and mufician? " 'Tis faid, but fure that's idle prattle, '." He verfes writes on day of battle ! ** And can he have fo good a heart ? " Such virtues too, yet fo much art ? ':.*' Turenne, Guftavus, in the field, " Were they alive, to him muft yield? " In private? Ay what is he then ? ;" Rumour declares the firft of men ! " At fupper were he here, between us, " Catullus, Horace, and Mecsenas, " With all their breeding, eafe, and wit, " We mould fuppofe in him were met !" In daily papers deeply read, A furly grey-beard turns his head CORRESPONDENCE. 35 We're told with Auftria now he treats : Is~*FtTius~hfs former friends he cheats ?'* ' Pthaw!' anfwersone, * that's all miflake ; ' f'm fure he ne'er will France forfake.*;.,' 'A young coquette the next declares For conflancy me little cares " Pray what to me are plot and plan ? " I hear he is a charming man !" Half melancholy, half grimace, Thiriot demands, with long-drawn face, Pray don't, fometiraes, thefe warlike fages Forget to pay their fervants wages ? 'Have no fuch doubt, my friend, faid I j Much rather hope a krge fupply. I know my hero's noble mind ; "1 know his heart, how good and kind ; How well he keeps his word I know j For when he promis'd, long ago, When pleafure threw out ev'ry lure That -might a youthful prince fecure, How great he'd be, I "then believ'd ; . *~Nor can you fay I've been deceivM. Thus do .all I hear, when fpeaking of your majefty, alleviate my chagrin at not being .with., you. But is it decreed that you, fire, muft be cverlaftingly taking towns, and that I muft as ^ ~fernally be at law ? Will there be no happy days this 236 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. this fummcr, on which I may pay my court t(* your inajcflyr &c. - V- ^ LETTER CLXXX. * From M. de Voltaire. SIRE, July, 1742. I H A V E received verfes, and exceed- ingly good verfes, from my adorable king, at a rime, when we fuppofed your majefty was wholly '"'Intent'' on' Delivering marfhal de Broglio, your old Strafburg friend, from his troubles. The '"Ifgireeable word peace, a word fo fweet to my , ear, has glided into your majefty 's letter. I here fend you an Ode, which I fcribbled againft you^ kings, who at that time feemed intent on the deftruftion of my fellow mortals. The lord of nations, Frederic the Great, has heard my pray- ers j and, be my Ode * good or ill, fcarcely was it written' before I heard that your majeftyTia'd made an excellent treaty excellent for yourfelf, beyond all doubt ; for you have formed your virtuous mind to the grand fcale of politics : bqt that this treaty will be found excellent for us Frenchmen, is a thing doubted of at Paris. One half of the babblers loudly aflert that you * Ode to the Queen of Hungary, have CORRESPONDENCE. 237 have abandoned us to the mercy of the god of arms ;lKe other lialf are equally clamorous, yet know riot what about. Some few abbes de Saint Pierre ble(s~youTami . * Chotufitz or Czaflaw. T. the 24 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. the advice of Boileau. Praife is only to be ob~ tained by deeds. This trifling anecdote may ferve to increafe your efteem for Louis XIV *. I hope, fire, foon to fee your gallery of Char- lottenburg ; I hope again to enjoy the happinefs of beholding the conquering king, the pacific monarch, the lover of men, who . fo early has > - ; *^*4yte, performed fo many prodigies. 1 (hall probably be at Bruffels next month, from which place, I flatter myfelf, I mall have the honour to go and pafs fome ten or twelve days with my ador- able monarch. But Who can fpeak of Chotfits in verfe ? What a name it is ! Chotfits ! Arc not you adiamed, fire, of having gained the battle of Chotfits ; to which no word will rhyme, and the very found of which flays the ear ? No matter; I wifhto pafs my life with the conque^- ror of Chotfits ! Reproach me not, nor think that jt The glorious? victor wifh to fly ; Or that, by Cupid's arts betray'd, I fhun renown, and feek the made.- Say not Armida fvvays my foul, I've tailed no enchanted bowl ; My palace is, ihftead of Guilt, By Friends*-- ^-^-- ... _, ,, ~as a fever fit which had affected Europe, and which almoft immediately took its leave. I concern myfelf very little with the rumours of your Parifians ; they are gnats that continu- ally buz. Their lampoons referable the foul language of parrots ; and their fentences are as grave as would be the decifions of a babooiLan.. metaphyfical fubjects. Would you have me be i j -j j angry becaufe the relations of the great Broglio R 2 are 244 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. are offended that I did not repair the blunders "committed by this wonclerful man? I do not pique myfelfon Don-Quixotifin; and, far from with- in g to repair the errors of others, I do but en- deavour to repair my.. o.vyn, if fo 1 can. Though all France fhould condemn me for ' having made peace, never will the philofopher Voltaire be borne away by the tide of numbers. iaemfw**"""*'^":---- T* ,.~.,^ y. v -_-..*,..... ; It is a general rule, that we ought not to keep our engagements longer than our forces will permit. We made an alliance, as people make marnage contracts. I promifed to go to war, * ^ . .>vt 'V- :....,. -V.r-. '... ., --Vr-,-, Krtt.^aftpj^C^^W^ as the bridegroom promifes to fadsfy the concu- pifcence of the bride ; but as, in marriage, tEe* 8 "" defires of the woman often exhauft the powers of the man, fo in war the weaknefs of allies be- comes burthenfome to an individual, and rea- s the load iafuj^porjtaye. In fine, to end the comparifon, when a hufband imagines he has fuf- ficient proofs of the gallantry of his wife, nothing fhould prevent him from fuing for a divorce. I make no application of this part of my fimile; you are fufficiently informed, and fufficiently a politician, to make it for yourfelf. Let me beg you to fend me, as foon as poffi- ble, all the charming verfes which you wrote during your abode at Paris. I envy the whole earth your company, and wifh you were at the onlv CORRESPONDENCE. 245 only place where you are not, that I might re- iterate how much I efteem and love you. Vale. FREDERIC. LETTER CLjXXXIII. From tie King. MY DEAR VOLTAIRE, . Potfdam, April;, 1742. YOU poetically fay fo many fine things to me, that, were I to believe you, my brain would be turned. A truce, I beg, to the high- founding words of hero and beroifm ; which* fmce thWeturn of peace, are only proper to fill lijTthe hemiftich of a tragic verfe. ^^asMys^-v:^.'-'--- .^->--^- -;-.,...:*-. ~'-*--- How freely flows the charming line, Your mufe how fportive, how divihiep" When fhe, inftead of praife unfit, Plays round the lambent flame of wit i. But fulfome flattery, when too cheap, ' Might fet the go5s tliemfelves to fleep. Thefe brilliant fallies of your imagination ; never charm more than in fportive fubjedls. Every man has not the gift of inciting the {mile of the mind. Native mirth is neceflary to com- municate mirth to others. R 3 Neither 246 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. Neither God nor Lucifer, but a wretched pod- office clerk at Bruffels, it was, who opened and copied your letter, which he fent to Paris, and made it public. I do not believe your old Neftor is entirely fpotlefs in this affair. Let me entreat you, my dear Voltaire, to make reflitution of a fyllable to the village of Chotu- fitz, which you have fo inhumanly torn from it; and, fmce it is neceffary that the field of battle mould have a rhime, I venture to obferve to you that Chotufitz rhimes tolerably well with Molvitz. Thus have I paid you both with rhime and reafon. You reply in form, becaufe I have fuppofed you have a pailion for the marchionefs du Chate- let; and I think I deferve your thanks for having prefumed fo well of you. The marchionefs is handfome and lovely; you poffefs fenfibility, {he has a heart j you have feeling, (he is not marble ; and you have lived together thefe ten years. Would you make me believe that, dur- ing this long period, you never talked of any thing but philofophy to the moft amiable wo- man in France ? Had it been fo, no offence to you, my dear friend, you would have acted a, very infignificant part. I did not imagine the pleafures were banifhed the temple of Virtue which you inhabit. You CORRESPONDENCE. 24.7 You have however promifed to facrifice a few A days to me, \vhich JsaUJhiik. The more pain- ful I (hall fuppofe your abfence .from the mar- chionefs to be, the greater ought to be my grati- tude. Beware how you deceive me How many charming things I hear, In fancy feated by your fide ! The flow of wifdom and th' efc?.pes of wit Thefe all in fport, and that in manly pride, Spontaneous catch the raptur'd ear ! How happy, a-propos, and fit Each fenteuce ! How concife ! 'Tis Juvenal, who ftrikes at vice ; And, dancing now the table round, Anacreon comes, his brows with rofes bound ; The courtly Horace hears, And ftraight appears ; Horace the nice, the playful, yet profound ; Nor leaft of all this fplendid train, Saunt'ring enters La Fontaine, The fimple and the fweet ; Liftlefs fee him take his feat, And foon begin his hearers to regale; Nature fails not to be near, But all in ecftafy writes comments on the tale. With thefe, your chofen friends, Oh come, and with us live i Such neftar as we have we '11 give; Come and correct our loud and boift'rous mirth, Reform whate'er offends ; To pleafures dignified, andtafte, and grace, give birth. R 4 Adieu, 248 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. Adieu, my dear Voltaire. Be juft to your friends : worlhip at the altars of madame du Chatelet ; but, during your intercourfe with the gods, forget not the men who love you, and on them beftow a few of your moments. FREDERIC. LETTER CLXXXIV. From the King. Aix-la-Chapelle, Auguft 26, 1742, FROM the fountain at which, as the faculty fay, Gout, Colic, and, Gravel take horfe and away ; The fountain where Luxury parts with his wealth, In hopes there to purchafe Good Humour and Health; From the place to which fo many people re- fort for their diverfion, and from which fo many return without being cured ; where the quackery of phyficians, and love intrigues, keep equal pace; and to which , in fine, ^infirmity and prejudice lead fo many people from all parts of the world dating from this fountain, thither do I invite you, as an old valetudinarian, to come and meet me ; and, as valetudinarian and wit united, pre- cedency mall be yours. We arrived here yefterday. I believe you to CORRESPONDENCE. 249 to be now at BrufTels; and I likewife believe that the day after to-morrow you will be here, Let me beg you to bring me your Mahomet, as it was played at Paris ; and to collect all you have written of the Age of Louis XIV. for my amufement and inftrudlion. You will be re- ceived with all the ardor of impatience, and all the eagernefs of efteem. Vale. FREDERIC, LETTER CLXXXV. From M. de Voltaire. Auguilag, 1744, HOW glorious has been your campaign ! Your fong, ah how tuneful and fweet ! Apollo! Say where do you reign ? My deity where may I meet ? Leaving Folly unheeded to fport, And Vice her falfe hopes to deteft, Where old Charlemagne held his court, On his projects you deeply refleft. Let my hero, let my king, fuffer an abomi- nable cold, which feized me on the road from Lifle to Bruflels, to be fomewhat diminimed, before I fly to Aix-la-Chapelle. This cold has made me deaf, which it is wrong to be in your majefty's POSTHUMOUS WORKS. majefty's company : as well might we be im- potent in the company of the woman we love. During the two or three days that I am con- demned to remain in my bed, I will caufe Ma- homet to be tramcribed as it was played, and as it gave pleafure to philofophers, and difguft to the devout. It is a repetition of what hap- pened to Tartuffe. The hypocrites perfecuted Moliere, and the fanatics have rifen in arms againft me. I yielded to the torrent without anfwering a word. Had Socrates done the fame, . he would not have fwallowed hemlock, own I know nothing fo difgraceful to my country as that infamous opprefiion which is the dishonour of human nature. Let me have the king of Pruflia for my fovereign, and the Englifh /" for my fellow-citizens. Our Frenchmen, in general, are no more than grown children. But , *-^ to this point I continually return : the real think- ing beings among us, though their number be fmall, think excellently ; and for their fake we ought to pardon the reft. With refpect to my hiftoric prattle, a firft cargo departed on the twentieth of this month from Paris, addrefled to the confidential David Gerrard; and a fecond is ready. I afk your majefty's pardon for the trouble you will find in decyphering the writing of the different per- fons CORRESPONDENCE. 25! fons who have haftily copied what I have col- lefted. I fuppofe the packet is at prefent on the road, to come and weary your majefty at Aix la Cha- pelle. If men may be allowed to ufe the word cer- tainly, I certainly know that it was not a clerk, at Bruflels, who opened the letter which is be- come my Pandora's box. This fine exploit was performed at Paris, at a critical moment, and by a fpy of the perfon whom your majefty fufpected. Well did your majefty divine. You are as converfant with fmall things as with great. You are particularly well acquainted with the injuftice committed by thofe men who take upon themfelves to pafs fentence on kings ; and your truly original Ode on that fubject abounds in poetry, and fublime philofophy. Would to God your majefty had 'equal reafon, relative to the fine compliments which you have paid me, in your laft letter but one, concerning the marchionefs Indeed your majefty is much too kind. What, I! By nature form'd for feats of love ! 1 ! This I deny. I own (he kindly gave a heart, And taught me wit and beauty to adore ; But nothing more. . An 10*THUMOUS WORKS; Afi yog fuppofe why did fhe not impart ? Why am I doora'd to prove Such, things exift but in my monarch's mind ? Perhaps indeed there was a time Alas i'Tis O'er Smiling Youth has ta'en his flight ; And now ? Oblivion INight ! Too fure, alas ! I 'm paft my prime. To poets in their fpring fuch gifts impute;. ToGreflettherenown'd: Invite him where the laurel grows ; Shew him the myrtle and the rofe ; \Vith thefe, in fragrant garland twin'd, let him be crown 'd, Behold him mute ! He anfwers not the friendly call, Neglefts the banquets of the fplendid hall For Picardy, and proftitute ; Thefe he adores, Or nightly o'er his tragic offspring pores* t ncl E T T E R CLXXXVI, From the King. frederlcus VirgiTw t Salutation, Septfi, ^742!* H.ERE am I, in the metropolis of Char- lemagne and the valetudinarians. A letter has been fent me. from Paris, which is attributed to you ; and which, be the author who he may, deferves to have been written by Voltaire. It has CORK ESPONDEKC.E. has been my confolation in a country where there is little fociety, where men drink the waters of the Styx, and in which the empyricrftn of phyficians extends its power even over the mind. I wifli the French all thought like the author of this letter ; and that, lefs partial in their phrenzy, they might become more juft toward foreigners. I \vi(h, in fine, that you had written the letter, and that you had fent it me. But what need have I of your letters ? The author is in the neighbourhood. Come but here, and you need not doubt but that I {hall infinitely prefer the pleafure of liftening to what you fay, to that of reading what you write. I hope you will have the politenefs to do me this favour ; and at the fame time to bring me Mahomet, profcribed as he is by bigots, and fought after by the philofophers of Berlin. I attempt not to fay more, for I hope you will come herCj that you may liften to all which my efteem has to utter. Adieu. FREDERIC. LET- 254 POSTHUMOUS WORKS, LETTER CLXXXVII. From M. de Voltaire. September a, 1742* TRUMPETS, drums, and thunder fleep ; Them and your well-tried arguments you keep Stor'd up in arfenal and magazine. By well-tim'd arguments I mean Great guns, fome twenty thoufand. Know, This logic, fire, gives me the vapours : I love your {uppers, op'ras, balls, ajid belles ; Or, while the loud orcheftra fwells, Give me French rigadoons, Italian capers. Nay, I'd prefer a puppet-mow, To all your hero-butchers and battalions., When fhall my ravifh'd eyes View Pleafure's {lately palace rife, At your command ? Witft finning columns, all of gold, And roof flar-fpangled, wond'rous to behold ! Ah wave the magic wand 1 With animated marble and medallions, Of Polignac the prize, The beauties of th' antique^ Roman and Greek, Embellim your domain. Thus ! Thus immortalize your reign I Methinks I hear the very marble fpeak. '* Effigies are we of all the great and wife> " Why leave us here at Rome, " Where virtue buried lies, 'Mong CORRESPONDENCE. 255 " 'Mong friars white* and black, and grey ? " Here, where the forrowing Arts ne'er fee the light of day ! " At Rome? Rome now the fanftified, " Where tonfur'd harlequins, and mitred pride, " And coward figniors ftalk " The rounds that ancient heroes us'd to walk ? " Their manes take offence ! " Remove us hence, " And make thy fplendid refidence our future home." The ftatues of the cardinal de Polignac ao doubt, fire, often repeat thefe things to you. But I have now to make another beauty fpeak ; and not a marble beauty, but one who is well worth all your ftatues I've feen two beauteous eyes in tears, That fpoke their forrows, hopes, and fears, As if of forrow they were proud : They fpoke with eloquence divine ; All felt their pow'r that faw them mine ; So bright were they behind their cloud. Thefe eyes, fire, and the charming countenance which they irradiate, are the property of madame Walftein, or Wallenftein; one of the grand nieces of the famous duke of Walftein, whom the emperor Ferdinand fo very decently caufed to be murdered, as he was jumping from his bed, by four honeft Iri(hmen ; which ad he certainly 7 would 256 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. would not have done, had he feen the grand niece of the duke. I afk'd why eyes fo bright mould weep ; Requefted me her griefs would name. She anfwer'd, with a figh fo deep, " He, whom you love, your king *s to blame !" Kings, I own, are fometimes guilty of fuch faults ; they make even fine eyes weep : not to mention a multitude of others, who have no pretenfions to beauty Their very love, their want of faith, Their furious rage, their fell ambition, In Germany, as well as France, Have brought full many to contrition. At length I underftood the caufe of her. grief to be, that count von Furftemberg is con- demned, by your majefty's orders, to remain in indolence, imprifoned at Wefel. She afked me what me muft do to relieve him. To this I re- plied there were two remedies : the firfl was, to aflemble an army of a hundred thoufand men, and to befiege the town ; and the fecond to petition your majefty, which laft was incom- parably the mod certain. Then, riding in the clouds, I faw The king that gives to others law ; 'Twas CORRESPONDENCE. 257 Twas Lore ; with Walftein's pray'r he wirig'd his way . And as he flew aloud he fpoke " My will is, which let none revoke, " When Beauty pleads that inonarchs fliould obey." LETTER CLXXXVIII. From the Kin. A Jx-la-Chapelle, September 2, 1742; Y OURSELF excepted, I know nothing fo excellent as your letters. The lad is as charm- ing as all the others which you write to me. . JSTcc ' it would have given me more pleafure, had you followed it more expedhioufiy ; fdfal" pfefent I believe \ (hall be deprived of the pleafure of feeing you. T depart on the yth for Silejia. ^^his is the mod ftupid country I know ; the phyficians, in order to reduce ftrangers to the ftandard of their townfmen, require them not to think. They pretend that no man ought to have common fenfe ; and that the care of health ought to preclude every other care. Meffieurs Chapel and Cotzviler abfolutely for- bid any man to write poetry ; they affirm it is 1 treafon againft the faculty ; and that it is impof- fible to drink of the ftreams of Hippocrene and the muddy waters of the petty empire of Aix at VOL. vu* S the 2^8 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. the fame time. I am obliged to cede to their will ; but God knows- what is the degree of fatisfaction which I mail take, when I am once again at home* I have neither received large nor fmall packet from you ; and fuppofe that the prudent David Gerrard has carefully locked it up, at Berlin, till my arrival. Be affured I will write myfelf creditor for all you fend me ; and that you, by your works, are the great eonfolation of my life. Adieu, my dear Voltaire. To you I commit the provifion of food for my mind. Send me occafionally thofe nutritious viands which im- part ftrength ; and at other times thofe exquifite meats, the delightful flavour of which flatters the tafte, and excites the appetite. Be perfuaded of the efteem, the friendfhip, and all the diflinguifhed fentiments I have for, you. FREDERIC. LET- CO RRESPONDENCE. 259 LETTER CLXXXIX. From the King. Rcmufbcrg, October 13,1742. 1 WAS occupied in reading your impartial andwell-confideredHiftory, which is not encum- bered by ufelefs minutiae, at the very moment I received your letter. The firft wifh I conceived was that I might receive the remainder. The little I have read infpires a wifh to have more. None of the writings of the ancients are fo ca- pable as this work is to infpirejuft ideas, to form the tafte, and to foften and polifh the manners *. It will become the ornament of our age, and a monument which will atteft to pofterity the fu- periority of the genius of the moderns over that of the ancients. Cicero faid he could not con* ceive how the Augurs could poflibly forbear to laugh, when they looked in each others faces. You go further ; you difplay the ridiculous and the mad proceedings of the Clergy. The age in which we live furnilhes examples . * The Bafil edition fays, the work here praifed was the EJul fur Its Macvrt et PEfprit des Nations : or, An Effay on tbt Manners and Genius of Nations. T. S2 Of 260 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. of ambition, courage, &c. ; but, to its honour., I dare affirm, it cannot be reproached with any of thofe cruel and barbarous ads which have been the difgrace of preceding times. It has lefs dimonefty, lefs fanaticifm ; more humanity, and more politenefs. Since the Pharfalian war, never were interefts more important difcufTed than have been in the prefent conflict. The pre-eminence of the two moft powerful families of Chriftcndom is contefted, arid the ruin of the one or of the other. Thefe are great events, which merit to be regarded by you, and to find their place in the continuation of the Hiftory which you pro- pofe to write. Ah ! This world's woes how much do I lament ! Lament the" ties which Difcord could diflblvc !" But Janus' temple once again is clos'd : There have the Prufiian eagles flor'd their thunder. My valiant warriors do not, friend, infult ; They nobly brav'd the ftorm ; they nothing afk'd ; Their motive vi&'ry and the love of fame, Glory unint'reilcd was their reward. Repofe is now their due. Beneath their laurels Letth' Arts and Pleafures ftraight their temple buildj And this let Germany aftonifh'd view. The pleafures of this temple you enjoy when- ever you pleafe > and hence we mortals gain in- ftruction and delight. I every CORRESPONDENCE. 261 I every day expeft to receive the beautiful collection of antiquities of the abbe dePolignac, Who formerly from Rome did them purloin ; And we from France have filch'd them in return, Much to the marvel of the world, I ween. I have admired the Epiftle Dedicatory 10 Ma- homet, which is full of true reflections, and witty lines. Who like bigots can provoke Reafon's fcorn, and Satire's ftroke ? Knaves, and fools, and holy cheats, Highway virgins, faints in ftreets, Waxlights, relics, genuflection, Limbo, pardons, grace, election, Mummeries more than I can mention, Lyes that might defy invention, Wafers, tranfubftantiation, Bulls and excommunication, Pilgrim beggars in proceffion, Falfehood trembling at confeffion, Folly laugh'd at while milled, Mafles drawling for the dead, Scoundrels canon;Vd when rotten, Luft and av'rice ne'er forgotten, Nuns and friars at midnight orgies, Nephews, Popes, and Csefar Borgias Full of mifchief, rank abufe, Pi&ure like to this produce, No falfe colouring, no lampoon, And I '11 a nail drive thro' the moon, 83 I am 262 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. I am not acquainted with madame von Wal- lenftein; but I very well know that her faid nephew has behaved exceedingly ill to his fupe- riors ; and that, right or wrong, he was deter- mined to fight. Write poetry and hiflory eternally, my dear Voltaire ; for you will never fatiate the hunger with which I devour your works, nor ever dry up the fpurce of my gratitude. Adieu. FREDERIC LETTER CXC. From M. de Voltaire. SIRE, fJruflels, November, 1743. I AM very happy to find that the moft fage of monarchs is fomewhat fatisfied with the ample picture which I have drawn of the follies of mankind. Well may your majefty fay the age in which we live has great advantages over times of fuch darknefs and cruelty ; and that it is better, accurfed blafphemy as it may be deemed, to live at prefent than to have exifted " formerly. Would to God that all princes had thought ' Vt ..-.-:-V-. -' 1 'k CORRESPONDENCE. 263 H ,| like my hero ! There would then have been no religious wars ; no faggots kindled to burn the iUj! poor devils who maintained that God was in- clofed within a morfel of bread, in a manner dif- ferent to what was fuppofed by Saint Thomas. A cafuift examines whether the Virgin re- ceived any pleafure from the compreffion and obumbration of the Holy Ghoft. He is for the affirmative, and fupports his opinion with very flrong arguments. Very fine folios are writ- ten to difprove the fuppofition j but no man is burnt, nor are any cities deftroyed, in the dif- pute. Had the partifans of Luther, Zuinglius, Calvin, and the Popes, aded in the fame man- ner, there would have been fome pleafure ia living with fuch people. There are few quarrels between fanatics at prefent, except in France, where fanaticifm and molinifm maintain a difcordancy which may be- come ferious, becaufe fuch 'chimeras are there ferioufly treated. Let but the prince laugh, and the people will join in the ridicule. But kings who keep con- >- feffors feldom are philofophers. .. I fend your majefty a fmall cargo of human abfurdities, which will ferve as new proofs of the great fuperiority of the age of Frederic over the aees of fo many paft emperors. But all thefc S 4 "proofs, 264 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. proofs, fire, are inferior to thofe which you af- ford. I have heard that, though a general of an army of a hundred and fifty thousand men, your majefty is fitting, in great tranquillity, a fpe&atov of ""comedies in your palace. The company that plays before you probably does not referable your- warlike companies ; it is not, I believe, the firft in Europe. I think I have difcovered a young man of wit and. merit, who writes very pleating poetry, and who would be very capable of aiding my hero in his pleafures, of fuperintending his come- dians, and of amufmg him who holds the ba- lance among the monarchs of this world. I believe I (hall be at Paris in a fortnight, and I will then fend more pofitive information to your majefty. I hope alfo to fend you two or three additional ages; but I want as many books as you have foldiers, and I can only find thofe immenfe col- lections, from which I ex trad: ibme drops of elixir, at Paris. 1 flatter myfelf that your majefty is in the pre- fent enjoyment of the beautiful collection of cardinal de Polignac For twenty thoufand crowns, king, great of thought 5 Th' antiques of Roman Marius hail thou bought. But CORRESPONDENCE. 265 But what the Romans valued moft of Tore, Virtues, alas ! novr brought from Rome no more, Virtues which human nature make divine, Native to thee, unpurchas'd, thefe are thine. I have juft feen the Hanoverians and Hef- fians drawn up in order of battle. They arc fine men, but are not equal to ydur majefty's ffoopsTnof are they headed byjmy hero7~Jt k not fbppofed that they will this -winter leave their garrifon. They are faid to be going to Dunkirk; but the road to that place is fome- what rugged, notwithstanding its fmoeth ap- pearance. May your majefty preferve your ufual kind- nefs for your eternal admirer ! LETTER CXCI. From tie King. 174*. WERE the hiftories of the world all written like that which you have confided to me, we ftiould be better informed than we are, of all ages, and lefs deceived by hiftorians. The more I am acquainted with you, the more do I find you to be a very fingular man. Never did I read fo fine a ftyle as that of the Hiftory of Louis 266 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. Louis XIV. I read each paragraph two or three times, fo highly am I delighted. Every line has its excellence ; each is fupplied with fine reflections. No falfe thoughts ; nothing puerile. Add to which, the impartiality of the work is perfect. When I have gone through the whole, I will fend you fome fliort remarks ; and, among others, ibme on German names, which are rather ill treated, and which may caft a ihade of obfcurity over the hiflory; fmce there are names fo disfigured that the reader is obliged to guefs who is the perfon meant. I vvim you had compofed all the works which have ever been written, and which feem neceflary for inftruction. Were this fo, the reader might de- rive profit from the time he mould allot to books. I am fometimes out of patience at the trifles, the infignificant reflections, or the drynefs, which pervade certain books. The reader has to re- write fuch works : but you fpare your readers that trouble. Whether a man have or have not judg- ment, he will acquire great profit by your la- bours. He need only poflefs memory. LET- CORRESPONDENCE. 267 LETTER CXCIL From the King. Potfdam, November 18, 1744. J. HY work, for ever doom'd to laft ; A monument rbT?ges"paft *1jf ""*" 0Ff661s,"ahd knights, and Bigots brave ; Of madmen, fighting for a gravel; Of Popes, the laughter of the wife- I've read with pleafure and furprifr. Too happy that I now exift, Some time ago had I deceas'd, A cutting ftroke or murd'rous blow From thee, with thefe, had laid my mem'ry low. Go on with this excellent work ; for the love of truth continue it, and for the happinefs of mankind. A king exhorts ybu to record the follies of kings. You have fo ftrongly infpired me with the love of labour that I have written an epiftle, a comedy, and memoirs, which I hope will be very curious. When the two former fhall be corrected to my own fatisfaction, I, will fend them to you. Of the third I can only commu- nicate fragments ; for the work is of a nature that requires it (hould not be rendered public. * Meaning Voltaire's Univerfal Hiftory. T. I am i .a POSTHUMOUS WORKS. I am however perfuaded that you will find pai- fages in it that are tolerable. I perceive you have formed no bad opinion of our comedians ; they are properly dancers, among whom the family of La Cochois ads co- medics. They play fome pieces of the Italian theatre, and of Moliere, paflably ; but I have forbidden them to lace on the bufkin, which I find they are not worthy to wear. The collection of antiques of the cardinal de Polignac is arrived ; nor,have the flames fuffered the leaft injury. In thy ruins, oh Rome ! or thy reverend duft, The portrait of Genius, of Wifdom the bud, The fage, or the poet, why feek with fuch care, Since living they're all to be found in Voltaire ? The apoftolic cardinal, who might have pof- feffed you, was very wrong to collect all thefe bufts ; but I, not having that honour, want your works in my library, and thefe remains of anti- quity in my gallery. I wim the Englifli may divert themfelves as well this year, in Flanders, and as agreeably, as I propofe to pafs my carni- val at Berlin. I have communicated the epide- mic difeafe of war to Europe ; like as a coquette beftows certain favours on her gallants which they will remember. I am myfelf very fortu- nately cured ; and at prefent contemplate the 6 manner CORRESPOND EN CE. 269 manner in which others may take and profit by the remedies adminiftered. Fortune is wavering, between the emperor and the cjueen of Hungary and, in my opinion, the fortitude or the weak^ nefs ofFftffce Will decide the conteft. Do* not forget that I liave aflumed a certain degree of authority over you. To me you are accountable for your ages, your general hiftories, &c. as the chriftians are for their time to their gentle Saviour. Such is the confequence, my dear Voltaire, of an intercourfe with kings : they -^^^^^WS^^B^X^ .---**=- o ^-,J--. encroach upon the rights of^yer^jpju^jmdjur- rogate claims to which the^^ve^r^oj---^re^fipjns. You mull however fend me your hiftory, and think yourfelf very fortunate that you can efcape my gripe yourfelf; for, had I confulted my own arguments, I long lince mould have printed a inaniiMO"rin^hich I mould have proved that you appertain to me, and thatX-was juftifilcd .in feizingyour body, wherever rt-could be found. . Adieu. Continue in good health ; do not for- get me ; and be fure not to take root at Paris, in which cafe I am undone. LET- 270 POSTHUMOUS WORK S< LETTER CXCIII. From M. de Voltaire. SIRE, November, 1742. WlTH letter, rhyme, and repartee, For pedant lumber fent by me, Lumber at which you ought to fpurn, Delightful anfwer you return. Thus, babbler having ta'en the lead, Tongue gallop, off he goes, full fpeed ; And thinks that, while he runs fo faft, 'Twere ftrange if he mould be furpafs'd; Till out of breath he ftops at laft : Some fingle word a wit replies ; The lift'ning crowd with laughter dies. Your humanity is more than ever adorable ; for it is not poflible continually to repeat your majefty. This is a very proper phrafe for the princes of the empire to life, who can difcover nothing in you but the king ; but I, who can perceive the man I, who fometimes indulge my enthufiafm I, in my raptures, forget the mo- narch, to think only of this enchanting man. By what magic happens it, both at a time, With fpells all your own, thus you reign and you rhyme ? That to rhyme is moft difficult who mail deny ? Though courtiers their kings can with virtues fupply, Can this name the prudent, and that call the gay , In the thunders of terror this monfter array, 2 Say we i CORRESPONDENCE. 27! Say this is the peaceful, and t' other the wife, Tfll I, their hiftorian, am charm'd by fuch lyes Yet which" of the parafites ever could tell Of a king who wrote verfes fo fweetly and well ? Thus gifted, to conquer or reign you but find To be mere recreation, the fports of your mind : Nay that art which the'bleft fons of genius adore, The art of the poet, to you is no more ! You feize, thus imbued with empyreal fire, The falchion of Mars, of Apollo the lyre ; And, playful, with equal facility write As you conquer, whene'er you think proper to fight. Did the queen of Hungary, and the king my lord and mafter, fee the letter of your majefty, they could not forbear to laugh ; notwithftand- ing the ill which you have done the one, and the good which you have not done the other. Your comparifon between a coquette and fomething better, who has bellowed her difagreeable favours, and laughs at her gallants while under the doc- tor, is as jpleafant a thing as any faid by men like Caefar, Anthony, and Auguftus, your predccef- fofs ; men who performed great actions, and uttered witty feyings. Behave as you think "proper toward kings ; beat them, abandon thc'm^ quarrel with them, make peace with them; bur never be inconftant to me, for I adorejmK_ Your favours dang'rpus were to thofe ; For kings, as kings, treat friends like foes : ^ Deceit 272 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. , Deceit they trade in ; but, for me, No confcious infidelity .Aflaults affettion in its birth. ; Hove, becaufe I know, your worth. It rains bad books, and vile verfes, at this place; -but as your majefty will not judge of all our warriors by the affair of Lintz, neither will you pafs fentence on the underftanding of the French, from reading Les Etrennes de la Saint 'Jean *, or the vulgarities of the abbe des Fon- taines. There is nothing new among our Syba- rites of Paris. The only anecdote which I think worthy of being related to your majefty, is the following: Cardinal de Fleuri, after having been ill, thought proper, two days ago, not knowing what better to do, to fay mafs at a little altar, in a garden which was frozen. Meffieurs Amelot and De Breteuil arrived, and told him he would certainly kill himfelf. Pfhaw! gentlemen, faid he, you are mere chickens. What a man ! And at the age of ninety ! May you, fire, live to the fame age to fay mafs ,* and may I be your aflift- ant ! I am, with the moft profound refpecl, &c. * A kind of periodical title, which cannot be tranflated. T* LET- CORRESPONDENCE. 273 L E T T E k CXCIV. From the King, Berlin, December 5, 1742. I N return for your Maid of Orleans, and your charming Hiftory, I fend you a (hort co- medy, containing fcenes of all the follies which I have been able to recoiled, and tack together, I had it performed at the nuptials of Cefario ; but it was very indifferently acted. D'Eguille, who has delivered your letter of old date to me, is arrived. He is faid to con- tain more ftuff than his brother ; but of this I have not yet been able to judge. I have only the alpha and omega of the Maid of Orleans. Could I but obtain the fourth, fifth, fixth, and feventh cantos, it would then be a pleafure of which you would have put me in full pofleffion. It feems to me that the creditors of thofe la- dies, called the Seventeen Provinces *, are as preffing for payment as thofe gentlemen, iii- * Both copies read dix-fept (feventeen). I imagine it to be an error of the prefs, and that it ought not to be fevventeen, but (even j unlefs the Netherlands and the feven United Pro- vinces be meant inclufively. T. VOL. vii. T tided 274 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. titled the Marmals of France, are flow in their, operations. With refped to your creditors, I beg you to tell them that I have many debts to liquidate with the Dutch ; and that it is not yet very clear which of us will find a balance in our favour. If Paris be the ifland of Cytherea, you are cer- tainly the fatellite of Venus. You revolve round that planet, and follow the orbit which it de- fcribes, from Paris to Bruflels, and from Bruflels to Cirey, Berlin has no attraction for you, un- lefs the aftronomers of our academy can entice you hither by their long telefcopes. The north- ern people are not fo effeminate as the nations of the wejl. The men with us are more robuft, more mafculine, more capable of labour and of bufmefs; but they are perhaps Icfs agreeable. Yet is it exactly the fybarite life which you lead at Paris, and which you commend fo much, that has occafioned the lofs of fame among your troops and your generals. While lift'ning to the melancholy tale, Pardon the truths fevere I'm doom'd to fpeak ; Other hiflorians might them veil or hide, But me diffimulation ill befits *. Adieu, my dear Voltaire. Write to me often ; fend me your works, and the Maid of Orleans. * Thefe liqf s arc a parody from the Henriade. T. I I have COKRtSPOttDEtfCE. 275 I have fo much bufmefs on hand that my letter alfumes a laconic appearance ; but it will weary you the lefs, if it have not weaned you too much already. FREDERIC. BETTER CXCV. Ftcm the King. February 22, 1743* yefterday faid all the good of you that could be faid of mortal man. The fupper- hall was a temple, in which facriflce was offered to you : and there certainly is fomething divine about you, for you immediately reward the good actions that have been done you. This morn- ing I have received a charming letter, under your hand, which has given me great pleafure j not having fora long period received one before. I was, for two months together, overburthened with bufmefs, which prevented me from writing to you foonen I now afk an explanation, relative to the fub- ject of your laft letter but one : for the cardinal is dead, and affairs affume a different face. It is good to know what channels ought to be em-. ployed. T z I very 276 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. I very fmcerely participate in the trophies you have acquired. I feem to myfelf to have written Merope, and that it was to me that the public did juftice. I am about to depart for Silefia, but I (hall not remain long there ; after which I will renew my intercourfe with the Mufes. Let me entreat you to fend me the Maid of Orleans, for I am bent upon ravifhing her charms ; and, with her, your hiftory, your epigrams, your odes, and yourfelf. In fine, I hope, by one means or another, to fee you here. Do my character no injuftice : in other rcfpefts you (hall be allowed to joke with me as you think proper. Adieu, my dear Voltaire. I efteem you, love you, and (hall love you ever. FREDERIC. -LETTER CXCVI. From the King. March 26, 1743. 1 WA S well perfuaded you would be pleafed with my fitter of Brunfwic. She has received that happy gift of heaven, that ardour ' of mind, that vivacity, in which (he refembles you, CORRESPONDENCE. 277 you, and of which, unfortunately, Nature is too avaricious toward mankind. The vaunted fire Prometheus ftole From heav'n, to animate your foul. Audacious robber ! Yet in vain ; His fcanty hand could not contain A fpark for that unblufhing crew Who boldly claim the whole their due. Their minds to this ftrange madnefs wend To genius each and all pretend. The worft of fools, if once thus bit, Believe their worft of nonfenfe wit, The mrew, who fcolds the live-long day, By fcolding would her pow'rs difplay. How oft by felf-conceit is goaded The afs, with learning overloaded ! How fwells, and blefies Heav'n, for brain Which words, or wind, could thus contain ! By wifdom would not Mirepoix Rule France ; nay more, all Europe awe ? To cure him, bid the doting elf Liften, whene'er he talks himfelf, I do not very well know where you are at prefent j but I perfuade myfelf you will fooner forget Berlin than be forgotten there. Such are the affurances of your admirer. P. S. Of me your mind draws picture faint, If me you want in daubing paint*; I claim no mean, no medium part : Forget, or place me in your heart. FREDERIC. * M. de Voltaire had requefted to have the king's picture. 27$ POSTHUMOUS WQRK$. LETTER CXCVII. From the King. MY DEAR VOLTAIRE, Potfdam, April 6, 1743, YOU load me with favours, whiie I per- fift in gloomy lilence. I receive the precious fruits of friendfliip, your nightly watchings and your fludies j while I continue galloping from province to province, without being able to fix my wandering flar, and return to my former haunts. I am, however, returned from Breflau, after, having acted the politician, the financier, and the general. I expect at prefent to tafte fome re- pofe, and to recommence my commerce with the Mufes. I ihall foon fend you the preface to my memoirs. I cannot remit the whole work,,, jfdrit muft not appear till after I and my-cptem^ poraries are dead ; the reafon of which is, itjs written with a ftrid adherence to truth ; I not . '.~~~ r ^* mm ^*'~^?~~ Mm ^*~~^^3-'~'- -' T""^"! having departed, in any refped, from that fide- . _,>"-~ "*J*~ 1 u ,, l y^^^ it ^^ g ^, g AlCT-~>l-*^ lity which a hiltprian ought to communicate to . |iis writings. Your hiftory of the human mind is admirable, But how humiliating is this hiftory to our fpe- cies, nay to providence itfelf ! That is, if provi- dence CORRESPONDENCE. dence make choice of thofe who are appointed to govern the world, and ferve as the pivots on which thofe revolutions turn that happen on earth. I am forry to hear that your ruling paflion fias weakened you fo much ; but I flatter myfelf the mind will fupport the body, as oil maintains the flame of a lamp. D'Argens .has had his comedy performed, aT which we all went to ileep. He wifhed to have it reprefented at Paris, but from this I difluaded him ; for he would there moft indubitably have fceen hified. You fland alone; you wrote a tragedy at nineteen, and an epic poem at twenty. .Put every man is not Voltaire. The ridiculous arts of the devotees of Paris Jiave been heard of in the North. I well ex- pe&ed Voltaire muft ftand reproved, as foon as he fliould appear before an Areopagus of croffed fend mitred Midafes. Acquire the fortitude to defpife a nation which is infenfible to the merit of men like Belleifle and Voltaire ; and come into a country where you are beloved, and where bigotry does not rule triumphant. Adieu. FREDERIC. The Maid ! The Maid ! The Maid ! And once again, the Maid of Orleans ! Send her to T 4 me, 280 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. me, for the love of God ; or rather for the love of yourfelf ! LETTER CXCVJII. From the King. Potfdara, May 21, 1743. HOW long, a backflider, pray tell me, Voltaire, Hag old Saving-grace in your foul had a (hare ? By Mirepoix lectur'd, and fprinkled, and bleft, Are fafting, and hermits, and roots, now your tafte ? With a twang through the nofe, and a fandified air, The yawning philofopher mutters a pray'r ; His fins being pardon'd, he fights for the church, And we fons of old Satan are left in the lurch. St. Peter and Newton all Heav'n alarm ; Their claim to Voltaire to fupport they both arm. Inftead of triangle, the dozing old faint A relic prefents ; and, in argument quaint, Conception immaculate fully maintains ; And martyrs and Mary flcep while he explains. Apollo, ParnafTus, the Mufes all nine, Vent their griefs, to perceive their fam'd valley divine Left forlorn by the fwan whofe mellifluous ftrain So lately enchanted the banks of the Seine. But of grief, lo ! a picture no heart can withftand ! Defpair in her eye, the fage Locke in her hand, Her hair all dimevell'd, her cheek all in tears, Fair Emily, charming in forrovv, appears I "He C O R R E S P ON D E N C E. 28l " He is gone !" Aie exclaims ; " I am barter'd, forfa'ea ! " Diftra&ion ! Eternally left to complain ! " His motives ? Oh none ! 'Tis the moon at the full ; *' He credits a tale of a cock and bull !" This is what I prefume, from the letter you have written to the bifhop of Sens, and from \vhat all the letters from Paris contain. You may judge of my furprife, and of the aftonifh- ment of a philofophic mind, to fee the minifter of truth bend the knee before the idol of fuper- ftition. The mitred Midafes triumph, in this age, over Voltaire and the men of genius ; but this is ap-. parently the age in which the ignorant, of every kind, are to find preferment in France, rather than the learned and the man of abilities. O tempora ! O mores ! Some forty learned parrots fit To pick holes in the coat of wit. Old cuftom and new grammar they Sometimes command, fometimes obey : Like flaves they yield what is not due, Like defpots they have black-ball'd you. Afraid the reign of night muft end, Should once your fplendid fun afcend, They met, and caft a midnight fpell, And ftill in all their darknefs dwell. J believe France is the only country in Eu- " rope 2S2 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. rope in which affes and fools may at prefent make their fortune. I fend you the preface {Q jrfi^ 1 memoirs * ; the reft is not oftenfible^ .- I do not write to you fo often as 1 could wifh^ you muft not however accufe me, but the innu- merable occupations which divide my time. Adieu, my dear Voltaire. Do not forget me> notwithftanding my filence ; be certain that, as your friendj I do not think lefs frequently of you, t&ui I did formerly, FREDERIC. LETTER CXCDC. From the King. Potfdam, June 15, 174,5, PEACEFUL in harbour here I ftand, Nor wifh my bark again the winds fhould brave ; Yet grieve to view the diftant ftrand, Where fate forbids a noble {hip to fave. I wifh you would at once come to Berlin, there to remain ; and that you had the ftrength to, fhelter your light bark from the winds and hur- ' ficanes by which it has fo often been toft in * The work mentioned here, and in the lad letter, is, Tit ^ jfijlorv of my own Times, T. , .- ---France. CORRESPONDENCE. 283, France. How, my dear Voltaire, can you fuffer them to exclude you ignominioufly from the academy, while they applaud you at the theatre? Difdained at court, and adored in the city ! This is a contrail which I cannot reconcile. The levity indeed of the French never fuffers them to be confident, in their applaufe. Come here, to a nation which will not change its judgment concerning you. Quit a country where Belleiile, Chauvelin, and Voltaire can find- no protection. Adieu. FREDERIC. Send me 'the Maid of Orleans, or I renounce you. LETTER CC. From the King. Magdeburg, Juoe 35, 1745. PROSCRIB'D and perfecuted in your own, Be this your country ; here your worth is known. I am at prefent a greater wanderer than the Jew whom D'Argens * obliges to write and to * Alluding to the Jewifli Letters, by the marquis d'Ar- geni. T. travel. 284 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. travel. Another Sifyphus, I turn the wheel at which I am condemned to labour. I give a momentum to my little kingdom; and, in the fhades of peace, ftrengthen that for which I am indebted to the arm of war. I reform old abufes, give birth to new ; correct faults, and com- mit others. This tumultuous life may endure two months, unlefs the demon that haunts me mould con- tinue his difturbances longer. I believe I (halt then find myfelf obliged to make a trip to Aix, there to correct the incorrigible machinery of my abdomen, by which your friend is occafion- ally tormented. Could I have the pleafure of meeting you there, it would be a very agreeable one ; for it is my opinion that For jaundic'd patient, whom the ftone, And gout, and dropfy, call their own, No med'cines which the learned tribe E'er did, or ever (hall prefcribe, Of fo much efficacy are, As converfation with Voltaire. His piercing wit, and eye fo keen, To charm away the whims of fpleen, Or pain itfelf, are more availing Than all Hippocrates and Galen. If, leaving that place, you would come and be an inhabitant of thefe countries, I promife you CORRESPONDENCE. 28^ you an eftablifhmerifwith which I flatter myfelf you would be fatisfied ; efpecially when you .fhould find yourfelf beyond the reach of thefar- tifices and perfecution of bigots. You have fuffered too many infults in France, to remain there with honour; it becomes you to quit a country where your reputation receives daily ftabs, and where each Midas is preferred to the higheft employment. Adieu, dsar Voltaire. Let me entreat you to write me your fentiments ; and be certain of my affedion. FREDERIC. LETTER CCI. From M. de Voltaire. The Hague, June 48, 1743. FROM palace which, you muft allow, Though gilded once, is rotten now, Both monument and emblem fit Of human grandeur, human wit, On you I call, to you appeal; For you can hear, and you can feeL For other palaces I pant, Where you to art and fcience grant Bleft refuge. Soon the winged fteed, Pegafus, of noble breed. Do POSTHUMOUS Do you but fend, I'll quickly mount* And at Berlin my griefs recount. Has my hero received my letters from PariS^ in which I have informed him that I fhould efcape, and come to pay him my court ? I fent them to David Gerrard ; and the fecond addrefs was to M. Fredericfliof. Surely David Gerrard is not fuch a blockhead as to be unable to dif- coverthat this M. Fredericfhof is the greateft of kings, and the greateft of men ; the man of my heart ; he whofe prefence will for fome days ren- der me happy. I am therefore waiting at the Hague, with M. von Podewils, the orders of your humanity, and zfirefpan* from your majefty. Let me once again behold the great Frederic, and let me no more be troubled with the fight of the pedant Boyer, the old bifbop of Mirepoixy who would pleafe me much more were he at leaft twenty years older than he is*, While you, by beat of drum* terrific foim J, Through Pruflia's towns are led, a weary round, I, by my better angel guided, wing My willing way to hear Apollo fing. I am here with your worthy and amiable mi- nifter, who is inconfolable, and neither fleeps * Pw-'Jfymn. A relay of horfej. T. nor CORRESPONDENCE. 287 nor eats, becaufe the Dutch want the pofleffions of a great king at too cheap a rate. We mufl liovvever accuftom ourfelves, fire, to fee the Dutch love money as much as I love you. When, alas ! fhall I leave thefe watery provinces, to foe my hero, aad my prince ? LETTER CCII. From the King. Reinfberg, July 3, 7745. 1 SEND you a paffport for horfes with much eagernefs. You will neither be drawn by Bucephalus, nor by Pegafus ; yet I mail love the horfes the better, for having brought Apollo to Berlin. Here you_will ..be received .with open arms, and I will give you the befl eflablilhment in my power. I am about to depart for Stettin, and from thence for Silefia ; but I (hall find a moment's leifure to fee and affure you how much I efteem you. Adieu. FREDERIC. 288 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. LETTER CCI1I. From M. de Voltaire. MV TT T\rr The Hague, in your vaft and ruinous palace, July 13, 1743. I H A V E not the honour to be one of thofe heroes who travel with a fever. I am be- come a Manichzean, and admit two principles in the world : the good principle Is the huma- nity of my hero ; the bad is phyfical evil ; and the laft prevents me from enjoying the firft. Permit therefore, my adorable monarch, that foul which is fo ill at its 'eafe, in this paltry body, to remain, and not begin its travels un- der the uncertainty of finding, or of not finding, your majefty. If you intend to remain fome weeks at Berlin, to Berlin will I fly : if you are ftill on the wing, and mean to hurry from the further part of Silefia to Aix-la-Chapelle, I will go thither, and wait for you in a warm bath ; which however will be much cooler than your imagination. I have the honour to fend you a dofe of opium, to be taken during your travels ; a packet of academic phrafes, among which your majefty will find the difcourfe of Maupertuis," accom- 5 panied CORRESPONDENCE; $89 panied with fome remarks, by madame du Cha- teletrj Would to God the French were guilty of no other miftakes than thofe pointed out to your majefty by madame du Chatelet; the emperor would fi.il! have held Bohemia, and would at lead fup at Munich, inftead of being in abfolute want at Franckforti But, notwithstanding the noble retreats of your Strafburg friend *, and the errors of Det- tingen, the French appear not to be deftitute of courage. The mufketeers alone, to the number of two hundred and fifty, broke through five lines of the Englifh, who few of them gave way but with lofs of life. The great num- ber of our nobility killed and wounded is an inconteftable proof of valour. What would not this nation effect, were it commanded by a prince like you ? If the people have courage, the miniftry alfo have fortitude; a new army on the Maefe will foon afford the United Provinces fubje6STHUMOUS WORK ^ True it is Marie-a-la-Coque was not written by him; but it is equally true, lire, that I have not written the letter, which pafles under my name, to the author of Marie-a-la-Coque. I have only written a letter to the bifhop of Mirepoix; in which I have complained, with much ardour and much inutility, of the calumnies of his creatures and fpies. I do not bow the knee before Baal ; and, while I refpect my king, I equally defpife thofe who, under the Ihade of his authority, abufe their power, and are only great to do mifchief. You, fire, alone confole me, feeing what I fee ; and, when ready to weep at the decline of the arts, I fay there is one monarch dill in Eu- rope by whom they are beloved, by whom they are cultivated, and who is the glory of his age. I add, foon (hall I fee this charming monarch ; this man, though a king; this fceptered Chau- lieu; this Tacitus ; this Xenophon. Yes, I muft Begone; madame du Chatelet muft not prevent meTT'muft forfake Minerva for Apollo. To -fee. your majefty is ~my "ruling paflion, which muft once in my life be indulged. Nothing can be more unneceflary than to add my profound refpedts, &c. LET CORRESPONDENCE. 29^ LETTER CCV. From the King. Potfdam, Auguft 20, 1743. I H A V E only been here two days, and have found three of your letters. Two gods feldom friends, gods of reafon and rhyme, In concord prefide o'er your concerts fublime. Our minds to enlighten, and rid us of forrow, The gall-dripping pen of old Perfius you borrow. Deform'd as {he is, when her face you reveal, Hypocrify mrinking her fhame would conceal. Of Mirepoix's ghoft who can doubt the delight, Should you undertake his eulogium to write ? In vengeance the arts all aflembled would come, To fcatter his afhes, and hurl down his tomb ; In vain would Neuville wordy monument raife, The force of the fatirc would rife with the praife. I pity thofe who have the misfortune to offend you ; for, in four lines, you will render them ridiculous adjeculajeculorum. I (hall not go to Aix, as I intended. You know I have the honour to be a political atorn ; in confequence of which, my ftomach is obliged to digeft the combination of European affairs, which do not always perfectly agree with its lixtureV U4 You POSTHUMOUS WORKS. You feem to me, my dear Voltaire, fomething like_the weathercock of Parnaffus, and as if you had not yet decided on the part you ought to take. I (hall fay nothing to you on the fub- ject, for all that I could urge would feem fuf- picious. The picture you have drawn of France is painted in glowing colours ; but, fay what you pleafe, the army that flies for three fuccef- live years, and that is beaten whenever it fights, is certainly no afletnblage of Caefars or of Alex- anders. My portrait is not, nor is it intended to be, painted ; I can therefore give you nothing but medals. Vale. FREDERIC, LETTER CCVJ. From the King* Potfdam, Auguft 24, 1745. IT is to be at Berlin, then, that I am to Jiave the pleafure to behold the French Apollo defcend from his Parnaflus, to oblige me, and familiarize himfelf a little with the profaic vul- gar. Let me beg you, my dear Voltaire, to bring CORRESPONDENCE; bring with you good ftore of indulgence ; and efpecially let no grammarian meafure the length of our phrafes by the fathom, nor punim us for the folly of a folecifm. You will fee a company of comedians that is forming, a rifing academy^ and, above all, rnany perfons whqloye and ad- mire you. There is no dne de Mirepoix at Berlin *. We , have a cardinal, and bifhops, fome of whom make love in front, and others in rear; who are better read in the divinityof Epicurus than in that of Saint Paul; who confequently are benevolent enough not to perfecute any one ; and who dif- pofe of nothing but parifli offices and chorifters places, for which you are no afpiring candidate. Disjointed though you bring her, yet Your Maid of Orleans don't forget ; The deeds of all your prefent race Of heroes, hers will foon efface ; Of flying Bi'oglio, and the fheep Which he can neither kill nor keep ; Of wand'ring Maillebois, who loft Himfelf, as well as all his hoft ; Of Segur, who fo foon furrenders ; And all your other brave defenders. * The bifhop Buyer ufed to fign himfelf anc. evegue Je M'trepmx, as an abbreviation of ancien, &c. This Voltaire far- caftically changed into dne t or afs of Mirepoix. T. 4 I will- POSTHUMOUS WORKS. I will (hew you as much of my Memoirs as I think I ought to (hew you. They are true, confequently of fuch a nature as not to be made public till fome future age. Adieu, dear.VoJtaire, till we meet. FREDERIC, LETTER CCVII. From tie King. Potfdam, September 15, 1743, Y QU have faid fo much to me in behalf of France, and her king, that it were to toe wifhed , and all r fuch citizens. JjiVhejLJtJifu^ every man, and when the public inte'v'r be? comes the interefl of every individual, feelings, like thefe then conflitute the true ftrerigth of "*' ""*""" ^ wv '*"*'' f ' - ' It, had been well if France and Sweden pofTeffed military men who thought like you; but it is very certain, fay what you will, that the feeblenefs of the generals, and the timidity of adminiftration, have been almoft deftruftive of the renown of thefe two nations, wkofe very name, not fifty years ago, was the terror of Eu- rope. 3 Let CORRESPONDENCE. Let us examine in what manner France has i acted toward her allies. What an example to I Europe was that fecret peace which cardinal de : Fleuri made, unknown to the kings of Spairy \ and Sardinia ! The father-in-law of his monarch was abandoned, and Lorrain acquired. How unheard-of is the manner in which France gives up the emperor, facrifices Bavaria, and ruins a prince who is fo refpectable even in extreme diftrefs ! I fpeak not merely of the diftrefs of the prince, but of a fituation the moft dreadful that can happen to a private perfon. What were the machinations of the cardinal in Ruflia, when we were on the moft friendly terms ! What propofi- tions have not been made at Mentz, to open a road to peace, or more properly to kindle a new war ! With how little vigour do the French fpeak, when they ought to difplay fortitude ! And, even wh,en fome appearance is difcoverablc in their words, how little cprrefpondent are theiy military operations ! The French however are the moft charming people in Europe ; and, were they not as a nation to be feared, they would deferve to be beloved. A king worthy to reign over them, governing fagely, and acquiring the efteem of all Europe, plight reftore them to their former fplendour ; 3QO POSTHUMOUS WORKS. which Broglio, and fo many others of ftill in* ferior abilities, have fomewhat eclipfed. It were a work worthy a prince of fuch higrTmerit to repair what others have injured ; and never could fovereign acquire more glory than when he fhould defend his people againft furious foes ; or when, by changing the ftate"of affairs, he mould find means to reduce his ad- verfaries, humbly to requeft he would grant them peace. I (hall admire all the acts of this great man ; nor will any of the fovereigns of Europe be lefs jealous of his fuccefs than I mall be. But I did not intend to talk politics to you ; for this is exactly like prefcnting a dofe of phy- fic to a beloved miltrefs. I imagine I mould do much better were I to make poetry the topic : but we cannot all act as we wifh ; and when you write poetry to me, to which I ought to anfwer, you talk to me like a cup-bearer, who, having the gift of drinking, brings large bumpers to a poor valetudinarian, whofe ftomach fcarcely can digeft water. Adieu, dear Voltaire. May Heaven prefervc you from fleeplefs nights, fever, and impertinent vifitors. FREDERIC. C * * S P O N 1 N C B; LETTER CCVHI. Af. *& Voltaire. DafaMi. 1 O kinga rebellious, you could find The means to captivate my mind ; In you the joys I deem moil fweet It is my happy domn to meet. My General Hiftory, and my Mai 3, I come to end in fafety's flxade, Which you beftow, where fearlefs I May all the bigot crew defy. I will therefore jdopait, iny adorable matter,' t* return . a& ibon. as I have put my afTairs in .oidejv- 4 -fpeafc -to -you with my accuftomed franknefs : I have imagined I perceived I fhould 3O^]^^^SS~TCySCw^XtolcQme in xbe company of others ; and I own that, appertain- ing folely_ to jour jm^elty^ my 'mind wfll be at its.eafe. like Deftouches and Pnorj^ two poets ^ y of ^peace between France and w411 aft as you earth, and I fhall not inter- fere ; but I earneftly conjure you to write a word to me, which I may fhew to the king of France. You POSTHUMOUS WORKS. You reproach him, in the letter which yoti deigned to write to me from Potfdam, for hav- ing left the emperor in extreme diftrefs ; as well as for having made infinuations at Mentz con- trary to your interefts. Since that letter was written, your majefty has been informed that the king of France has granted the emperor fubfidies ; and I imagine you have no doubt at prefent that Hatzel, who negociated, or rather did nothing but blunder, at Mentz, was a rafh perfon, who, mould you wifh it, would receive punimment. Be therefore fomewhat better con* tented ; and let me conjure you to deign to write to me, were it but four lines in general terms. All I with you to fay is, that you are now fatisfied refpecting the inclinations of France ; that no perfon ever prefented you with a more advantageous picture of his king ; that you have reafon to believe me, becaufe you have never been deceived by me ; and that you are well determined to be the ally of a prince fo prudent, and fo firm in his purpofes. Thefe vague expreflions will not pledge you to any act, and I dare affirm they will produce a good effect ; for, if defcriptions have been given you but little honourable to the king of France, I can affure you that you have been painted to him in the blackeft colours ; and af- ~ furcdly CORRESPONDfeNCE. furedly juftice has been done to neither. Per- mit me therefore to profit by tliislavoarable ojp- pojrtumtyf and thus let me reftore two monarchs io dear and eftimable to the good opinion of each other. Add to this, they will render me happy for life : I Ghall mew your letter to the king ; and perhaps may obtain reftitution of a, part of my effefts which the good cardinal took from me. . I will come here* to fpend this re- covered wealth, which I mall owe to you. Be perfuaded of the good effects that will re- fult. I (hall be unfufpe&ed ; and the day on which I Ih all be permitted to tell his majefty all I think of your perfon, will be the fecond hap- pieft day in my life : the firft will be that on which I mall return to your feet, to fettle in Pruf- lia, and to begin a new life dedicated only to you. * From this paflage we may conclude the letter was writ- ten while M. de Voltaire was in Pruffia (perhaps from Berlin to -he king at Potfdam), whither he this time went, or rather wa* fent, on political bufmefs. T. ,304 FOSTHUMOUS WORKS; LETTER CCIX. From the King* 1745* FRANCE has hitherto been fuppofed \ the afylum of unfortunate kings; I wifh my capital to become the temple of great men. Come hither, my dear Voltaire, and dictate what- ever can be agreeable to you. I wifh to give you pleafure ; and if we wifh to oblige any man, it is neceffary to conform to his mode of thinking. Choofe houfe or apartments ; make your own conditions ; concert whatever may be neceffary for the pleafures or the fuperfluities of life, that is, for whatever can make you happy. Leave the reft to me. You will always remain free, and entirely mafter of your deftiny. I wifh not to enchain you, except by friendfhip and benevo- lence. TjT" You (hall have paffports for your horfes, and every thing you can require. I mall fee you on Wednefday, and (hall profit by the moments that remain to enlighten myfelf by the blaze of your potent genius. I entreat you to believe I (hall ever to you be the fame. Adieu. FREDERIC. CORRESPONDENCE. LETTER CCX. From M. de Voltaire. SIRE, The Hague, O&ober 28, 1743, YOU always travel like an eagle, and I like a tortoife. But how is it poffible to travel too flowly, when quitting your majefty ? At length I am in Holland; and the firft thing I there met with was an Englim paper, in which your Anti-Machiavel is cited, in parallel with Polybius and Xenophon. Two pages from the book are tranfcribed, in which you prove the advantages that fortified places are of to princes ; and the temerity of the allies, in pretending to enter France, is there demonftrated. At length your worth is known : By authors cited as an author grave ; By monarchs, as a monarch wife and brave j Refpefted are your pow'r and throne By Dutchman free, by Ruffian born a flave ; Triumphant might you march befide The Danube mores, or banks of Save, And humble Auftrian pride. The vidor's right you wifely wave, No more o'er wretchednefs you reign, More worthy meed you crave ; No more your royal hand you ftain, rot. TIJ. X No POSTHUMOUS WORKS. No more in fanguinary floods you conqueft lave : Such deeds you rightly blame. I can no more : I would but, to my ftiame, My jaded mufe can rhyme no more in ai>e. The more I think of// Tito, of il forte*, the more do I affirm Berlin to be my country. Ho ! good meffieurs Gerard ! My chamber ! Make hade ! A deflc for my papers ! Some wine to my tafte ! Not that juice manufaftur'd by Lognier of Liege, Which throat made of iron might well difoblige ; Which I nick-nam'd afs * * * t, nor call back the term ; Fit liquor for no man but kings, I affirm. Good claret for me, unadulterate, pure ; Or wit or wine mixt tafte refin'd can't endure : Voiture's, Marivaux's, metaphyfical toil, Conduce but to blend, to confufe, and to fpoil. LETTER CCXI. From M. de Voltaire. Lifle, November 16, 1743. A ND is it true ? Did you indeed From Auftrian or Bohemian win The drum which dying Ziflca bade Them manufacture from his fkin ? * Thefe are references to fome Italian opera, I fuppofe, which no doubt were familiar to the king, but which a tranf- lator cannot be expected perfectly to underftand. T. f Piffatd'ane. A dead CORRESPONDENCE. 307 A dead man's hide is little worth, Though, when alive, a hero he : Your heroes do not oft efcape The worm's unmanner'd gluttony. To hide of Ziflca Fate decreed Nor worm nor reptile mould lay claim ; But mould through ages be preferv'd In drum immortal as his nan** 'Twas odd enough ! But pray be pleas'd, Oh mighty king ! to underftand Your hero, who would fave his hide, Mufl. condefcend to have it tann'd. Sire, keep your own ; for God himfelf, "Who drew it on thus well to fit, Could fcarcely, mould he try once more, A new one fill fo full of wit ! It is not infinitely refpectful to afk a great king queftions : but Solomon was treated thus ; and the Solomon of jthe north nmft accuftom himfelf to enlighten mankind. Your majefty will therefore forgive my te- merity, when I aflc what; is'rtteanl by 'an ark fbunH at Glatz. Your majefty perhaps will tell me I muft addrefs myfelf to Jordan : but this Jordan, lire, is indolent, amiable though he be ; and you would regulate four or five provinces, write two hundred verfes, and compofe four thoufand crotchets in fcore, in lefs time than he would produce a iingle letter. I am at Lifle, which is a city fomething like X 2 Berlin; 308 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. Berlin ; but I neither fee an opera there, nor a fecond *Titus. For your majcfty, the queen mo- ther, andtheprincefs Ulrica, no fubftitutes can be found ; neither have I an army of three hundred thoufand men, with which I might carry off the princefs. But, in revenge, the king of France has more ; for the p^gfent eftimate dates him to have three hundred and twenty-five thoufand, invalids included. They are three hundred thoufand hounds on full chafe, that fcarcely can be kept in. They yelp, and howl, and ftruggle, and break couple, to run hot at the Engliih, and their flow fervants the Dutch. The whole nation, in truth, difplays incredible ardour. We may fortunately add, your Strafburg friend* will no more pretend to command armies ; and the emperor, fup- i ported by your majefty and France, may foon have pperas played at Munich. As I have been bold enough to put various queftions to your majefty, I will tell you a ihort tale ; though perhaps you have already heard it. Some months ago, the princefs Adelaide, the third daughter of the king my mafter, having thirteen louis (or guineas) in her pocket, got up during the night, drefled herfelf without aid, and * Marfoal de Broglio. T. left CORRESPONDENCE. 309 left her chamber. Her governefs awoke, and afked her where (he was going ; and fhe very ingenuouily confefTed (lie had ordered a groom to keep two horfes ready, that (he might go to command the army, and aid the emperor. Should (he but hear that your majefty has in- terfered, (he will hereafter deep in peace. At the moment I have the honour to write to your majefty, our troops are on their march to go and take old Brifac. With refpeft to our comedians, I have heard a fmgular anecdote in this city of Lifle ; which is that, while it was befieged by the duke of Marl borough, they acted plays every night, and that the comedians then gained upwards of a hundred thoufand livres. (More than four thoufand pounds fterling.) You muft allow, fire, this is a nation formed for pleafure and war. Titus continues to entreat your majefty in be- half of poor Courtils, who is at Spandau without a nofe *. I throw myfelf at the feet of your humanity, &c. * To underftand this paflage well, fee Memoirs of M, df Voltaire, written by himfelf, page 90. T. X 3 LET- 310 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. LETTER CCXII. From the King. Berlin, December 4, 1743. Op warrior fam'd the flcin is here, Whofe very name inflicted fear, When, after having fought fo well, Grim Death had fent his foul to hell, 'Tis here ; henceforth here let it be, For curious fools to come and fee. Your fleeting foul fome future day (Far hence, I hope) mall wing its way, - That is, be row'd, the boatman brib'd, To land which lyars have defcrib'd. Then critic Marfyas mail begin Experiments upon your Ikin ; But Envy, for the rafh defign, Once more mall feel the wrath divine. Yes, the ikin of Zifca, or, to fpeak more ac- curately, the drum of Zifca, is among the fpoils which we have brought from Bohemia. I am well pleafed to hear you are arrived in good health at Lifle. I am always in fear of coaches breaking down. You are more enthufiaftic than ever concern- ing your fifteen hundred fcabby Frenchmen *, * Gakux de Francois t who CORRESPONDENCE. 31! who are in an ifland of the Rhine, which they have not the courage to leave. You muft be very barren of great events, frnee yoir : mafe^fe-aa noife about fuch wretched trifles. But a truce to politics. I believe the Dutch may act pantomimes, when the actors come from foreign countries. They may poffefs fine genius, when you (hall be at the Hague ; famous minifters, when Carteret (hall repair thither ; and heroes, when the road of the king my uncle* fhall lie through their marmes, is on his return to his ifland. Fredericus Voltariumjalutat. LETTER CCXIII, From M. de Voltaire. SIRE, Paris, January 7, *744 I HAVE at once received enough to turn more than one brain a former letter from your majefty, dated November the twenty-ninth; two medals, which reprefent at lead a part of the countenance of the king and the man of ge- nius ; the portrait of her majefty the queen mo- ther ; that of the princefs Ulrica ; and in fine, * The king of England. T. X 4 to 312 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. to complete thefe favours, delightful verfes from the great Frederic, which begin thus : Quitterez-'vous lien furement L' empire de Midas, votre mgrate patrie* ? The marquis de Fenelon had all this wealth in his pocket ; nor would he part with it till he found he could keep it no longer. He has re- tarded the negociation, as if he had been flipu- lating with the Dutch. But I am now in full pofleilion. I have kifTed all the portraits ; let the princefs Ulrica bluQi if (he pleafe. Such charms auguft carefs ! Ah! Who fhall dare ? Mad were the wifli, the will ! And yet to fee, poffefs them, and forbear, Were madnefs greater ftill ! I did fo, fire, to your verfes; the harmony and vivacity of which have produced almoft as great effects upon me as the miniature of her royal highnefs. I faid Whence come thefe founds, that doubly cheer The glowing heart and lift'ning ear ? Do men or gods thus fweetly play ? Or do the tuneful mufes ftray ; Frefh garlands flrewing as they go, With words that win, and thoughts that flow ? * And will you really quit the kingdom of Midas, your ungrateful country? Or CORRESPONDENCE. 313 Or is it Amphion's wondrous lyre, That rears the turret, dome, and fpirc ? Or old Arion's harmony, Attracting all the tribes of fea ? Let me my fpell-bound fenfe convince : 'Tis or Apollo, or my prince I To fong fo charming foon fucceed, From thiftle-bed, and long-ear' d breed, You know the animal I mean *, Difcordant brays of burfting fpleen . Hark! He begins " Peace ! Hear me fing J " Admire no more your poet-king ; " Say, what is he, if I but ope *' My mouth ? I, who with monarchs cope ! " What though he rank with Europe's kings, " I Europe hold in leading firings !*' Achilles, as the fable fays, Was tutor'd, in his boyifli days, By fome odd kind of quadrupede, Halfhorfe, half man, a ftrange mixt breed. In modern times the wonder 's greater : Our preceptors we find dame Nature Has form'd, that (he might all furpafs, Not half-and-half, but wholly afs ! * Boyer, bifhop of Mirepoix, and preceptor to the Dau phin. T. LET- 314 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. LETTER CCXIV, From the King, April 7, 1744. In my own defpite, here are verfes which your Apollo has wrefted from me ; by him am I ftill infpired. Your Merope has been delivered to me, and I followed the orders of the author in the diftri- bution of his book. I am not aftonimed at the fuccefs of the piece. The corrections you have made in it have rendered it, in chaftity, plan, probability, and pathos, fuperior to all your other theatrical pieces ; though Mahomet has more force, and Brutus finer lines. My filter Ulrica fees your dream in part accomplimed. A king aiks her for his confort, and the wimes of the Swedifh nation all centre in her. To this enthufiafm, this fanaticifm, my tender friendfhip for her has been obliged to cede. She is going into a country where her talents will induce her to aft a grand and fublime part. Be pleafed to tell Rothemburg, if you fee him, it is not well in him not to write to me. Since he CORRESPONDENCE. 315 he has been at Paris, I hear no more of him than if he were at Pekin. Your atmofphere re- fembles the fountain of Jouvence, and your vo- luptuoufnefs the fpells of Circe ; but Rothem- burg I hope will efcape a metamorphofis. Adieu, admirable hiftorian, great poet, charm- ing author of the Maid, who is kept the invifible and gloomy prifoner of Circe. Farewel, lover of Valori's cook-maid, of madame du Chatelet, and 6f my fifter. I recommend myfelf to the pro- tection of your talents ; and efpecially to your love of ftudy, from which I expect my fvveeteft and moft delightful amufements. FREDERIC. The houfe is difgarnifhing that had been be- gun to be furnifhed for you at Berlin. LETTER CCXV. From fbe King. Berlin, December 18, 174^*! 1HE marquis de Paulmy (hall be wel- comed, as the fon of a French minifler whom I efteem; and as a difciple of Parnaflus, with Apollo's own paffport. * No letters have been found of the year 1745* and but few of the following years. lam 316 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. I am much vexed that the route of the duke de Richelieu does not lead him through Berlin. He has the reputation of uniting, fuperior to any man in France, the talents of wit and of erudition with the charming blandimments of politenefs. He is the moft advantageous model of the French nation that his mailer could have chofen for the embaffy ; a man of all countries, a citizen of all places, and who would in every age receive the fame fuffrages that are granted him in Paris, France, and all Europe. I am accuftomed to live without many of the pleafures of this life, and (hall eafily fupport the want of that good company the coming of which the gazettes have announced. As long as you die only in metaphor, I mail leave you thus to die. Confefs your fins ; greafe your face with the holy oil ; receive the feven facraments, all at once if you pleafe ; for to me thefe are things of fmall confequence. How- ever, in your faid agonies of death, I fliall take care not to be as fecure as the Dutch have been, relative to marlhal Saxe. Certainly you French- men are aftoniming beings ; your heroes gain victories with death trembling on their lips, and your poets write immortal works while expiring. What would you not do, mould nature ever in, caprice render you fane and robuft ? The CORRESPONDENCE. gl^T The Anecdotes of the Private Life of Louis the Great have given me much pleafure, though in reality I did not find any thing new in them. I wifh you were not to write the campaign of 1744, but that you would put the finishing hand to the Age of Louis the Great. Cotemjx>raiy authors Jmve been ...accufed, by . all Jiges* ,,of , hay- ing fallen into the error of writing fatires,.xHLof the folly of flattery,^ .. Were it poffible for you to write a bad work, it would be by obliging yourfelf to write that which you have under- taken. It is for men tojDerform great deeds, and for impartial pofterity to pafs fentence on TKem an3 then* actions. _^ Take my advice ; finifli your Maid of Orleans. Jt were better to unwrinkle the foreheads of worthy people than to write gazettes for the mob. Hercules in chains, encumbered by his fhackles, muft lofe his ftrength, and become more nervelefs than the cowardly Paris. It mould feem the dauphin marries only to exercife your genius. Semiramis is as famous, in Germany, as the new dauphinefs is in France. Enable me therefore to judge either of one or both, and I will join my fuffrage to the fuffrages of Verfallles. Maupertuis recovers from his illnefs. The ladium, 318 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. lium, and the fined conquefiJLeysr made in IEcfi^S^^o,, J^ojUj jou are in-_ conftant, ungrateful, perfidious ; nay, I know not what Ilhould fay, did I not forgive you, and all Frenchmen, out of my refpect to Louis XV. Adieu the bell tingles to prayers at the theatre. Barbarini, Cochois, and Hauteville call me ; I am going to admire them. I love perfection in every profeffion, in every art ; for this reafon I cannot refufe my efteem to the au- thor of the Henriade. FREDERIC. LETTER CCXVI. From M. de Voltaire. SIRE, Cirey, January 24, 1 747. A T length I have received the packet of the twenty- fourth of November. An infernal courier, to whofe charge this packet was com- mitted, with all its charming contents, inclofed in a box directed to madame du Chatelet at Paris, galloped fo faft that he galloped away with it to Strafburg ; and afterward left it in the town of Troyes, eighteen leagues from this place. Fair CORRESPONDENCE. 319 Fair Albion's admirals, with conq'ring fword, Cape Breton, having ta'en, might have reftor'd ; Nay, France might have recover'd ail (he lofty While we were waiting for the tardy poft. We always return to our ruling paffions. You write verfes, whenever you have no battles to fight. I imagined you had addifted yourfelf entirely to profe. Your genius, which no limits yet has found, From pallid Wifdom's hill, with fportive bound Or wavy flight, defcent could not refrain, To playful Poetry's enchanting plain. You fall on the Auftrians and Saxons ; you granrjpeace to a king, your enemy, in his capital ; you conquer metaphyfics; you write -the- Memoirs of an age of which you are thejirft man. ; and finally you .write poetry, of which you aliuredly write more than I, with whom it is all over, and who have given up the trade. I have not feen the poem with which you have regaled M. de Maurepas; but I was in pofleffion of the Epiflle with which you have honoured the prefident of your academy, and which is very charming. The du Gue-Trouin, half man and half fea-hog, is very pleafant : but JjheJEipiJ|le ofjhe Vanity of Fame and- of Tntereft delights me ftill more. The O POSTHUMOUS WORKS. The portrait of the iflander Qui Jefon cabinet penfe agiter later re ; Defes propres fujets habile feJudeur j )es princes et des rois dangsreux corrupt 'eur t &c.* is a morjfelj^jiie^gTeaten: force and beauty. The contradictions of man are well touched upon in this Epiftle. Of madmen, gaining mad applaufe, Your hand a bold, grand, picture draws ; The ftory tells of human life ; , Eventful, troubled, tale of ftrife ! *Tis thus the fage looks down, from Wifdom's featj And views the vale of Mis'ry at his feet. IJnvoluntarily attributed the Ode on War to fome poor citizen, but good poet, who was weary of paying the tenth, and the tenth of the tenth, and of feeing his miferable hut ravaged. No fuch thing ! It is by the king who began the fquabble; he who, with arms in hand, has pained a province, and five battles. Your majcfly writes fine yerfes, but you laugh ... at mankind. Who knows whether you do not think as you fay, when you write .*- Humanity / / ,,,- r i ^~--~v~~~^ may perhaps hold converfe with you in Who in his clofct thinks to difturb the world ; the art- ful feducer of his own fubjef what you deigned to write to The, ten years ago, on the doctrine of freedom I not long fince again read this fliort Effay. It made me tremble ; and the more I think on k therndre I find myfelf of your majefty's opi- nt6aTT*lviffi^r5OTlmucEIwfi-2Suid be free, and I did every thing in my power to believe Ihe dodtririe. Experience, and jeafon have con- vinced me that_we are only machines,^ formed to go for a certain time, as itjthall rjIejafe^God, 'f^Sa^naturc for the manner in which your ma- 5 chine is made : for my part, I thank her for naying wpunci r it ^up fo ^as.tp write the Epiftle tQ Hermotimus. Le -oaJnqutur de PAJie, efolyaguaxt cast roit Dans le rapuk court defa tri&uu exploits, EJKmtat Anftottj et met&ait fan Iron ; Heurmxjifa rcnfon, phu docile a leftavre, Reptimant nm unurmtx trap fatal a CGtiu, Wait, far u metrtre a/reux, dfturafct vertmt.' TOL.TII. Y J22 POSTHUMOUS WORK*. Mais ce mfme Alcxandre y appaifant fa furie, Enfaveur de Pindar e epargna fa patrie *. No one in France has written better verfcs than thefe ; and there are many in this Epiftle of equal force, perfpicacity, and elegance. Per- haps your majefty has by this time read Catallna. You will fee whether our academicians write as- well as yourfelf. Many thanks, fire, for having, in your Ode on your academy, deigned to employ, in the conclu- lion of the ftrophe, the three Qiort lines of three feet ; a meafure which I imagined, and which I only had ufed. By embelliming it, you have given it fandion. I know but few meafures that are more harmonious; nor are there many ears capable of fuch delicacies. Thofe of your half- blind mathematician, whom your majefty men- tions, certainly are not -f. We,. the adepts, who understand each other, are few in number; the reft * The conqueror of Alia, fubje&ing a hundred kings in hii fplendid courfe, efteemed Ariftotle, and meditated on his book. Happy had he been had his more gentle reafon followed its doc- trines, and reprefled his too fatal wrath againft Clitus ; he thea had not dimmed his virtues by fo hateful a murder. Yet this fame Alexander, calming his fury, fpared the birth-place of Pindar, in favour of the poet. j- This half-blind mathematician was Leonard Euler, who was one of the greateft men of the age, though but ill ac- quainted with French poetry t ar CORRESPONDENCE. 32$ are, the. profane. All the initiated ought to af- femble at your court. LETTER CCXVII. From tie King. February 22, 1747. I FIND you did not write your Semira- mis for Paris. Men do not labour carefully to produce a tragedy, and fuffer it to remain locked up in obfcurity. I guefs your meaning. Con- fefs ; you have written this piece for our theatre of Berlin. This is certainly a compliment which you have paid me, and which your difcretion or your modefty will not permit you to avow. In this fenfe I return you my thanks; and wait for, that I may applaud, the piece : though we may boldly applaud, without having feen your writings. It is extreme injuftice on the part of the public, or rather in the intrigues of cabal, to rob you of the praifes which you merit. I find you are determined to write hiftory. Well, fince fo it muft be, follow this unnatural impulfe, which I (hall no longer oppofe. The work on which I am bufied is neither in the ftyle of memoirs nor of commentaries. If am not my own hero.i.iL.b fatuity. in any man y 2 t 324 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. to think himfelf a being fo remarkable that the world ought to be circumftantially informed of all that relates to his individual perfon. I paint the changes that have happened in Europe, at large ; and apply myfelf to {ketch out whatever may be remarkable., or ridiculous and cqntradic- "tory, in the conduct of thofe by whom Europe is governed. I have given an abftract of the moft important negociations, and the moft memora- f}le deeds of war. I have feafoned the narra- tive with reflections on the caufes of events, and on the different effects of which a like caufe is productive, when it happens in other times, or among other nations^JT!* The details of war which you difdain, "are no doubt thofe long journals which contain a dull enumeration of a thoufand minute trifles; and in this you are right. We ought however to diftinguim between the materials, and the capa- city of thofe by whom they are generally em- ployed. Were we to read a defcription of Paris, in which the author mould amufe himfelf by giving the exact dimenfions of every houfe in that immenfe city, and in which he mould not omit the plan of the vileft brothel, the author and his book would be condemned to univerfal laughter ; but we mould not therefore fay Paris is a dull city. It is my opinion that the great deeds CORRESPONDENCE. 32$ deeds jof . warj^wrkten concifejy_andjjdt;a,.truth, fo as to develop the reafons of the leader, of an army in his actions, and as it were to expofe the W foul of his operationsT 1 repeat, fuch memoirs ft*-** 1 ' * " ' " '---"-; _..-.-';-- ' y -' ; ^A^,^ \ ..->'>* i could not but be mftructive to all thoj~g i$)^Q&-j^j^f diet themfeives to the profef^pn o.fj.rmjs,. They / are like lerTbns given by an anatomift to a fta- tuary, by which the latter is taught what are the contractions of the mufcles of the human body when hi "motion"." All arts have their examples and their precepts; why mould not war, by which we defend our country, and fave nations from approaching ruin > not have them likewife ? Should you continue to write on the late war, it will become me to cede the field of battle to ""TyouT Neither is my work written for the pub- r lie. I have had very fenous thoaghts of dying, for I have been {lightly attacked by an apoplexy : ,my conftitution and age reflored me to life. (Had I defcended to the (hades, I fliould have jwatched Lucretius and Virgil, till the moment when I fliould have feen you arrive; for your tice in Elyfium muft be that of being feated tween thofe two gentlemen. NoJLJauL,! arn tter pleafed to appoint a rendezvous with you , . in this world; my curiofity concerning infini- I/ tude, and the principles of Jthings^Js..^.^.^^-. / - piently great to induce me to haften th^ journey. Y 3 You 32.6 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. You lead me to hope I mall fee you again : but I will not flatter myfelf with the fuppofition, till I actually behold you ; for I have no great confidence in this journey. You may however exped: a kind welcome. "^ -..-... Ungrateful though you are, I love you ftill ; Kind is my heart, nor ftubborn is my will. The duke de Richelieu has feen dauphins, feftivals, ceremonies, and fools : fuch is the lot of an ambaffador. I have feen the little P#ul- my, who is as affable as he is amiable and witty. Our wits robbed his portmanteau before he de- parted. He was obliged to leave us a charming comedy, which has been fuccefsful in reprefen- tation. He mud at prefent be at Paris, and I beg you to give my compliments to him : tell him he will continually be remembered here, as one of the moft amiable of men. You lent your Maid of Orleans to the duchefs of Wirtemberg ; and (he, be it known to you, caufed it to be copied during the night. Such re the people in whom you confide ; yet thofe ho moft merit your confidence, or rather to horn you ought totally to abandon yourfelf, are the very people of whom you are fufpicious. Adieu. May nature grant you the ftrength neceflary to come to this country ; and may fhe ftill CORRESPONDENCE. 327 frill preferve you many years, for the ornament of letters, and the honour of the human mind ! LETTER CCXVIII. From M. de Voltaire* March, 1747.. THE fpinning fitters, call'd the Fates, As he who told this tale relates, Hearing the damn'd, that daily came, Recount ftrange ftories of your fame, Your verfe, your vift'ries, and your laws, Your conqu'ring arm which earth o'erawcs^ And all the als you had achiev'd, Of kings die oldeft you believ'd. O'er all they hear the Parcse pore, Then ftraight from black Cocytaa (bore The haggard eldeft, Atropos, Of hateful beldams moft morofe, By Time attended, they depute Their dire behefts to execute. Grey hair, ftmink fhanks, a wrinkled ferc, A treble voice, a tott'ring pace, A faplefs trunk, a doting mind, The witch concluded (he fhould find. She came, flie faw, amaz'd Jhe flood I Your florid vig'rous health fhe view'd ; Your flov/ing locks, youB manhood prime, Jmpair'd ? Oh no ! Improv'd by time j Y 4 Your 3t POSTHUMOUS WORKS* Your face (on which her looks were bent) That teem'd with foul and fentiment ; Your fword, your flill more potent lyre, Your eyes that genius flafh'd and fire ; Aye, moft your eyes, in which (he read All there t' admire, and all to dread ! Sheview'd, and, bleft event! fhethough^ How Orpheus fung, Alcides fought ; Remember'd how, in lucklefs hour, The heroes 'each defied her pow'r : Yes, fingly ! Then what might be done By both the champions met in one ? The fearful image having fcann'd, Her baneful fheers forfook her hand ; Once more flic fought the (hades of night, Tow'rd hell once more (he took her flight. She finds her fifters, tells her tale ; They liften, wonder, and bewail Their baffled pow'r ; deep thoughts revolve In each, and foon they all refolve With (kill profound a web to weave, And thus their credit loft retrieve ; A golden tiffue to beftow, To gain a friend they fear'd to think a foe *. I really, * 1 have occafionally heightened the colouring, and given a new turn to the conclufion, of this poem. Voltaire adds a dozen lines, in which he weaves another web, of the fame fluff, for the feeble and effeminate Louis XV. To this he was in- duced by his fituation at the French court ; and excufed, though fcarcely juftified, by the victories of France in Flan- ders. Though panegyric, the poem is beautifully animated : and I could not prevail on myfelf to fpoil the plfture, by in- troducing CORRESPONDENCE. 329 I really, fire, mould not turn fuch trifles into ,rhyme, and fhould be the very reverfe of jocu- lar, had not your letter by cheering me infpired mirth. Fame, who ever keeps a hundred open mouths, and wHb opens a thoufand when m$ ' . -.-,>*>>-" f -~^* <&*yji*f#f!**rtt?B& fpeaks or you, had reported here that your ma- jefty^aTaTrtfie'laft" extremity, andthat there were "* TfifyTittle hopes. _ This .bad. jjejys/'."#re a '. would ^v^^e^jou^eaipl^ure, Jhad you feen the manner in which it was received,^ All was con- /lernation, and you could not have been more regretted in .your, own kingdom, .You would have enjoyed your whole glory ; you would have feen the effedt which unexampled merit may produce on an affectionate people. You would Jiaye felt all the fweets of being beloved by a jiation which, in defpite of its defects, is perhaps the only difpenfer of renown. The EngJifli praife none but theEnglim ; the Italians are non- entities; the Spaniards have no longer any heroes, troducing an extraneous and mean addition. Jlovvever I here add a literal tranflation of the lines I have omitted in the text. *' They wove another fplendid, golden, and immortal web, " for Louis ; for you both are friends ; you both take cities ; '_'. jou both win battles, lighting againft the fame enemies ; " you reign over fubmiffive hearts, one at Berlin, the other " at Verfailles; both mall one day But I forbear; it is eafjr *' to difpleafe when we fay too much. To compare two living <' heroes, is no trifling talk." T. nor POSTHUMOUS WORKS. nor have they any writers ; the monades of Lcib- nhz, and pre-eftablimed harmony, will never immortalize any great men in Germany. Yon know, fire, I am not prejudiced in favour of my country j but I can venture to aflure you it is the only country which creels monuments to the fame of great men who are not its own fons. For my own part, fire, your danger made me (hudder, and coft me many tears. It was M. de Paulmy who informed me that your majefty was in good health, and reftored joy to my heart. I am tempted to believe the pills of Stahl might do good to the king of Pruffia. They were invented at Berlin, and have lately almofl cured me. If they have in part patched up my feeble frame, what would they not effect on the conftitution of a hero ? LETTER CCXIX. From the King. April 24, 1747. THESE ftores of Cocytus you really defcribc In language fo lively, of Fates the whole tribe You give fuch a pifture, and tempt me fo much, By each bold fwecping ftroke and each delicate touch, That CORRESPONDENCE. 331 That I'd take a trip thither, and pay my refpe& to Sir Cerb'rus the mild, and fweet madam Ale&o, Did I not remember, fo dang*rous the track, That I never yet met with one foul who came back* To be wreck'd in an old crazy boat, I muft own, With a pilot fo gruff, on a coaft fo unknown, Were fo odd, that I'll put off the journey, through fear, For a week or a month or perhaps for a year. Mifs Fiction in peaceful poffeffiou I leave Of her kingdom, in which me may young fouls receive. Her fubjects I doubt want politenefs and breeding; Unfubftantial I hear is their manner of feeding. In fhort, I make over my lands and pofTeffions To faints, who have claims from their pray'rs, and proceffiong, Their faith, and their hope, and their warning, and oiling, To which they 're induc'd by the fear of parboiling : So (hould any one be difpatch'd by the gout, And, being anointed, prepare to fet out, Let him come but to me, and I'll freely refign All the rights and the diftricls that might have been mine. Or mould fome bluff ecclefiaflical giant, A doctor, in argument not over pliant, A wizard, whofe whiff can hoft infidel kOl, Who can conjure up Beelzebub with a goofe quiH, Who profeffes contempt for the witty and wife, WTio has taken a lodging up Hairs in the fkies, Who hereafter will gormandize heavenly dew, But who now ftays his ftomach with earthly ragout ; Should he wi(h for ilfll more of ethereal fluff, For doctors but feldom fuppofe they 've enough- Let me but enjoy what on earth may be found, He (hall there have my chattels, goods, cattle, and ground. Contemning fuch madmen, I feek to be pleas'd j And, whea by the demon of poetry teiz'd, Of ?33 2 POSTHUMOUS WORKS, ^ Of the ftreams of Parnafius I ftp with delight ; That Is, I take pen, ink, and paper and write. But Youth 's on the wane, and impertinent Age Is beginning to give me the looks of a fage ; Suppofing it granted, as grim-beards have taught, That wrinkles are always fure figns of deep thought. Ach'eu, gentie Pleafures ! Bright Fancy, adieu I Farewel to- thy whims and thy mad merry crew ! ForWifdom, I'm told, in her precepts fevere, Muft aiways like Cato look grave and auftere. Farewel to the Mufe too, who, what though a maid, Of heaven itfelf, nay of hell, not afraid, Will rap out an oath with ineffable grace, . NorWufh though dame Reafon ftare up in her face. T.O thy biforked hitl, oh Parnaffus, farewel 1 For there I'm no longer permitted to dwell : But ah ! Bleft reflection ! though gone, I leave there Thy fav'rite, defender, and monarch, Voltaire, I return you a little copper for ttje pure gold which you fent me. Nothing certainly can be fuperior to your verfes : I have fecn fome ad- dreffed by you to Algarotti, which are charm- ing ; but thofe which you have written for me are ftill better. Semiramis arrived at the fame time, full of grand defcriptive beauties, and noble paflages, which confirm me in the decided tafte I have for your works. I know not however whether the ipe&res and ghofts which you have introduced, in this piece, will impart all that pathos to it jthat you expect. The fpirit of the eighteenth^ century C-ORRESPONDENdE. 333' .inarvellous, when in recital ; J>ut there is fome danger in putting it in iSion. I doubt whether the made of the great Ninus will make profelytes. Thofe who fcarcely believe there is a God muft laugh, when they fee demons acting their part on the ftage. I perhaps am too adventurous in expofmp; my -t I i o J doubts, on a fubject of which I am no competent '"judge. Were it fome manifefto, fome alliance, , ~""oT~ (brrie treaty of peace, perhaps I might reafon more at my eafeV^noT prattle politics, by which the knavery of men is generally burlefqued into her.oifm. I am at prefent deep in hiftory. I ftndy and write it, yet am more curious to read the hifto- ries of others than to conclude my own. I am better at prefent. I ftill preferve my efteem for you, and am ever difpofed to receive you with cagernefs. Adieu. FREDERIC. Let me beg you to pay my compliments to madame du Chatelet, and to thank her for the part me takes in what relates to me. LET- 334 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. LETTER CCXX. From the King. Potflam, November 49, I74* HEADSTRONG, difdamful of the rein, To curb thee all attempts are vain ; Begone then, Mufe, and plead thy caufc In critic court } from critic laws Thy fentence hear ; thy wares difplay ; Thy pack of portraits ftraight convey To Homer, living now in Gaul ; Thy ftrange exploits, recount them all ! Go, croaking fly on raven wing, Provoke the nightingale to fing. Goflip, no airs ; once more, begone ! What errand ? Oh I know thou 'ft none ; Except the fife difcordant may Excite the trumpet's warlike lay. Away ! Depofe thy cumbrous load Of dullEpiftle, Tale, and Ode, With ev'ry loofe and idle chime That has disfigur'd thought for rhyme, Before thy fov'reign liege, Voltaire. -v Of blabbing, hufley, too beware 1 I Mind ! Not a word of whofe they are ! j Such is the "manner in which I have fpokert to my mufe, or to my mind ; to which I added fome further reflections. Voltaire, faid I, is unhappy ; a bookfeller, covetous of his works, . i or CORRESPONDENCE. 335 Or fome familiar editor, may happen to fteal his box ; you, my verfes, will have the misfortune to be there, and in your own defpite will be obliged to make your appearance in the world. Feeling however that this reflection was the offspring of vanity, I opined for the departure of the verfes ; having difcovered in reality that fuch laborious works, inftead of being locked up in your box, might better ferve to light the pipes of king Staniflaus. Let them be burnt ; it is the bed death they can expect. A-propos of king Staniflaus, who I think leads a moft happy life : report fays he fumigates madame du Chatelet, and the gentleman in ordinary of the chamber of Louis XV. ; or, in other words, that he cannot live without you both. This is reafonable ; this is as it fhould be. How dif- ferent is the deftiny of men ! While Staniflaus is in full enjoyment of every pleafure, I, a poor madman, perhaps accurfed of God, am rhym- ing ! Pafs we to fubjcds more grave. Do you know that I am very ferioufly angry with you ? How can I poffibly be otherwife ? For 'Mong all the wits which France can boaft, Of his who merits fame the moft A year is paft, I mean an age, Since verfe or profe I've feen a pc. At 336 r'osTHtr&o'us At Babylon, 'tis fo complain'd, Scmiramis holds him enchain'd. But ought this new Tifi phone To make him quit the world, and me ? Perhaps of Louis now he writes, And all his mighty deeds recites ? Tells how the haughty Meu'fe deplorei Her conquer'd towns, infulted mores. What then ? Since genius can unbend, "| And wifdom can with trifles blend, I Say, why this filence with a friend ? That Charon had ('twas Envy's boaft) Laid Tiolent hands upon his ghoft, Was faid indeed, to take it where The wife and foolifh equal are ; And whence ne'er yet did ghofl efcapc, To truly (hew the world its fliape. But Rumour could not long conceal Voltaire was gone to Luneville. Nay, Rumour fays much more than I Can recoiled!: ; yet let me try .She fays two monarchs pay him court : The one a king without fupport, Without a kingdom ; but the other Can kingdoms give to fon or brother. Thefe kings I'd join, and add my name, Could that add aught to Voltaire's fame! Bat Modefty forbids the thought ; Good Senfe has wifer maxims taught. Notwithftanding this filence, I will endeavour at this diilance to excite your ardor to continue your labours. I will not fay " Valorous fon * " of COkRESPONDEtfCE. 337 tf of Telamon, roufe up your courage, now f: when all the leaders your brave companions .i \i ~{\Q 1'^ Frew Afo /*. Potfdam, March 5, 1749, 1 H E pills for which you have afked are ifufficient for the purgation of all France, and enough to kill your three academies. Do not ima- gine fuch pills to be fugar plums, for you may happen to be undeceived. I have ordered D'Ar- gens to fend you fome of thefe pilk, which have acquired fo much fame in France, and which the late Stahl caufed to be manufactured by his coachman. They are ufed by nobody here, except by pregnant women. You are really a fingular being, to afk phyfic from me, who have always been an infidel in what relates to medi- cine. So credulous ! What you ! In quacks confide, Who gild the pill the poifon but to hide \ Take one ftep more, and I make little doabt But you'll fing mafs, with twang and voice devout. Exert yourfelf to effect your own cure. JTherc is no real good in this world, except health i and It is of fmall confequence whether you recover this health by pills, clyfters, or fenna. The means 346 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. means are indifferent, provided I can but once more have the pleafure of hearing you ; for a fight of you is* no longer poffible ; you cannot at prefent but be totally invifible. ... In full defiance of the whole Sorbonne, This fentiment had all my credence won *' That man was matter ; doom'd to vivify " By motion ; born to vegetate and die.'* The crude decried opinion now I blame j A nobler origin you juftly claim : I did but burrow earthward, like the mole j Voltaire is not all body, but all foul. I fend you another epiftle, which contains the apology of thofe poor kings who are the fubject of univerfal cenfure, while their pretended good fortune is the continual topic of envy. I have three works which I will fend you in fucceffion. Rhyming is my recreation. Though I may fin againft elocution, you will at leaft find ideas; and not that fine paralogifm, that whipped cream, which abounds in words, void of thought. None but you, who are the Virgils and Horaces of France, are fated to employ a happy choice of harmonious words, and that variety of turn which naturally paffes from the ferious to the pleafant; or from the flowers of eloquence to produce the fruits of good fenfe. We foreigners, who do not give up our claims 2, to CORRESPONDENCE. to reafon, are neverthelefs fenfiblc that we never can attain that elegance and purity which the rigorous laws of French poetry demand. Such a ftudy requires the whole man. _ I am diilurbed ""rTy a thoufand duties, a thoufand occupations, lama galley flave, chained to the ftate oar ; or -ajHlotj^hft dares. not quit the helm, ncr JTumber, left he (hpuld undergo the fate of the "^unfortunate Palinurus^ The Mufes demand re- tirement, and a total ferenity ^Tmind, whlcrTl feffcelyWcr can enjoy. {SKerTJm ..I interjrupt- e3, after having written three Unes j myMufe cools, and my mind does not eafily recover its ardour and elaftichy, There are certain privileged perfons who write poetry in the tumult of courts as eafily as in the retreats of Cirey ; in the dungeons of the Baftille, or on the travelling matrafs. I have not the honour to. be one of thefe. My foul ye- fembles the ananas^ jhajL flpurilhes in the hot- houfe, but that perifhes in the open air. Adieu. Take as much phyfic as you pleafe, but do not deceive my hopes ; come to fee me. I promife you a new wreath of our moft beauti- ful laurel, a young virgin for your own ufe, and rhymes in your praife. LET- 348 POSTHUMOUS WORKS, LETTER CCXX1II. From tie King. April, 1743, IN profe well turn'd, and delicate, Politely you infinuate That, with unfeeling ftoic breaft, I'm an automaton at beft. Yet fad Eleftra claims my tears ; Alive am I to friendfhip's fears ; Though I'm unmov'd by ghoft heroic : If thefe are proofs, then I'm a ftoic. Your cardinal Quirini is well worthy of the ages of ghofts and witchcraft. You know your men. You addreffed him properly when you told him that, all good catholics being obliged to believe in miracles, the pit was in confcicnce obliged to tremble in the prefence of the ghoft of Ninus. I will pledge myfelf that the libra- rian of his holinefs will very much approve this orthodox doctrine. For my own part, being no better than an ac- curfed heretic, you will allow me to be of a dif- ferent opinion, and ingenuoufly to tell you what I think of your tragedy. Whatever artifice you may employ to conceal the plot of Semiramis, it neverthelefs depends on the ghoft of Ninus. 6 This CORRESPONDENCE. 349 This ghoft it is that infpires the parricide widow with all the devouring pangs of remorfe. .This ghoft gallantly permits his widow to take a fe- cond hufband. This ghoft, from the depths of the grave, groans in the ears of his fon : nay, he does more ; he perfonally comes to terrify the council of the queen, and to aftonifh the city of Babylon. In fine, he arms his fon with a dag- ger, with which Ninius affaffinates his mother. It is fo true that the plot of your play depends wholly on the defunct Ninus that, were it not for the dreams and different appearances of this wandering fpirit, the piece could not proceed. Were I to choofe a part in the tragedy, it mould be that of the ghoft : he does every thing. Such is the dictum of criticifm. Admiration adds, with equal fincerity, that the characters are wonderfully well fuftained; that truth fpeaks with the lips of your actors ; and that the connection of the fcenes is effected with great art. Semiramis infpires terror min- gled with pity. The ferocious and artful ArTur forms an admirable contraft with the proud and generous Ninius. The firft is detefted, for which reafon he is unnoticed in thecataftrophe; for to have brought him forward would have produced no effect. We are interefted in be- half of Ninius, but we are aftonifhed at the man- ner 350 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. ner in which he kills his mother. This is the moment when it is necefiary that the illufion on the auditor mould be the ftrongeft. We are fomewhat vexed to fee Azema bring letters; and that her blunder fliould be the caufe of the cataftrophe. The piece is verfified with vigour : the lines appear to me beautiful, harmonious, and wor- thy of the author of the Henriade. Still I mould rather prefer to read this tragedy than to fee it performed; becaufe the ghoft appears to me laughable ; and becaufe to laugh would be con- trary to the duty which I have rigoroufly pre- fcribed to myfelf ; which is, to weep at tragedy, and to laugh at comedy. Old Plautus and Euripides Thought fuch the only means to pleafe : To rules like thcfe The manly pit made Folly bow ; 9 The pit is fupcrannuated now. Shall I add a word more on tragedy ? The flow of the ftrong paflions pleafes me at the the- atre. I find a fecret fatisfaction, when the au- thor has the power to move and to tranfport my foul by the force of his illufions ; but my deli- cacy is wounded when the heroic feelings forfake probability. In the playhoufe, the machinery of gods and ghofts is unnatural ; inflead of af- fecting CORRESPONDENCE. 351 feet ing it becomes puerile. Were the option' * , mine, I mould prefer lefs of the fublime, anjdt^fS more of the natural. In tragedy, excefs of fub- limity becomes extravagance. Charles XII. was the only man of this age whofe character was theatrical ; but, for the happinefs of mankind, men like Charles XII. are rare. There, is a play called Mariamne, by Triftan, which begins with the following line : Fantome injurieux gut troubles mon repos *. This certainly is not the language of men^ but apparently that of the inhabitants of the moon. What I have faid of the verfe ought to be applied to the action. In order that a tra- gedy fliould pleafe me, it is neceflary the cha- racters fhould difplay paffions as they actually exift in choleric and vindictive men ; who t>u"gTit hot to be painted as demons, or as an- gels, for they are neither ; but their lineaments mould be drawn after nature. .^^ Pardon this difcuflion, my dear Voltaire. I prattle to you like the old woman of Moliere, and give you a picture of the impreffions which things make on my ignorant mind. In the volume which I have juft received from you, I found the eulogium which you have * Injurious phantom that troubleft my repofe. written POSTHUMOUS WORKS* jvritten upon the officers who periflied during the late war. The work is worthy of yourfelf, and I was furprifed to perceive we had uninten- tionally felected the fame fubjeft. The regret which the lofs of fome friends incited in me gave birth to the idea of paying, after their death, a feeble tribute of gratitude; and I compofed this ihort work, in which the heart was more con- fulted than the understanding. But it is fingu- lar that mine mould be in verfe, and that of the poet in profe. Never was the triumph of Ra- cine more refplendent than when he and Pradon wrote each a tragedy on the fame fubject. I fee how inferior my fcribbling is to your eulogium : your profe has taught my verfe the language in which it ought to have fpoken. Though of all mortals I am he who leaft im- portunes the Gods with my prayers, the firft I addrefs to them will be the following : Ye who of favours have beftowM 1 On poets fo divine a load, ! With one gift more your favours fwell ; \ A little truth, ye Gods, oh let them tell ! Should the Gods deign to hear me, I mall riext year -fee you at Sans-Souci ; and mould you be difpofed to correct bad poetry, you will find whom you have to talk to. Vale. LET- CORRESPONDENCE. LETTER CCXXIV. From M. de Voltaire. Paris, May i$, 1749. AND am I doom'd to take the pill From that dear royal hand that late, With fo much fcientific flail, Bled Auftria, in defpite of Fate ? Thanks, fire, for this ; and thanks again For verfe which, though fevere, you fend ; There 's wormwood in each dofe*. What then? I'll bravely fwallow both, and mend. The God of rhyme, whom you adore For all the gifts he fhow'rs on yeu, Old ftories tell us, heretofore Difcover'd verfe and phyfic too. {' In arts of old renown'd was he, But war is now his fav'rite theme ; His, fmce 'tis yours : you both agree To reign where Mars was thought fuprcme. To make your wit by writing known, You deem'd but little ; till the fword I Had haughty Auftria taught to own, Wit was a thing, and not a word. An army and a man of wit ! Combin'd, what can they not achieve ? For conqueft fools were never fit ; Her garlands we for genius weave. VOL. vir, A a. lima* 354 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. I imagine your majefty is now at Neifs, or aft Glogau, writing fome good epigrams againft the Ruffians. I entreat, fire; you will alfo write fome on the month of May, which fo ill deferves 1 the name of fpring, and in which we have as much cold as in the depth of winter. This montk of May appears to me to be the emblem of ill- acquired fame. Should the pills, with which your majefty has honoured my decayed frame, reftore me to fome degree of flrength, I mall not run after the cham- bermaids of M. de Valory. I would not travel half a league in fearch of woman, but would again travel a thoufand to pay my court to your majefty. I have however a favour to afk, which you may eafily grant ; and that is, that you would pleafed to conquer fome fouthern provinces, uch as Naples and Sicily ; or the kingdom of Grenada and Andalufia : for it would be a plea- fant thing to live in thofe countries, the inhabi-" tants of which are always warm. Your majefty would not fail to vifit them annually, like as you do great Glogau; and I fhould there be a veryaf- fiduous courtier. I mould converfe with you, in . profe and rhyme, under the fhade of the pomegra- nate or the orange tree, and you would reani- mate my frozen vein. I mould fcatter flowers over the graves of Keyferlir.g, and the fuccerTor of CORRESPONDENCE. of La Croze *, whom your majefty had fo hap- pily wrefted from the church to attach him to yourfelf j and like them I mould wifh to die in your fervice : for in truth, fire, it is very me- lancholy to live fo long at a diilance from Fr? r deric the Great. LETTER CCXXV. From tbe King. May 1 6, 1749. YES, this is what may be called writing. I love your franknefs : your criticifm will afford me more inftruction, in two lines, than I mould gain from twenty pages of praife. The verfes which you have thought paflable were thofe which coft me the leaft labour ; but when the thought, the csefura, and the rhyme, are inimical to each other, I then verfify ill, and am not fortunate in correcting. You do not perceive the difficulties I have to furmount, in order to write a few ftanzas tole- rably ; the happy propenfity of nature, and an eafy and fruitful genius, have rendered you a poet, without any trouble to yourfelf. I dojuf- tice to the inferiority of my talents ; I fwim on the poetic ocean with reeds and bladders under * M. Jordan. T. A a 2 ip 356 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. my arms. I do not write fo well as I think ; my ideas are often ftronger than my exprefiions ; and, in this flate of perplexity, I do the lead harm I can. I am at prefent ftudying your cor- rections arid remarks; for thefe may aid me in not being guilty of my former faults. There are (till, however, fo many fhoals to be avoided, that you alone can fave me from fhipwreck. Let me entreat you to facrifice the two pro- mifed months to me : do not be weary of in- ftruding me. If the extreme defire I have to learn, and to fucceed in an art of which I have always been paffionately fond, can be any re- eompence for your labour, you will certainly have caufe to be fatisfied. I love the arts, for the reafon which Cicero gives : and I do not rife equal to the fciences, becaufe the belles-lettres are ufeful in all ages; and -becaufe all the algebra on earth cannot make us other than foolifh, when we want abi- lities to be any thing elfe. Ten years hence*, perhaps, fociety may draw fome advantage from, the curves which thevifionaryalgebraift may have laborioufly fquared. I congratulate poflerity by anticipation ; but, to own the truth, in all fuch calculations I can difcover nothing more thaa * I fufpcft an error of the prcft, aad that it flieuld be tn ages. T. fcientific CORRESPONDENCE. 357 fcientific extravagance. Whatever is not agree- abIe~oFuleful, is of no worth. With refpeft to nfeful things, they are already difcovered ; and, as to the agreeable, I hope algebra will not be admitted as one of them, by good tafte., I will fend you no more either profe or verfe. I fuppofe you will be here at the beginning of July; and I have a poetic packet, or rather corpfe, which I (hall commit to your difleftion. This will be better than to criticife Crebillon, or fome other ; and you will certainly no where find foch grofs and fuch numerous miftakes as in my works. There is nothing but thi&les, and not laurels^ growing on the banks of the Neva; do not .ima- gine I travel thkher in fearch of happinefs. Y$\L. will here find me a pacific citizen of Sans-Souci, leading the life of a private man and a jjhilofo- Should tumult and fplendour be your prefent tafte, I advife you not to come here; but, if a, mild and uniform life be not difpleafing to you, come and fulfil your promife. Send me word precifely on what day you (hall depart ; and, (hould the marchionefs du Chateler, encourage \ifury, I imagine I can make conditions with . ]jer, by borrowing you op hire, and daily paying i ber. 358 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. her, at a certain rate of intereft, what (hall be fatisfa&ory for her poet, her wit, her &c. Adieu. I wait your anfwer. FREDERIC. LETTER CCXXVI. From the King. June 10, 1749. NEVER were fuch charming verfes writ- ten in return for pills. I do not fay this becaufe they praife me, for I know what is the cuftom between kings and poets; but, myfelf totally out of the queftion, I think them delightful. If purgatives can produce poetry fo good, I ought to take a dofe of fenna myfelf, that I may fee what effects it will operate on me. What you have fuppofed to be an epigram happens to be an ode. I fend it you, with an tpigram againft phyficians. I have reafon to be a little out of temper with their proceedings ; I have the gout, and have been in danger of be- ing killed by their fudorifics. Mark me : I am tainted with the phrenzy of feeing you. Should you not be inclined to- in- dulge CORRESPONDENCE. dulge this whim, you would be guilty of treafon. J wjrth to ftudy with you, for I have leifure^this year; God knows what I (hall have the,, next. Left however you fhould imagine that you are making a voyage to Lapland^ J^j^ Zen.cerdficatesj from which you m^yk^rn. that_ this climate is not entirely deftitute of mildnefs. "**""" The body acts in obedience to the will ; " when the foul fays, March it obeys." This is one of your own apothegms, which I am happy Madame du Chatelet will be brought to bed in the month of September ; you are not an old midwife, and (he can manage this bufinefs with- out your affiftance. Nay, if it muft be fo, you may at that time be on your return to Paris. Do not forget that the favours which are granted without being forced are done with a better grace, and are more agreeable, than thofe for which we folicit too much. Should you think I fcoH you, remember that is a cuflomary pra&ice with the gouty. You will do as you pleafe, but I mall be no dupe ; I (hall well perceive whether you really love me, or whether all you have faid be nothing more than poetic declamation. FREDERIC Aa 4 360 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. LETTER CCXXVII. From the King. Sans-Souci, July 15, I74J* HE murd'rous laws of Mars, Belleifle May teach me ; but, in tafte and ftyle, The fafcinating wiles of rhyme, In language pure, and thoughts fublime, From you alone let me receive, Lefibns which you alone can give. I wifh for no mafter but you, in whatever re- lates to language, tafte, and the department of ParnalTiis. Each man ought to follow his trade. When M. de Belleifle mall bufy himfelf concern- ing the purity of language, Bruhl (hall then read military leffons, and write commentaries on the campaigns of the great Turenne, and I will compofe a treatife on the truth of the Chriftian religion. The choice which your academy makes of its members really becomes pleafant. Thefe judges of the French language are about to abandon Vaugelas for the breviary, which to foreigners appears rather fmgular. Why, fir, your forty are become Of fanatics a congregation ; Whence thought and genius are expell'd, Much to the fcaqdal of the nation. The CORRESPONDENCE. 361 The favour of this parrot race, By work of wit, whoe'er would earn, Will mifs his road. Would he fucceed ? Let him his catechifm learn. As favourM by the fitters nine, Among this ftrange and motley crew, I know but three whom I can name ; I Richlieu mean, Belleifle, and you. You, my dear Voltaire, are like bad chriftians; you put off repentance from day to day. After having given me hopes for the fummer, you r&- fer me to the autumn. It mould feem that Apollo, as the God of phyfic, has commanded you to be prefent at the labour of madame da Chatelet. The facred name of friendfliip im- pofes filence on me, and I fatisfy myfelf with a promife. I am at prefent correcting a dozen of epiftles which I have written, and fome other fhort pieces, that you may on your arrival not meet with quite fo many faults. You may fee from the argument what is the fubject of my poem. The main incident is true. D'Arget, at that time fecretary to Valory, was" carried off by night, by an Auftrian partifan, from the next chamber to that in which his maf- ter was in bed. The furprife of the Auftrian, fYanquini, was extreme, when he perceived that he 562 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. he had taken away the fecretary, inftead of the ambaiTador. Every thing elfe in the poem is fidioh. I will fhew it you here, for it is not proper for publication. Had I the pencil of Raphael or of Rubens, I would try my ftrength by painting the great adtions of great men ; but he who only poflefles the talents of Calotte can draw nothing but extravagance and caricature. I have been vifited by the hero of France, the Saxon * the Turenne of the age of Louis ^BitrTri'<'~***'>*#r*r**-'t#r'UM*nu ' '' ll *** -O and have gained improvement from his difcourfe ; not in the French language, but in the art of war. The marfhal is worthy of being profeffor to all the generals of Europe. He has .'*... ' vifited our theatres; and on that occafion in- formed me you had given the flage a new co- medy, and that Nanine had met with much fuc- cefs. I was aftoniihed to learn that fome of your works had appeared of the very names of which I was ignorant. I formerly read them in ma- nufcript ; at prefent I hear from others what is faid of them, and I receive them after the book- fellers have publimed a fecond edition. I will forget all my griefs, if you will but come hither. If not, beware of an epigram : chance may infpire me with a cutting thought,, * Marfhal Saxc.. T. A poet, CORRESPONDENCE. 363 A poet, no matter how bad a one, is an animal that ought to be treated with refpect. I wait for the fall of the leaf with as much im- patience as men look for the bloffoms of fpring. FREDERIC. LETTER CCXXVIII. From the King. Sans-Souci, Auguft 15, 1749. OHOULD my verfes have contributed to the epiftle, which I have juft received, I mall regard them as my beft work. A perfon who was prefent, when this epiftle was read, ex- claimed, in a kind of ecftafy " Voltaire and Cf marfhal Saxe were born under the fame pla- " net ; they have more vigour in the agonies of " death than others in full health*." Do but admire, however, the difference be- tween us. You allure me that my verfes have excited your poetic ardour, and yours have al- moft made me forfwear poetry. I find I am fo ignorant of your language, and have fo flerile * Marflial Saxe was thought to be dying, when he com- manded at the battle of Fontenoi. T. an 364 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. an imagination, that I have made a vow to write no more. Unfortunately, you know what poets vows are ; the zephyrs bear them away on their wings, and with them the remembrance of them vanimes. A Frenchman only, pofiefied of your talents, can produce harmony from your lyre. I correct, I efface, I interline my vile competitions, to pu- rify them of the numerous faults with which they abound. Muficians, it is faid, pafs half their lives in flringing their lutes, and play on them the other half.^ I pafs mine in writing, and'ftilj. more in erafing. Since I have had fome glimpfe of the certainty of your journey, I redouble my feverity on myfelf. Be aflured you are expected with impatience, and that I (hall be delighted to meet with a Virgil who can inftrudt me like a Quintilian. Lu- cina is in my opinion very indolent : I wifh ma- dame du Chatelet would ufe greater difpatch, as well as yourfelf. You think you need but take a fingle ftride, from the baptifm at Cirey, and be at mafs in our new church. Charity is extinct in Chriftian hearts : the collections that have been made have not furnifhed money enough to roof the church; and, unlefs mafs were to be performed in the open air, there arc no means to have it performed. Let CORRESPONDENCE, 36^ Let me beg you to inform me what road you mean to travel, and when you (hall be on our frontiers, that I may fupply you with horfes. I very well know you are borne by Pegafas ; but he knows no other road than that to the temple of Fame. I hope you will arrive there as late as poflible; and I allure you that you will be wel- comed with as much eagernefs as you are waited for with impatience. FREDERIC. X E T T E R CCXXIX. From M. de Voltaire. LanCTffle, Aujuft 18, 174* I 'VE read your lines on parrot race, And pious crew replete with grace ; Who fermons preach, from wit refrain, And know each word's weight, to a grain ; Who prizes give for verfe and profe ; Who meet to yawn, and part to doze. Your majefty cannot but think I am more dc- firolis to pay ray court to you, than you are to fuffer my prefence. Believe me, my heart has many a time taken its flight to Berlin, when you have fuppofed it to be elfewhere. JYou_havc excited / - --, 366 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. excited thepaffions of fear, admiration, and in- tereft, among mankind. Permit me to fay that I have always taken the liberty to love you, which is feldom faid to kings ; but this is the ftrangely familiar manner in which I began with your majefty, and I muft end as I began. I have much impatience to read your Lutrin, or your Homeric Batrachomyomachia, on M. dc Valory. Yet our great envoy (though in ftature fhort | And form rotund, but of majeftic port) With Pruffian valour, Auftrian flight nay, more, With battles gain'd, towns ftorm'd, war's loud uproar, And Fred'ric's deeds methinks might rather feeai An epic than a mock-heroic theme : Or I miftake, or it 's of higher price Than are the puny wars of frogs and mice, Sung by THE POET of the mighty dead, Whofe works are always prais'd, but never read. '; I' '.'".* ' '('-.' Speaking of marmals de Belleifle and Saxe, your majefty tells me that each man ought to follow his trade. Truly, fire, you talk thus very much at your safe you who monopolize fo many trades ; thofe of conqueror, politician, legiilator, and, what is worfe, my trade, which you afluredly praclife in the moft agreeable manner in the world. You have induced me to take up this trade again, which I had forfaken. I have the honour n here CORRESPONDENCE. 367 here to fend a fmall attempt toward a new tra- gedy, the fubjedt of which is Catiline. I inclofe the firft ad, which perhaps has been written with too much hafte. I have beftowed eight days only on a fubject which Crebillon was eight-and- twenty years in {miming. I did not think rny- felf capable of fuch aftonifhing diligence; but I was here without my books. I recollected what your majefty had written concerning the tragedy of my brother poet. You very juftly deemed it defective, when you found the Ro- man Hiftory was there fo entirely falfified. Cati- line, you thought, acted the part of a boiflerous lunatic robber; and Cicero that of a weak foolifh fellow. I .recollected your well-founded remarks. Your polite kindnefs toward my old brother poet did not prevent you from being rather angry that fo deceptive a picture mould have been drawn of the Roman republic. I wifhed to iketch out a painting fuch as you de- fired : you have fet me to work, and I appoint you the judge of this firft act, which is the only one I can at prefent have the honour to fend your majefty; the others are ftill in the rough. Do you examine whether I have clothed Cicero in his proper robes, or if I have caught the like- aefs of Csefar. Between $68 POSTHUMOUS WORKS, Between them judge. Who beft deferves applaufc ? Ah ! Caefar, well I know, will gain the caufel However juft, or little prone to err, What moll refembles felf we moft prefer. I did not fend you the comedy of Nanine ; for I thought that a bafhful maiden, married by her mafter, was fcarcely deferring of being pre- fented to your majefty : but, mould fuch be your commands, I will have the piece tran- fcribed for you. I am now in company with the Roman fenate, and endeavouring to merit the fuffrage of Frederic the Great. His fervant and admirer true Am I, by day and night ; But, while I pay all homage due, Not once his parafite. VOLTAIRE. LETTER CCXXX. From the King. Potfdam, September 4, 1 745. I HAVE received your Catiline, the con- clufion of which it is not poflible for me to divine. We are as little able to judge of a tragedy, by a fingle CORRESPONDENCE. 36$ fingle ad, as of a pidure by a fingle figure. I will wait rill I have feen the whole, before I tell you what I think of thedefign, the conduct, the probability, the paffions, and the pathos. It does not become me to expofe my doubts, before one of the forty judges of the French lan- guage, in what relates to elocution. Had my brother in Apollo however, and my fellow- citizen, count Bar, fent the ad, I fhould hav afked whether we were allowed to fay Tyro* far la parole, llfautfmr torn regne. Does not the fenfe admit of ambiguity ? I fhould imagine the meaning to be, bis eloquence \ has rendered him tbe tyrant of bis country, and bis reign muft end: but, according to the conftruc- tion of the line, we Germans, who do not per- haps underftand the delicacies of the language, ; fhould conceive the poet had laid that, by tbe ( aid of words bis reign muft end. I am very daringj thus to communicate my remarks. Though I have entertained a doubt concerning this verfe, this has not prevented me from indulging my admiration at an infinite number of fine paffages, at which the reader recolleds the touches of the mafter who produced Brutus, the Death of Csefar, &c. Your letter is charming, and fuch as none vir. B b but 370 POSTHUMOUS WORKS* but yourfelf can write. France Teems in your perfon condemned to bury ten men of wit, to whom different ages had given birth. Since madame du Chatelet compofes books, I cannot imagine (he will fuffer herfelf to be brought to bed by chance. Tell her to ufe dif- patch, for I am in hafte to fee you. I feel the extreme want I have of you, and the great aid you might be of to me. A paflion for ftudy will remain xvitfi me through life. In this I think like Cicero, as I have faid in one of my Epiftles. I may by application acquire every fort of know- ledge ; to you I (hall be indebted for that of the French language. I correct my miftakes, as far as I am able to difcover them ; but I have no one who is fufficientlya judge, and fufficiently fevere, to point out all my faults. In fine, I wait your coming, and am preparing for the reception of the gentleman in ordinary, and the gentleman extraordinary. I It is affirmed at Paris that you will not come; and I affirm you. will, for you are no promife- breaker. Should they accufeyou of indifctetion, I mall anfwer <^the thing is poflible ;" that I you cannot refift courtmip " granted; " that you are a male coquet " agreed." In fine, you refemble the white elephant, for which the (king of Perfia and the Mogul emperor make warj coRRspONDiNci. : 37 1 v/af ; and the name of which they add to their titles, when they are happy enough to have him in their porTeffiori.. Adieu. Should you come hither, you will find my titles run thus Frederic, by the grace of God, king of Pruffia, elector of Bran- denburg, pofleflbr of Voltaire, &c. &c. LETTER ccxxxi. From the King. N&vemSer 25, 1749^ I PERCEIVE D'Olivet hurls his thunder at me, and that I am more ignorant than I fup- pofed myfelf to be. I mail beware how I aft the purift, and fpeak of things I do not under- ftand. My filence muft preferve me from the bolts of D'Olivet and Vangelas. I mail likewife beware ho\v I fend you my works; for, fince you fuffer your own to be flolen, you may fuffer mine to be the fame. You labour for fame, and for the honour of your na- tion. I only fpoil paper for my own amufement; and I may deferve pardon, provided I do but burn my works, after having .written them. When a man approaches the age of forty, and B b 2 writes 372 POSTHUMOUS WORKS? writes bad verfes, he ought to fay, like the mif- anthrope *, " Did I write fo ill, I would take care not to mew what I Wrote.' 1 We have had a Ruffian ambaffador at Ber- lin, who, after having ftudied philofophy twenty- years, underftarids very little of the matter. Count von Keyferling, the perfon of whom I fpeak, who is full fixty years of age, has left Berlin, with his fat profeflbr, and is now at Drefden. He ftill ftudies, and hopes to be a tolerable feholaf forrie twenty or thirty years hence. I have not his patience, nor do I exped: to live fo long. Whoever is not a poet at twenty will never become one. I have not preemption enough to flatter myfelf to the contrary, nor am I blind enough not to do myfelf juftice. Send me your works, from motives of gene- roflty ; and expect nothing from me but praife. I wifh to imitate the prudent filence of Conrad, but this will not render me infenfible to the beauties of poetry. I efteem your works the more becaufe I feel the impoffibility of equalling them. Do not trouble me any more concerning bear/ay hearfay is the fool's gazette. No one here has fpoken ill of you. D'Argens has prattled about Euripides, in I know not what * OfMolicre. T. book; CORRESPOND EN C E. 373 book ; but who told you that you were meant ? Had his intention been pointed at you, would he not rather have chofen Virgil than Euripides > Every body would have known you by this flroke of art; but, in the paffage which you cite to me, I can difcover no allufion to the reception you met with here. Do not conjure up monfters, in order to com- bat them. Tilt7iFtiIt'you muft, with theTrSal enemies which your merit has raifed up againft you in France ; but do not imagine you find them where" they are not: or, if you will be intermeddling, do not make me a party. I nei- ther do, nor ever will, interfere in any fuch things. I find from all the arrangements which you take how little hope I have to fee you. You are not in want of excufes; an imagination like yours is inexhauftible. It is now a tragedy, the fuc~ cefs of which you want to fee ; anon domeftic regulations j prefently king StanifUus ; and then it is hearfay. In fine, I believe lefs in this journey than in the arrival of the Meffiah, of whom the Jews live in expectation. An Elegy has appeared here : is it written by you ? The following is the firft line : Unfonimeil eiernel a done ferine ces yeux *. * ^ternal fleep has cloftd thofc eyes, B b 3 Let; ^ y 374 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. Let me beg of you to inform me. I have fome doubts on the fubjedt which you alone can remove. I impatiently wait for the large packet which you announce; and, ungrateful andabfent though you be, I admire you ftill, for this I cannot for- bear to do. Farewel. I am going to fee the Agreeable Phrenzy of Orlando, and the Heroic Follies of Coriolanus. I wjfti you tranquillity, joy, and length of life. FREDERIC. LETTER CCXXXJI. from the King. Berlin, January II, 1750. YE S, I the rhyming novel of Nan in e, Or fentimental comedy, have feen ; And reading fear'd left this reforming age Had banifh'd old Moliere the finking ftage ! Of manners, men, to give the rich repaft, He was the firfl. beware he's not the laft. Of ev'ry kind and fpecimen of fool, By nought diftinguifh'd but by ridicule, Of learned ladies and of would-be wits, Of bigots, mifers, lordlings, fops, clowns, cits, From nature taking comprehenfive view, Each large and comprehenfive clafs he drew. He CORRESPONDENCE. 375 He being gone, who e'er with mafter hand, Like him, could pealing theatres command ? To him fucceeds a poor and puny race ; Of giddy Folly's form too weak to trace The changing features, or the rainbow glare, Th' abfurd, fantaftic, pert, affected air ; Unlike -Moliere, they can't her whims difcern, Or fo pourtray that, while we laugh, we learn. Finding to make us fmile in vain they try, They call Melpomene, to make us cry : Not of her bowl and dagger aid they afk ; One fock, one unlac'd buflcin, half a malk, White handkerchief and fmelling bottle near, Watching her cue to faint, or feign a tear, The flattern comes A queen, that erft gave laws; A pauper now, me begs feme fmall applaufe ! Our charity call'd forth, we fit the fermon out : At church were never people fo devout ! We fit, and while me drawls the lagging lengthen'd ^ line Refponfive yawn, in fympathetic whine, That's charming! Yes I vow that's vaftly fine !" J And is this Comedy ? As foon I'd name Religion and Hypocrify the fame 1 As you have not been able to make me one of the difciples of La Chauflee*, no one ever will. Not but I allow you have done every thing with Nanine which could have been * La Chauflee was the moft fuccefsful of the French au- thors in writing what is called La ComeJie Lannoyants, or Sentimental Comedy, T. B b 4 hoped. 376 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. hoped. It is a fpecies of writing which never pleafed me. I can eafily conceive there are many auditors who are better fatisfied to liften to the honey of fentiment> than ro fee the repre- fentation of their defeds; and who are interefted in preferring infipid dialogue to that pleafant fa- tire which attacks bad morals. Nothing is fo diftreflmg, as not to be allowed to be ridiculous with impunity; but, were this granted, the charm- ing art of Terence and Moliere muft be renoun- ced j and the theatre muft become the general receptacle of dulnefs, at which the public muft be taught to fay, in a hundred different modes, / love you. My zeal for good comedy extends fo far that I would rather be exhibited, on the flage, than grant my fuffrage to the illegitimate and nervelefs monfter, which the bad tafte of the age has brought forth. Since Nanine, I hear nothing more of you: pray afford me fome figns of life. What is your Mufe benumb'd, afleep ? Or thro' your veins does winter creep? Why fuffer that fine flame to die, Which living brighten'd in your eye ? This facred flame, this fpirit, foul, From jealous Gods Prometheus ftole ; Since thus divine its eflence, we Should name it but with bended knee. I only CORRESPONDENCE. 377 I only jeft, when I fuppofe You might a gift fo precious lofe j That is, it would be my delight To pique your pride, and make you write. This is a formal challenge ; and, fhould not you anfvver it, you are a proclaimed coward. Wit and verfe coft you nothing. Do not imi- tate the Dutch, who, having the fpice all to themfelves, will only fell it as a favour. Your predeceflbr, Horace, fent Maecenas as many epiftles as he defired. Virgil, your great an- ceftor, did not write epic poems for every body 5 but he wrate many eclogues : whereas you, in all the opulence of wit, and poflefled of all the moft fplendid treafures of imagination, arc the greateft mifer of this wit whom I know. Is it right to be thus fparing of a few fuperflu- ous verfes for which you are alked ? Take care not to vex me ; my impatience may fupply the abfence of Apollo, and perhaps I (hall write a fatire on the mifers of mind. But fliould I. receive a charming letter from you, fuch as you have often written, I will forget all caufe of com- plaint, and will love you much, Adieu, LET- 378 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. LETTER CCXXXIII. From the King. Potfdam, February 20, 1759,, jSl IGHT, friend of reft, her poppy dews Had o'er my eyelids fhed ; In heavy fleep fo faft I lay, The foul feem'd almoft fled. When, ere th' eye twinkles, borne by dreams, In fields Elyfian I, On never-fading flow'rs reclin'd, Caefario did defcry. With fudden bound, I flew to meet The man my heart held dear. " Friend of my youth ! My foul ! My life !*' Said I, " And art thouhere ?" Thrice in my arms, with eager clafp, Would I have prefs'd the fhade ; Thrice in my arms a cloud I caught, That mock'd th' attempts I made. " In vain wouldft thou thy friend embrace ; " Alas! This may not be! " The living we muft not approach ; " For fuch is Fate's decree. " But follow, and I'll lead thee where, " In meads and bow'rs renown'd, The virtuous with immortal wreaths << Immortally arc cro\vn'd," Thus CORRESPONDENCE. 79 Thus fpoke the youth, and foon we came To many a laurel grove ; Where warriors, viftors, I beheld, And ancient heroes rove. " Ah ! Fly th' affaffins, fly," laid he ; " The fage, the poet feek, (( Who not exterminate, but aid, " The helplefs and the weak." He led to olive groves we came, Where Homer, Virgil, ftood, With Horace and with Sophocles, Each made in angry mood. With rifing wrath, they lift'ning heard A new-come ghoft declare That all the four had been furpafsM, Of late, by one Voltaire ! 'Twas lovely Emfly that thus, With unabated zeal, Exprefs'd th' applaufe, the truth, and love, She living knew to feel. Enrag'd, and ftill as when on earth With jealoufy poflefs'd, They vow'd, by all th' avenging powers, Their wrongs mould be redrfs'd.- In hell a hateful harpy fits, And Envy is her name ; The fworn and everlafting foe Of poets, and their fame. til 380 POSTHUMOUS WORKS* For Envy then aloud they call'd : They call'd (he foon appear'd ! In bitter fpleen their meflage fpoke, In bitter fpleen (he heard. " Begone," faid they, ' " in Paris feek " This bard ; and be it there, ** To Hied thy venom o'er his works, " Thy firft and only care. The darkeft hearts, the darkefl hours, " The darkeft corners find : " Let Folly, Malice, Dulnefs, Spleen, ** One common int'refl bind. " Raife all Parnaflus ! Bid the crew, ** That fcribbling croak in rhyme, " Hifs, as they 're wont, with ferpent tongue, " And make him feel his crime ! " Eclipfe our fame ! Unheard-of guilt ! " Begone ! By us accurft, " Of all the viftims we devote, "Be his Oreftes firft!" With haggard eye and quiv'ring lip, Attentive to the theme, The monfter heard, the monfter fled ; And with her fled my dream. Such has been my late dream ; and there was fome danger that I mould declare myfelf of the party of thofe good deceafed poets : they had fufficient caufe for their ill humour. You ftrange- ly abufe your privilege of genius ,* you march toward fame by every road that leads thither. I recol- CORRESPONDENCE. 381 I recoiled you as I do the conqueror who thought he had done nothing, while any part of the world remained unfubdued. You have lately made an irruption into the ftates of Moliere ; and, mould you be firmly determined, his fmall kingdom will foon be vanquifhed. I thank you for your new Harpagon, which in my opinion is a comedy that reprefents the real manners of life. Had it been lengthened, it would have apparently been more interefting. You fee how I fpare you ; I do not importune you to come here at prefent. I wait till Flora (hall have embellifhed thefe regions, and till Pomona (hall come to promife abundance, be- fore I entreat you to undertake the journey. I wifli my laurel trees again to bud, that frefh gar- lands may be entwined for you. Remember that, next to the duke de Richelieu, no one has more inconteftable claims over your perfon than has your Teutonic brother in Apollo. Vale. LETTER CCXXXIV. From the King. April, 1750. ONCE more like friend entrufted ? I ! Who dar'd Semiramis decry ! A pagan ! Whom convi&ion fled, What though a ghoft came from the dead ! POSTStJMOUS On genius dar'd in judgment fit, And rafhly fcntence pafs on wit ! To me ! To me your writings fend ! Why then indeed Voltaire 's my friend; Of paft neglcd I'll think no more ; He love* me as he lov'd of yore ! Here have I a letter fimilar to thofe I formerly received from Cirey. My defire to fee you, to converfe of literature, and to inform myfelf of things which you only can teach me, is redoubled. I thank you for your new edition. As I know all your old epiftles by rote, I difcovcred all the corrections and additions which you have made, and have been delighted with them. They were before beautiful, but you have' added new beauties. You will accuftom the pit to whatever you pleafe. Poetry fo excellent as yours may, by its ddufivc charms, blind the auditors to plot and defign. I wi(h to fee Oreftes, and to know what you have fubftituted to Palamede; and likewife to read the other beauties with which you have enriched that tragedy. Did you think of me, you would be polite enough to fend the piece. I am prejudiced in your favour, and it depends only on yourfelf to receive my praife. But who troubles himfelf, at Paris, whether Van- dals and barbarians hifs or clap at Berlin? j The eulogium on our officers, killed in war., :brings to my mind an anecdote of the late Czar 5 Peter CORRESPONDENCE. 383 Peter I. who dabbled in pharmacy and phyfic, the latter of which he fent to his fick courtiers ; and, after having difpatched fome Boyards to the next world, he celebrated their obfequies with magnificence, and honoured their funerals with his prefence. With refped: to thefe poor officers, I find my- felf circumftancedluf was' the Czar : reafons of ftate obliged me to expofe them to dangers ra wEch they perifhed.~ould I do lefs than adorn theirtombs by epitaphs, at once fimple and true? Come and correct this morfel, which abounds in errors, and in behalf of which I am more interefted than for all my other works. Bufinefs will call me into Pruffia in the month of June; but, from the firft of July to the month of Sep- tember, I can difpofe of my time. I can ftudy at the feet of Gamaliel. To me you may the rules Impart OfLivy', TuUy, Maro'sart; Attentive I may then admire Sweet undulations from your lyre ; Be taught the path, in heaT*nly ftrams. That leads to bleft Parnaffian plains. But ah ! Unlefs you can bellow The flame that, with cekftial glow, Beams forth in you the blaze of day, Bcdarkcu'd, I fhall lofe my way ! Haw 384 POSTHUMOUS WORKS* How can you defire me to determine whether you or madame d'Aiguillon are in the right? If the duchefs can produce the original of the Political Teftament of cardinal de Richelieu, me muft of necemty be believed. Great men are not great at all times, and under all circum- ftances. A minifter collects his whole force, and employs the full fagacity of his mind on an affair which he fuppofes to be of importance, yet affords marks of much negligence in what lie fuppofes to be of little confequence. When I figure to myfelf cardinal de Richelieu abafmg the grandees of the kingdom, folidly eftablifh- ing royal authority, fupporting the glory of France againft potent and foreign nations, ex- tinguifhing interline wars, deftroying the feet of the Calvinifts, and throwing a mound acrofs the fea for the fiege of La Rochelle, I then imagine that firm mind occupied by the greateft projects, capable of the boldeft refolutions, and the Political Teftament appears to me too puerile to be his Work. Perhaps they were merely ideas thrown upon paper ; perhaps he did not wifh to fay all he thought, that he might be the more xegretted. Had I lived with the cardinal, I could have fpoken more pofitively ; as it is, I can do nothing more than guefs. . Of CORRESPONDENCE. 38,5 Of grandeurs and of trifles gay, The fmall things many, few the greati The fageft hero lives the prey ; And moft from Folly holds his ftate. Or fay he live beloved awhile, Say man and angel fhould admire ; Kis fummer foon (ball ceafe to fmile, His boafted powers fhall foon expire. The clouds of age, when once afloat, The brighteft genius will eclipfe i His Teftament old Richelieu wrote, And Newton his Apocalypfe ! My new year's wifhes, in behalf of the author of the Henriade, are health and patience. If he ftill We me, I fhall fee him face to face, mail admire him at Sans-Souci, and will then fay more* LETTER CCXXXV. From the King. Potfdam, April 2(, 1750, ^T;;.;{ i1 i,.*^ 507 .'? 3Ji*l WlTH all your wit* and all your grace, I own I hop'd to fee your face Here once again : I hop'd in vain ; v- ^k, Our martial ardour you difdain ; The trouble you difdain to take My dull and flumb'ring Mufe to wake. tou TIL C c D'Arnaud, 386 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. D'Arnaud, whom you will not difown. Is come to fill the vacant throne ; Your vaflal, pleafing and polite, From you he learn'd the art to write. Th' original not to be had, To get a copy we are glad. This D'Arnaud, for whom we have been wait- ing fo long, is at length come, and has delivered your letter, with your charming verfes, which always put mine to the bluih, and which redou- ble the impatience I have to fee you. What is it to me that fate decreed you mould be my co- temporary, if you prevent my profiting by this advantage ? Horace and Virgil men have read Some flxteen hundred years or more; But living better far than dead We might their thoughts and hearts explore. By death or abfence fever'd, thus A fubftitute man vainly feeks : The Gallic Homer is to us As dead as he who fang the Greeks. All ages {hall your works poflefs ; They 're ours and theirs ; the gen'ral right, Which never more fhall ceafc, unlefs Again fliould come chaotic night. For me, I own I wifh t' obtain Not the dead letter, but the foul j The works, the mind, the heart, the man j Yes, all I \vi/h to have the whole ! I have CORRESPONDENCE. 387 I have this moment received the volume that contains Oreftes, a Letter on Falfehood, &c. and another to marfhal Schullemburg. You have placed me in the middle of a Letter in which I was furprifed to find myfelf* You know how to give effect to trifles, by your manner of difplay- ing them : I perceive how great a mafter of elo- quence you are. Yes, though eloquence do not, like faith, remove mountains, it lowers the high, raifesthe weak, and is miftrefs of nature, efpe- cially of the human heart. Oh noble fctence ! Happy are thofe who poflefs thee; and efpe- cially he who difplays thy charms with fuch fu- perior fkill ! I imagined you had long fince received the Memoirs of our academy ; but they are now bind- ing, and will be immediately fent. Among them you will find Come of my works fcattered ; but I ought to inform you they are nothing more than fketches, in the correction of which I have fince employed much time* An edition is at prefent printing, with augmentations and nume- rous corrections, which will be more worthy of your attention. This you (hall have as foon as the printer (hall have done his bufmefs. You afk for my poem, but it muft not be (hewn : D^Arnaud will tell fou what are its contents. Cca The 388 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. The fecrets of the bigot's hell, And heav'n, I there have dar'd to tell : I've jeer'd at Rome, and at the curfe She bellows forth, to make bad wotfe. But, having been fo ram, 'twere right To keep fuch rafhnefs out of fight. Of temper cauftic, and fevere, The mocking Mufe muft not appear At Paris, where, with wits and belles, The babbler Indifcretion dwells. Nay Boyer , there, a wight of note, Might her imprudent fallies quote ; And, making her his anger feel, Might madam fend to your Baftille. Whereas the wanton hufley, here, May frilk, yet harbour no fuch fear. She dungeons hates, and well me may ; * For {he, you know, has had her day ; L In youth me thither grop'd her way *. J But fo to aft, now older grown, 1 think would not be wife, I own. Therefore, my dear Voltaire, if you wifli to fee my nonfenfe, you muft come here. You cannot now recede. The poem certainly will not pay for the fatigue of travelling ; but the poet, who loves you, is perhaps worth your trouble. You will here fee a philofopher, who has no paflion but that of ftudy, and who, by the * The king, while prince royal, was imprifoned at Cufti in by his father. T. difficulties CORRESPONDENCE. 389 difficulties he has himfelf to encounter, is taught to eftimate the merit of thofe who, like you, march on with fuch uninterrupted fuccefs. There is a fmall community here, that creels altars to the invifible Deity. But beware ! He- retics will certainly build altars to Baal, mould not the Deity foon appear. I mail fay no more. Adieu. FREDERIC. LETTER CCXXXVI. From M. de Voltaire* ,'. , Paris, May jo, 1750. Op Rhapfodies, to all my paft, I now, great monarch, add my lafl. Did felf-lovc in my bofom dwell, Your afpeft would the bubble quell j For plaudits never can be due, When plaudits are refus'd by you ; Your approbation e'er mull be The feal of immortality, A-propos, fire, of immortality I have the honour to own to you it is a very fine thing, and that it is impoffible to fpeak ill of that which you fo well have purchafed ; but to live two or C c 3 three POSTHUMOUS WORKS. three months, in company with your majefty, were better than to live three thoufand years, in the memory of man. I know not whether D'Ar- naud will be immortal, but I think his fliort life will be remarkably happy. Mine depends on a very fmall thread ; and I- mould be exceedingly angry were this fmall thread to be cut, before I again enjoy the con- folation of feeing the great man of the age. Your verfes on the cardinal de Richelieu have been learnt by rote. How could they be other- wife ? His Teftament old Richelieu wrote, And Newton his Apocalypfe ! They are fo natural, fo eafy, fo true, fo ex- preffive, fo terfe, fo far from the fuperfluous, that not to remember, them would be impoffible. They are already become proverbial. You are certainly the firft king of Pruflia who have in- vented proverbs for France. Your majefty will find, in the inclofed Rhapfody, what my rea- fons are, in oppofition to madame d'Aiguillon, Judge you this Will, fmce ladies deign This Will's defence to take in hand : Two have you judg'd, which I maintain Were much more hard to underftand "*. * Alluding to the wills of the two emperors, and the prag- matic fan&ion. T. Imuft CORRESPONDENCE. 391 I muft not be indulged, fire, with a fight of your Valoriade. There is an Ode in the collec- tion of your academy, and I have neither the collection nor the Ode. It is well worth while to love you, to be treated thus ! I have made a fhockingly bad bargain ! To you I bequeath my foul, without reftric- tion. LETTER CCXXXVII. From tbc King. Potfdam, June 26, 17 <. FAIR palfreys ? No, vUc hacks ! Begone ! Chang'd now to nobler things, Be couriers of Parnaflian breed, And take poetic wings. Apollo's ftceds to you refign Their office and their claim : Apollo's brother hither bring ; A God of equal fame. Let Parangon and Rabkan Turn pale to fee you bound, From Helicon to fee you prance So lightly o'er the ground. Oh glorious fate ! The God you bring, Jn grateful glad furprife, C c 4 Will 39^ POSTHUMOUS WORKS. Will take you from the plough, to place You in his fav'rite fkies ! At you, with telefcopic tube, Aftronomers will gaze; 1 And break their glafles, or fuppofc Some dazzling meteors blaze ! Thus have I addreffed the horfes, that are to have the honour of bringing you. It is faid the German language has been invented to con- verfe with the brute creation ; and, in quality of poet of that language, I have imagined my Mufe might with more propriety harangue your poft horfes than addrefs her rude accents to you. At prefent you are armed at all points ; car- riage, paflport, and every thing neceflary, for a man who intends to travel from Paris to Ber- lin. But I fear left you mould be prodigal of your time at Paris, and a mifer of your moments at Berlin. Come therefore immediately, and recoiled that a favour granted with a good grace is doubly meritorious. FREDERIC, JL K T - CORRESPONDENCE. 393 LETTER CCXXXVIII. From tbe King. Berlin, Auguft 23, 1750* I HAVE read the letter which your niece has written to you from Paris : her friendfliip for you has won my efteem. Were I madame Dennis, I mould think like her ; but, being what I am, I think otherwife. It would grieve me to the foul, were I the caufe of misfortune to my enemy. How then can I with misfortune to the man whom I love, and who facrifkes to me his country, and every thing which humanity holds mod dear ? No, my dear Voltaire; could I fore- fee that your transmigration could in the lead turn to your difadvantage, I would be the firft to perfuade you againft it. I would prefer your happinefs to the extreme pleafure I mould feel at feeing you. But you are a philofopher ; I am the fame. Can any thing be more natural, more lunple, more in the order of things, than that philolbphers mould be formed for the fociety of each other; mould be united by the fame ftu- dies, the fame inclinations, and a fimilar mode of thinking j and that they fliould enjoy this pleafure? J refpecl 294 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. I refpect you as my mafter in eloquence and knowledge : I love you as a virtuous friend. What flavery, what mifhap, what change, what inconflancy of fortune can there be to be feared, in a country in which you are efleemed as much as in your own, and with a friend who poffeffes a grateful heart ? I have not the foolifli prefump- tion to believe that Berlin equalsParis. If wealth, grandeur, and magnificence render a city de- ( lightful, we (hall yield to Paris. If good tafte, I perhaps moft generally difperfed, can be found in any part of the world, I know and allow it is at Paris. But do not yon carry good tafte with you, wherever you go ? We have faculties fuffi- cient to applaud you ; and in feeling we will cede to none on earth. I refpecled the friendfhip which united you to madame du Chatelet; but^ next to her, I am What ! Becaufe you leave your country to live in my houfe, (hall it be faid that houfe is become your prifon ? What"! Becaufe I am your friend, (hall I be your tyrant? I own this is logic I do not comprehend. I am firmly perfuaded you will be very happy here, ias long as I (hall live ; that you will be regard- ed as the father of letters, and of men of tafte ; that you will in me find all thofe confola- tions CORRESPONDENCE. 395 tions which a man of your merit may expect, from another by whom he is efteemed. Good night. FREDERIC, LETTER CCXXXIX. From tls King, 1750. I HAVE juft been delivered of fix chil- dren, who require to be baptifed, in the name of Apollo, at the waters of Hippocrene. The Henriade is afked to (land godmother : be fo good as to efcort her this evening, at five, into the father's apartment. D'Arget-Lucina will be there; and the imagination of Man a Machine* will hold the pew-born during the ceremony. LETTER CCXL, Ft cm tbe King. *! 5If 1 H AV E read your firft article, which is excellent. I fuppofe you have begun the alpha- betic table of the articles, which I think ought * La Metric, 6 to 396 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. to be finimed before the work be written, in or- der to confine yourfelf to a fixed number of ar- ticles, and the moft felect principles, as well as to avoid entering into minutiae. For, mould fome articles inferior to the others find their way intQ the Dictionary, )there would be a necef- "" fity either 6F entering more circumftantially into the fubjecl:, or of changing the plan, which it feems to me would not correfpond to that unity which the writer ought to propofe to himfelf, in a work of this kind. L E T T E R CCXLI. From the King. 1751. IF you continue at this rate, the Dictionary will foon be finiflied. The article of THE SOUL, which I have received, is well written ; and that on BAPTISM exceedingly well. It feems as if chance had ftarted thofe thoughts in your mind, which however are the confequence of medi- tation. When your Dictionary mall be printed, I would not advife you to go to Rome. But of what importance are Rome, his Holinefs, the Inquifition, CORRESPONDENCE. 397 Inquifition, and all the tonfured chiefs of the religious orders, who will exclaim againft you? The work you are writing will be ufeful ih its fubjeft, and agreeable in its ftyle : nothing more is necefiary. Should the foul of your nerves re- main in a quiefcent ftate, I (hall be delighted to fee you this evening ; if not, I doubt (he will revenge on your body the wrong done her by your mind. I certainly do not believe that I or any one elfe can be double. Sovereigns fpeak in the plu- ral, and fay we ; but the word does not multi- ply the being. Let us lay our hands on our hearts and fpeak frankly; we thenjha.ll can- didly confefs that thought and motionpKhich are fatuities of our body, are the attributes of an animated machine, formed, and organifed like man. Adieu. LETTER CCXLII. From the King. 1751. lH E gift of fong, that art divine, Nature denied ftiould e'er be mine : By her when you were thus endow'd, To me /he faid, of me not proud She 398 POSTHUMOUS WORKS* She faid, and frowivd with look afkanccj "Be reafon your inheritance." Thisold-famioned reafon, this mere common" place good fenfe, is my lot. This will fuffice to teach us not ftupidly to walk into the river, when we fee a. bridge over which we may pafs :< goo< ino good fenfe is the thing requisite for pur conduct common life. But the fame reafon which oc- cafions me to avoid a precipice, when I perceive j"one on my road, teaches me not to wander from my fphere, not to undertake any thing beyond my ftrength. I therefore do juftice to myfel * ^ avow that my verfes are ill written, while my reafon is fufficiently ftrong to induce me to ad- mire yours. I thank you for M. de Couci, which in my opinion is your bed tragedy. With refped to the emperor Julian, what you have written may be made excellent, i>y adding the reafons for and againft his conver* fion ; and by retrenching, from the part I have read, the paflage in which you take a flight view of the fubject; which view is too feeble to cor- refpond with the ftrong arguments which you afterward add. LET- CORK ESPONDENCE. LETTER CGXLIII. From the King. 1751. X HIS article appears to me excellent. I advife you to change nothing but the wager, becaufe by that you ridicule Pafcal, who has employed the fame figure. Be pleafed likewife to remark that you cite Epicurus, Protagoras, &c. as having lived peace- ably in the fame city. I do not think men of letters ought to be cited as living peaceably to- gether. Recoiled the quarrels of the Academy of Sciences at Paris, concerning Newton and Defcartes; and thofe of this place, for and againft Leibnitz. I am certain that Epicurus and Protagoras would nave difputed, had they inhabited the fame city : but I likewife think that Cicero, Lucretius, and Horace would have fupped together in good harmony. I afk pardon for remarks which my ignorance fhakes off its fhackles to make. I referable the old woman of Moliere, who occafioned the firfl comic writer in the world to alter his pieces, when (he did not laugh. LET- 400 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. LETTER CCXUV, From the King. Potfdam, February 24, T 7$2* 1 WA S very happy to welcome you here; I efteemed your wit, your talents, and your I knowledge ; and I had reafon to fuppofe that a man of your age, tired of tilting with authors, and of expofing himfelf to ftorms, was come hither to take refuge in a fafe harbour. Yet you immediately, in a very fmgular manner, required me not to fuffer Freron to write my intelligence. I had the weaknefs or the complaifance to com- ply; though it was not for you to decide whom I mould take into my fervice. D'Arnaud did you Tome wrong ; he would have been pardoned by a generous man, a vin- didtive one perfecutes thofe for whom he con- ceives a hatred. In fine, though D'Arnaud did not injure me, you have been the caufe that he has left this place. You have been with the Ruffian ambafTador, to fpeak to him of affairs concerning which you ought not to have interfered; and it has been fuppofed I had commifiioned you fo to act. You have been meddling in the bufinefs of madame CORRESPONDENCE. 40! madame de Bentink, though this certainly was not in your department. You have had a moft vile tranfa&ion with the Jew, and your conduct has been very fhocking to the whole city. The bufinefs of the Saxon bills is fo well known, jn Saxony, that very fe- rious complaints have been made to me. For my own part, I prefer ved .peace in my hpufe, till your arrival ; and I muft inform you thafjlf If be'your p'aiFibn' to intrigue and cabal, you have done very ill in addreffing yourfelf to me. _J love docile and peaceful people, whofe conduct does not referable the violent paffions of tragedy. If you can determine to live like a philofopher, I mall be very glad tq fee you ; but if you abandon yourfelf to every excefs of paf- fibri, : and if you attack every man you meet, you \vill not afford me any fatisfaction by coming here ; you may quite as well remain at Berlin. "FREDERIC. LETTER CCXLV. From the King. Potfdam, February 28, 1752. IFyou wim to come here, you are at liberty To to do. I hear nothing of any law-fuit, not VOL. vii. D d even 402 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. even of yours. Since you have gained your caufe, I congratulate you, and am very glad that vile bufinefs is over. I hope you will have no more quarrels, either with the Old Teftament or the New. Such kind of contefts are dishonourable; and, though pofTefled of the moft genius of any man in France, you cannot avoid finally injur- ing your reputation, by the difgrace of fuch conduct. Gofle, a bookfeller, an opera fidler, and a Jew jeweller, are really people whofe names ought not, on any occafion, to enter into com- petition with yours. I write this letter with the unpolifhed good fenfe of a German, who fpeaks what he thinks, and does not employ ambiguous terms, or thofe nervelefs foothings which do but disfigure truth. It is for you to profit by my franknefs. LETTER CCXLVI. From tbt King. , 75 a. 1 EXPECTED day after day I mould ee you arrive, which prevented me from thank- ing you fooner for the Hiflory of Louis XIV. of which I have now four copies. That I might the CORRESPONDENCE. 403 the better purfue the art with which you have made this extract, I am reading the firft part, with the commentary of Quincy, that dictionary of battles and fieges. I wait your return to tell you what is my opinion. My impatience in- duced me to read the fecond volume at the fame time ; and, to own the truth, I think it fuperior to the firft, as well from the nature of the con- tents as from the ftyle, and that noble daring with which you fpeak the truth, even of kings. It is a very excellent morfel, and muft do high honour to you. The death of madame Hen- rietta will be the caufe that your Rome Sauvee will not be played fo foon as you imagined. I have been ill thefe eight days of a cold in the breaft, and of an ebullition of blood ; but my malady is almoft cured. I do nothing but read; I write no more. When the memory is fo bad as mine is, it is neceflary occalionally to read over what has before been read, to recoiled loft ideas, and learn what is worthy of being remembered. I (hall afterward once more begin to correct my own paltry productions. Your fire refembles" that of the veftals, and is never extinct; the little which has fallen to my lot mull often be blown up, and is notwithftanding in danger of being fmothered by its own embers. D d 2 Adieu. 404 POSTHUMOUS WORKS*., Adieu. Do not fuppofe there are more oaks than rofes in the world. Many are thole whom you behold perifb, while you continue to bloom; and many more will your name iurvive, for that will never perifli. LETTER CCXLVII. From the King. Cofcl, September, '1752. I RECEIVED your philofophic Poem near that Carnuntum in which Marcus Aurelius committed his fage moral reflections to writing; and I did but think your poetry the more beau- tiful. Some reflections however are to be made; not concerning the poetry, but the fubject, and the conduct of the fourth canto ; which I (hall referve for our converfarion, at my return. HufTars, engineers, and officers of horfe and foot, torment me fo much here, that they do not fuffer me to recollect myfelf. Adieu. Take pity on a foul in purgatory, which entreats maiTes may be faid that it may foon efcape. LET- i&a ORRESPONDENCE. - ^-a M'U -ftom : .;,L E T T E R CpXlJVjlI. /nun the King. Nsifs, September 8, 1752. IHE (lave of a rhime, which my brain could exhauft, In turning a couplet my fleep have I loft : But I find that the meteor, which troubled ray reft, . Was no more than'a will-o'-the-wifp at the heft. Madam Reafon, whofe eye, though I own itis clear, Has a brow that to me appears fomewhat fevere, Madam Reafon has told me, in very plain fpeech, That the heights of Parnafius I never could reach. _ Alas ! Poor felf-love ! But no matter ! Henceforth Of Voltaire all the genius, the wit, and the worth, I will live to admire ; and thus, quitting the field, The empire of Homer to his hands I yield. Such is my determination. Bufmefiand poe- try are things of a very oppofite nature. The one curbs the imagination ; to extend it is the property of the other. I am Between the two, like the afs of Buridan. 1 have been poli&ing fame ftanzas t>f atrdfd'Ode, which is not worth the trouble of being fent'to you. The dear Ifaac has travelled a tortoife pace. I believe your fat duke de Chevreufe, who cer- tainly is not as flim as your running footmen, would proceed fader on foot than the fieur Ifaac with fix horfes, coming from Paris to Berlin. D d 3 But 406 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. But this is of little importance ; I am glad to meet him ; we muft take men fuch as we find them. It has pleafed Heaven thus to mould up D'Argens, nor is it in his power to remould himfelf. I do not fend you an account of my occupa- tions, becaufe they confift of things for which you care but little. Camps, foldiers, fortrefles, finances, and law-fuits, are to be found in all countries ; newfpapers are full of fuch wretched affairs. , I hope to fee you on the fixteenth, and I wim you health, tranquillity, and content. Adieu. LETTER CCXLIX. From the King. October 2, 1752*. H. AD I not yefterday had a dreadful co- lic, accompanied by violent head-achs, I mould have thanked you fooner for the new edition of your works, which I have received. I have * I fufpeft an error in the date of the year of feveral of thefe letters, and that it ought to be 1751, but I want fuffi- cient authorities to obtain certainty. T. 7 haftily CORRESPONDENCE. 407 haftily run over the new pieces, which you have inferted j but I was not fatisfied with the order in which they are arranged, nor with the fize of the edition. It may be called the Canticles of Luther ; and, with refpeft to the pieces, they are all pell mell, and unconnected. I think that, for the convenience of the public, it would be better to increafe the number of the volumes, enlarge the type, and arrange the materials in a more confident manner. I communicate thefe remarks becaufe I am well perfuaded this will not be the lall edition of your works. You will kill all your auditors and your readers with your colics and your faint- ings j and you will write panegyrics, or fatires, on all thofe in whofe company you now live, after our death. Such are the prophecies, not of Noftradamus, but of one who is tolerably ac- quainted with difeafes, and whofe profeflion it is to be acquainted with mankind. I labour, in my corner, on things inferior in workmanfliip, and kfs fplendid than thofe on which you employ yourfelf ; but I am amufed, and that is enough. I hope foon to hear that you are cured, and good-humoured. Adieu. D d 4 - E T- 408 POSTHUMOUS WORKS., . ./on.rrvi; LETTER CCL. From the King. December, 1752, I OUR effrontery aftonifhes me. After what you Jaa.Yje.dooe, which is as evident a's'thft f day, you perfift inftead of confeffing yourfelf cul- pable. But do not imagine you can make men believe black is white. When they do not eej it is becaufe they are wilfully blind. Should you^"u|HjHe..aflair to extremes, I will print every thing ; and the world (hall, fee.. that, 1 - _*4MJL*^MMMJM 1 though your works merit ftatues mould be raifed to you, your conduct is defer ving.-oLdiaias. -""* V. S. The editor _has m .hen queftipned, and has declared every thing. .>Vb-t^ Jo * j; . . LETTER CCLI. From M. de Voltaire. SIRE, , 753 . \j AN what I have read in the gazettes be believed ? Your majefty's name is abufed, to poifon the poor remains of a life which I had confecrated to you. How ! Am I accufed of having CORRESPONDENCE. 409 haying affirmed that Korrig wrote againft your works? Oh, fire, he is as incapable of fuch an act as I am. Your majefty knows what I wrote to him: I always told you the truth, and the truth will continue to tell, to the laft moment of life. ^ I am in defpair that I did not go to Barcuth. \ A part of my family going to wait for me, at the waters, obliges me to go in fearch of a cure which nothing but your favours could -have ef- fected. I (hall ever be tenderly devoted to you, ; let you act toward me as you pleafe : I never \ have failed, nor ever will fail, in my refpect to you. I (hall return to your feet in the month of October ; and, (hould the wretched adventure of LaBeaumeile not be true; ifMaupertuis have not in effed:. betrayed the fecrets of your fuppers, and have not ilandered me to excite La Beau- melle againft me; if he. have not-by his -hatred been the caufe of my misfortunes, I will confefs that I have been deceived,, and will afk pardon- of him, in prefence of your majefty and of the whole world. To act thus will be my glqry^ But if the letter of La Beaumelle be true, {hould the facts be proved, and if I have not taken the part of Konig except in conjunction with all the men of letters of Europe, let us then examine, fire, how the philofophers Marcus Au- relius 4IO POSTHUMOUS WORKS. relius and Julian wo,uld have afted, in fuch a cafe. We are all your fervants, and with a word you might have reconciled us all. You were formed to be our judge and not our adverfary. - - -..,...,,;- -, . -. . J O J / Your refpeclable pen would have been worthily- employed in commanding us to forget every thing. My heart is my judge that I mould have obeyed you, fire; for this heart ftill is yours. You know the enthufiafm which brought me to your feet; thither it will bring me again. When I conjured your majefty not to attach me to your- felf by j>enfions, you well knew it was folely to prove I preferred your perfon to your favours. Yon commanded me to receive thefe favours, but I will never more be attached to you except for yourfelf ; and I folemnly proteft, before her royal highnefs the margravefs of Bareuth, through whofe hands I take the liberty to fend my letter, that I will till death preferve thofe fentiments which brought me to your feet ; when I quitted every thing for you I held moft dear, and when you deigned to fwear eternal friendship to me. ' LET, CORRESPONDENCE. 411 LETTER CCLII. From M. de Voltaire. SIRE, Oaober, 1757, D O not be terrified by the fight of a long letter, which is the only thing by which you can be terrified. The favours I received when -with your ma- jefty are innumerable. I once was yours, and fo my heart will ever remain : age has not de- prived me of any of my ardour, when you are in queftionT; "though this ardour is diminifhed on J every other fubject. I know not, in my peaceful retreat, whether your majefty have marched to face the detachment of the prince de Soubife, or whether you have fignalifed yourfelf by any new fuccefs. I am but ill acquainted with the prefent ftate of affairs. I perceive that, with the valour of Charles XII. and a much Superior mino^ypu^have more enemies to face than he had, when he returned to Stralfund^ What is ftili much more certain is that your fame, hereafter, will much exceed that of Charles ; becaufe you have gained as many victories as he did, over more warlike enemies, and have done - - your fubjects all that good which he neglected f _ _ i - J ^ t . 'i ni* 1fc mm,,,, M ^., a ^ jm mi fir. '3*.. to - 412. POSTHUJMOUS WORKS. to do, by giving life to the arts, founding colo- lesTand embellishing cities.__ I do not notice other talents,, equally fuperior and uncommon, which would have beenlufficient ~* to have rendered you immortal... Npume_of L. merits can your.greateft enemies deprive you of. "Tour "fame is therefore (life from aflault. Perhaps r 'jhis L Jame is at this moment increafcd by fome victory ; though it cannot be taken away by any misfortune. Let me conjure you never to lofe .fight of this idea. Your happinefs is the prefent quedion. I \ fhall not now fpeak of the thirteen cantons. I fhould yield to the pleafure of telling your majef- ty how much you are beloved, in the country | which I inhabit, but that I muft inform you of the numerous partifans you have in France. I jsiiow indubitably .there. are ir.any people who \viih that tb,_haknce vyhich your victories had cIUbliiLedHioujd be mainlined.. 1 limit inyiclf to the relation of fimple truth, without ventur- ing in any manner to interfere in politics ; they do not appertain to only to think, fhould fortune be entirely averfe to you, that you would find a laft refource in France, a nation ""^wlticli is '"th'e guarnntcc of fo many can I but fuppofe that /our knowledge and unJer- ' ing will keep this 'in re crvc; thatyouvvJIKtril have CORRESPONDENCE. 41$ have fumcient extent of domains to hold a very confiderable rank in Europe ; and that the great \ / \^ elector your anceftqr^wasjnot t^Je&jsiggg&i for having J!^^ me, fire, once again to think thus, while I fub- "~mit my thoughts to your majefty. Cato and> Otho, whole deaths your majefty fb much ap- ! proves, hadfcarcely any choice, except of fervi- i tude or of death. Otho even was not certain he ; might be fuffered to live. He did but, by | voluntary death, prevent that which might have ; been inflicted. : .' Our manners and your fituatign jugeJarJcoia- ' requiring you {hould take any fuch refolution. In a word, it is highly neceffary you (hould live.Vl You cannot but know how dear your life is to a numerous family, 'and "to ^all who have the to-" nour to approacK'you. The affairs of Europe, you are convinced, never can long remamlri the fame ftate ; and that it is the duty of a man like you to wait TnV couffe of ' even&l"""* '^TwTIl'be bold enough to fay^raQr_e. jBelieye_^ mefwWe your courage to induce you heroically to end your exigence, the acl would not be.ap,- plauded : your very partifans would condemn you, and your enemies would triumph. _B-e- i" member too what the outrages would be which *"" -- the fanatic nation of bigots would commit-^on il -.tci>*?'- i -'"~^' f *~~~ 3K " avf '' your 414 POSTHUMOUS your memory. Such would be all the renown you would acquire by voluntary death. You ought not to afford thofe cowardly enemies of the human race the pleafure of inf lilting a name fo refpe&able. Be not offended at the liberty with which an old man addreffes you, who has ever revered and loved you, and whofe opinion it is, from long ex- perience, that very great advantages may be ac- quired from misfortune. But we fortunately are far from feeing you re- duced to extremities fo fatal. I expect every thing from your courage and your underftand- ing, except fo baneful an a<5t as this fame courage lias led me to apprehend. It will afford me con- folation, when I take leave of life, to think I have left a philofophic king on earth. LETTER CCLIII. From M. de Voltaire. 8 J R ^ Oaober, 1757, YOUR Epiftle from Erfurth is full of ad- mirable and affeding paflages. Beauties will ever be difcovered in all you do, and in all you write. Permit me to inform you of what I have written to CORRESPONDENCB. 4*5 to her royal highnefs, your worthy fitter ; which is that the Epiftle would incite tears, did you not fpeak of yourfelf. But it is not here meant to difcufs, with your majefty, what may bring this monument * of a great foul and a great genius to perfection ; the queftion relates to yourfelf, and to the intereft which ail the wife part of mankind, as well as philofophy, attaches to your renown, and your prefervation. You refolve to die I will not here fpeak of the painful horror .j&Jx which^fucji^aa iritention^ infpires me : but I conjure you at lead to fufpect little you can perceive, from the eminence-on which by rank you are placed, what are the opi- nions of men, and what is the fpirit of the times. As a king, you want fuch information; and as a philofopherandagreatman,youfix your attention wholly on thofe examples which the .great men of antiquity have afforded. You are enamoured of Fame ; and tlSyQujtlunk is not tp.be obtained but by dyrngjin jLjrnanner which other men rarely chufe, and which no fovereign oTEurope has ever '' thought on, fmce the fall of tfie Roman empire. But alas, fire, while jEEus^namoured of glqryT how can you perfift in a project by which it mutt be loft? I have already reprefenred to you the grief of your friends, the triumph of your ene^. Y * Meaning the Epiftle. T. mies, POSTHUMOUS WORKS. mies, and the infults of a certain clafs of \dro~~wiir cowardly think it their duty to crimi- aatc-trgenemus action. I here add, for this is the moment to fpeak without refer ve, no one will regard you as the martyr of liberty. We ought not to deceive our- felves. You know the anger with which many TOttfts confider your invafion of Saxony as an in- fraction of the rights of nations. What will be faid in thefe courts ? That you have punimed yourfelf for this invafion -, and that you were un- able to refift the chagrin of not being able to dic- tate to monarchs. You will be accufed of prema- ture defpair, when it (hall be known that this fatal determination was taken in Erfurth, at this time, when you are matter of Silefia and Saxony. Your Epiftle from Erfurth will be examined, an inju- rious criticifm of it will be written, and, though unjuftly, your name will thus be wronged. All which I have laid before your majefty is the exact truth ; and the man whom I have called the Solomon of the North in his fecret thoughts adds much more. He fears in effeft. that, fliould he take this fa- tal refolution, he will feek an honour whichjhe never can enjoy. He feels a determinajdon__npt to be humbled by perfonal enemies; he therefore '...* takes CORRESPONDENCE. 417 takes part with gloomy felf-love, and em detpair. In oppofition to thefe fentiments, liften to your fupenor reafon : by this you will be told you tire not humbled, nay that you cannot be : it will inform you that, being but man, let what wfll fiappen, there will ftill remain fomething ; nay enough to render other men happy -wealth,^ dignity, and friends. A man, who is but a \ king, may fuppofe himfelf very unfortunate he lofes his domains"! : but a philofogher may live without domains. Once again, wi politics, I cannot believe you will. not have fuf- ficient left to remain a confiderable monarch. Should you think proper to contemn all human grandeur, as did Charles V. queen Chriftiaa, king Cafimir, and many others, you will fupport this character better than any of them ; and in- ftead of the lofs of, it would to you be additional grandeur. In find any refolution would be pro-., per except the odious and deplorable one^which. - qL^k you^bave taken.^VV as it worth the trouble you^ took to become a philosopher, if you could not learn to" live like a r .n ? Or, though a king, if you could not ilipport adverfity : In all I have faid, I have no other intereft than that of the public . I of your majefty. ' VOL. VIT. E e I (hall 418 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. I (hallfoon enter my fixty fifth year : I was born infirm : I have but a moment to live. I have been unhappy ; this you know : but I mail die the reverie, ill can but leave you on earth, put- ting that clod i -ine in practice which you have fo i -t- Frequently written.. LETTER CCLIV. From the King. October 9, 1757, was I born, and therefore mufl oppofe My fortitude to man's eternal foes. Yet, though thefe are my fentiments, I am far from condemning thofe of Otho and Cato. The only great moment in the life of the latter ch immediately preceded his death. Were I Voltaire, a private man, Concentrate in my narrow plan, The dorms of fate I'd laughing view, And think, and fpeak, and aft, like you. How worthlefs crowns and grandeurs arc ; How vile is "Flattery's crouching care j Howinfignificant, how vain, Is Pomp, with all her yawning train ; How poor a thing is Fame, that's read In hiftory when the hero's dead ; Of how much higher actual worth A moment's blifs, bellow'd on earth, To CORRESPONDENCE. 419 To ev'ry breath Renown can blow ; All this, alas! and more I know. Who then would envy kings, or trace In them of heav'n the chofen race ? Or when, with light unburthen'd heart, Came peaceful Pleafure, void of art, Of affeftation, rancour, guile, On care- fraught majefty to fmile ? No ; ne'er did Fortune's frown, unbleft, Or Fortune's fawning, break my reft; Not her caprice can wound my pride : Far diff'rent rules I make my guide ! Each man, however wHe~oi r brave7' Of circumftances is the flave ; B y leadjngjtfifife^ .him felf though led, He proof affords of heart and 'head. Were FVoItalre, once more I fey, In tylvarTmades Yd fing'and play, Among'a fimple honeft race, In whom the golden age we trace : But, being what I am, 'twere fit, Though on the rocks the veflel fplit, Though howling ftorms deftru&ion wing, To act, and think, and live, and die a king. " ^ j . LETTER CCLV. From M. de Voltaire. SIRE, November 13, 1757. Y OUR epiftle to D'Argens made me tremble ; but that v.'ith which your majefty has E e 2 honoured 420 POSTHUMOUS WORKS* honoured me has reftored my courage. You feem to take a formal and mournful adieu, and determine to ha.tten your own deadi ; and this determination not only led a heart like rhin.e to defpair, a heart which you never have fufficiently fearched, and which has ever been attached to you, under all circumftances, but my affliction was increafed, by recollecting the unjuft accu- fations which a part of mankind would have brought againft your majefty. I yield the palm to your four lad lines, which are as admirable from their meaning as from the circumftances under which they have been written; But, being what I am, 'twere fit, Though on the rocks the veflcl fplit, Though howling ftorms deftru&ion wing, To aft, and think, and live, and die a king. Thefe..fentirnents are worthy of your mind; and the only meaning which I can difcover in them is that you will, with your accuftomed va- lour, defend yourfelf to the laft extremity. One of the proofs of this valour, which riles fuperior to all accidents, is that of being able to write good poetry, at a crifis when any other man would fcarcely be able to write a few lines in profe. I appeal to yourfelf whether this demon- ilration of the fuperioriry of your foul muft not infpire a with that you fliould live. For my own CORRESPONDENCE. 42 1 6wn part, I want the courage to write in verfe to your majefty, remembering as I do your prefent fituation ; but permit me fully to tell you my thoughts. In the firft place, be certain you are now in poffeflio^ojfjn^r^Jame^than ~you_ ever have_ been. A]ljn^tai^mii,^fw^-aH^rts 7 -gii r eit.as their opinion thajrou behaved^ at the battle of the i8th, like the prince of Conde at Senef; and that in every other refpecl you have afted like Turenne. Grotius has faid " I can fuffer ca- " lumny and poverty ; but I cannot exift under " the aflaults of calumny, poverty, and ignominy " united." You,_in_your reyerfe of fortune, are cmwnejl--with.glpry^ and.ftill poflefs great dpL- mains. Winter is coming, _and the face of af- fairs maj^jcliange . Your majefty knows that more than one man of confequence thinks a balance of po \veTTsjie-s. ceflary, and that the politics which tend to effect the contrary are deteftabk.,.. Such are the vcrv wojxLjaf certain-petiaps. V I will veiirme.-to--add.,UiaL 1 Qbaj;js JUJLwha pofieffcd your courage, but wanted your informa- tion, as well as your cojTipaffiQr^fQr tjhe^gering r>eople, made peace with the czar without fell degradation-. It would be unbecoming in me ~~E~e~~ 422 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. to fay more, though your fuperior penetration will fupply every thing I have omitted. It isjny duty to do no more than to reprefent to your majelly how necefiary your life is to your family, to your remaining provinces, and to philofophers, whom you may enlighten and fup- port; and who, believe me, would find it exceed- ingly difficult to juftify to the world a voluntary death, againft which univerfal prejudice would loudly exclaim. I muft further acknowledge tEa?] 1 1 as you will, you cannot but act .greatly. From tins my ' diftant retreat I find myfelf more inter efled. in yo^ur fate- LhanJ was at Potf- dam and Sans-Souci. My retreat would be happy, and my infirm old age comforted, could I be certain of your life, which your returning bounty renders additionally dear to me. , I am informed that his royal highnefs the prince of Pruflia is very ill : this is an increafe of affliction, and a new reafon why you fliould take care of yourfelf. I will allow that a mo- mentary exifte.nce in fcenes of affliction, and between two eternities which engulph us, is a mere I ait to bear the burthen of life is well worthy of your great fortitudes and to fupport adverfity like a hero is to be truly a king. LET- CORRESPONDENCE. 423 LETTER CCLVI. From the King. Breflau, January 16, 1758. I HAVE received your letter dated the 22d of November, and your other of the 2d of January, on the fame day*. 1 fcarcely had time: to write in profe, much lefs in verfe, in reply^JJ thank you for the part which you take in thejojj- _ \UNanTchances by wnich I Kave been fecondedj "at'tlle crofeTof a campaign when all feemecj JLaftj^ ~ntve"Hap"py" Tnd'"peaceaHy''arOeneva ; to him \^Ko"3oeTn"6t Ib'live tHe"w)rTdis^a'cyplier ; and pray that the inflammatory nefoic Fever of Europe may fgo'n be cured, that the triumvirate may be ruined, and that the tyrants of the . eattli may. make no ufe of thofe chains which they have FREDERIC. I am not ill, either in body or mind, but I am taking fome reft in my chamber. This is what has given birth to the rumours which my enemies have fpread. I may however anfwer them as * Neither of thefe letters, fay the Bafil editors, are to be found. They add that many others are wanting. T. E e 4 Demofthenes, e^ 4^4 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. Demofthenes did the Athenians " Well, if f Philip were dead, what then ? Oh Athenians ! " You then would foon raife up another Philip !" Oh Auflrians ! Your ambition, and your de- fire of univerfal dominion, would foon raife you up other enemies ; and the freedom of Germany, and that of Europe, would never want defenders ! LETTER CCLVII. From M. de Voltaire. April 15, 1758. | G R E AT mafter of the fword and quill, Since you delight to rhime and kill, Go on ! To verfeand war give birth ; Inftruft at once and ravage earth ! . The verfe I love, the war I hatc^ But I Tubmit'to you and Fate ; For opposition were but vain, Your character you muft fuftain. Yet fure 'tis worth our while to note What contrails like to thefe promote ; And how you got, with fo much e.afej. vs fti , The double art to kill and plcafc. . Recoiled the perfon however who, en a former occafion, faid Et CORRESPONDENCE. Et quoique admirateur d? Alexandrc et (PAlclde, jfeujje aime mhux chot/ir les vertus cTArifi'ide *. This Ariftides was a good man : he would not have propofed to make the archbifhop of Mentz pay all expences and damages fuftained by fome poor ruined Greek town. It is evident that your majefty has incurred the cenfures of Rome, by your pleafant fcheme of making the church pay for the crockery which you have broken. To fcreen you from excommunication- major, I, like a good citizen, have advifed you to pay yourfelf. I recollect that your majefty has often told me the people of f were fools. Really, fire, you are very good, to wifti foreign over fuch people. I imagine my propofal very favourable to you, when 1 requeft you to fuffer them to be governed by whom they pleafe. I thought, fire, you, being much Jnclin'd To laugh, while drubbing poor mankind, O'er men of wit lov'd moft to reign. If fo, why not old Rome regain ? As I am exceedingly vexed to pay three twentieths of my effeds, and to ruin myfelf * Though I admire Alexander and Hercules, I mould prefer the virtues of Ariftides. Voltaire repeatedly quotes thefelines,to remind the king of his own decifion in favour of fjuftice. T. j- The word Weftphalia, I imagine, is omitted. T. 5 426 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. that I may have the honour of making war on you, perhaps you will fufped that, when I pro- pofe peace, it is from motives of cunning: but no, not in the lead ; it is only that you may not run. the daily rilk of being killed by Croats, huffars, and other barbarians, who are wholly un- acquainted with what is a beautiful line in poetry. Your minifters at Breda have no doubt views fuperior to mine. Neither the duke de Choifeul, prince Kaunitz, nor Mr. Pitt, have revealed their fecret to me ; it is faid to be known only to one M. de Saint- Germain, who formerly flipped in the city of Trent with the fathers of the council, and who will probably have the honour to be acquainted with your majefty fome fifty years hence. This man is one who never dies, and who knows all things. For my part, being ready to take my leave> knowing nothing, my only wim is that your majefty were acquainted with the duke de Choifeul. Your majefty writes me word you will endea- vour to become a good-for-nothing fellow. This is excellent intelligence indeed ! But pray what are you mafters of mankind ? I have feen you entertain great affeftion for thofe good-for-no- thing fellows Trajan, Marcus Aurelius, and Ju- lian. Continue to refemble them, but do not 2 by CORRESPONDE N C E. 427 by your jokes embroil me with the duke de Choifeul. On which I prefent my refpects to your ma- jefty, and very civilly pray the Deity to beftow peace on his earthly images. LETTER CCLVIII. From M. de Voltaire, May a, i7jS. YES, northern hero, well I knew Of Frenchmen's backs you had full view : You bled them with your Pruffian leeches ; You cut the waiftbands of their breeches : But that you would, of what you faw, Immortal comic Iketches draw, A favour was too fingular For them to dream you would confer ! The fops, howe'er, are taught to know, By this, their many-gifted foe. At prefent, rhimes, in on or it, But little exercife your wit ; Mars raging now with fearful ire, Has broken poor Apollo's lyre ! In winter, Horace, and his friends, Find at your court a large amends : Of war, in fpring, your mind is full : Thus- are your moments never dull, I know 428 POSTHUMOU'S WORKS. I know nothing fo pleafant, fire, as the leave of abfence* which you granted on the 6th of November, 1757. Yet it feems to me that, in this very month of November, you galloped full fpeed to Breilau, and that you merely tinged our whifkers on your march. The mod excellent fentence of the parliament of Paris pronounced againft the Philofophy of Good Senfe, by D'Ar- gens-f-, and La Loi Naturelle (Natural Law) might very well find a place in the Hiftory of Les Culs ; but it ought to be in the divine chapter of Les "Torche-culs of Gargantua. The work ofthefe gentlemen is well worthy of being configned to the water-clofet : and indeed it is nearly thus that the impertinent remonftrances, made by the parliament, have been treated at court. Its members never can be reproached with poflemng " The Philofophy of Good " Senfe." Paris it is faid is more mad than ever ; though not poffefled by that kind of madnefs which genius fometimes authorifes, but by a fpecies of phrenzy that greatly refembles folly. * Meaning the battle of Rofbach. T. f- A work by the marquis d'Argens, intitled La PLlfofophle Ju Ion Sens, was condemned by the parliament, nearly about the fame time as was the poem of N\. dc Vpltaire, on La Lot jf\ r a((tre!!e. But CORRESPONDENCE. 429 But I will not myfelf be guilty of the folly of longer intruding upon your majefty's time ; for I Ihould rob the Auftrians, to whom it is con- fecrated. I continually pray that the philofophy f good fenfe may grant you peace, and that its kingdom may come. For, to fpeak truth, amid fuch multiplied maflacres, this is the kingdom of Satan : and the philofophers who affirm that " whatever is is right," know very little of the matter. All will be right, when you will return to Sans-Souci, and there fay - Alors, clicr Cineas, vifiorieux, confens, N6us fouvons rlre a I'aife et frendre du Ion temps*. LETTER CCLIX. From the King. Ramenau, September 28, 1758. 1 AM very much obliged to the hermit of the ~D'elices-\- for the part which he takes in the adventures of the Don Quixote of the north. This Don Quixote lives the life of a {trolling * Now, dear Cineas, yiclonous and happy, we may laugh at our eafe, and take our pleafure. f So Voltaire called his place of refidence. T. player, POSTHUMOUS .WORKS. player, who fometimes plays on one ftage and ibmetimes on another, is occafionally biffed and occafionally applauded. The laft piece in which he played was the Thebaid, and fcarcely was fo much as the candle-fnufFer left alive *. I know- not what will be the refult of all this ; but I am of opinion, with our good Epicureans, that the au- ditors are more fortunate than thofe who make their appearance on the ftage. Though lam here and there and everywhere, I occafionally hear of what is paffing in the re- public of letters ; and the babler with a hundred tongues is wholly filent, concerning you. I have a great inclination to fhout in your ear-r-Brutus, thou fleepeft ! Three years have pafled fmce we have had any new editions of your works. What are you doing? If you have written any thing new, let me beg you to fend it me. I wifti you all the tranquillity and peace of which I myfelf am in want. Adieu. FREDERIC. * Statius tells us tliat but one of the heroes who went to the fiege of Thebes returned alive. T. LET- CORRESPONDENCE. LETTER CCLX. From the King. Oaober6, 1758. YOU may eafily judge what my affliction muft be, from the ills which I have fuftained. There are misfortunes which courage and perfe- verance may repair; but there are others againft which all the fortitude with which we can arm ourfelves, and all the apothegms of philofophers, afford but vain and ineffectual aid. Such are thofe with which my unfortunate flar overwhelms me, in the mofl embarraffed and bufy moments of my life. I have not, as you have been informed, been ill ; my only difeafe confifts in hemorrhoidal and fometimes nephritic colics. Did it depend on myfelf, I would fall the voluntary victim of death, which foon or late thefe kind of maladies occa- fion, could I by that have prolonged the life of her who will no more fee the light of day *. Do not forget her, but let me entreat you to collect all your powers, to raife a monument to her honour. You need only do her juftice ; for, without the * The margravefs of Bareith. lead POSTHUMOUS WORKS. leaft departure from truth, you will find mate- rials the moft ample, and the moft dignified. I with you more peace and happinefs than I myfelfpoffefs. FREDERIC. LETTER CCLXI. From M. de Voltaire. On the Death of her Royal Highnefs the Margravefs of Bareith. December, 1758. ILLUSTRIOUS made! Of woe the general theme! For thec when (hall our forrows ceafe to ftream ? Yet fay, rememb'ring how thou didft expire, Muft we bewail thee moft, or moft admire ? Thine virtue, genius were ; their kws thy guide : In wifdom haft thou liv'd, in wifdom died ! Slow was thy death ; yet fear didil thou difclofe No more than in the battle's heat thy brother knows* Devoid of prejudice, nor e'er beguil'd By Superftition, old Impofture's child, Tortur'd thou never vvert by terrors mean, Of tyrant gods, or ghoflsof bigot-fpleen. But other tortures, minifters of death, Languors that watch t } imbibe the vital breath, Refign'd, endure thou didft, as each took birth j Lamenting only thofe that ravaged earth. Oh! CORRESPONDENCE. 4^3 Oh ! At this moment, how would earth rejoice^ tiad Vengeance and falfe Int'reft heard thy voice 1 Of balmy Peace whatbleffings fhould we know! Of blood what torrents would have ceas'd to flow I Thy brother now, in dignified repofe, From cares reliev'd, reliev'd from hofts of foes, Hero and fage, from meaner troubles free, Would know no grief, but that of lofing thee! From Vi&dry's car he'd bid the lily bloom, And plant the cyprefs round thy hallow'd tomb : While Fame fhould add her wreath, and join with Peace To foothe his grief, arid bid affliction ceafe. Thy wondrous friendmip now mould fwell his lays ; Berlin mould echo back the plaintive praife : For not to me does praife like thine belong j 'Tis his t' immortalize thy name in fong. The above, fire, was what my grief difr.at.ed> fome time after the aftonifliment of affliction with which I was overwhelmed by the death of my protectrefs, had in part ceafed. Since fuch are your majefty's commands, I fend you thefe verfes. I am old, as will be evidently feen ; but the heart, which will ever be yours and the ador- able filler's for whom you grieve, will never grow old. I could not, in thefe feeble lines, but recollect the efforts which this worthy princefs made, to reftore peace to Europe. All her letters, as you certainly know, pafled through my hands. The VOL. vn. F f minifter. 434 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. minifter*, who was himfelf of her opinion, but who was obliged to reply by a letter dictated to him, is dead of grief. Now, in my old age, and overburthened by infirmities, I fee with pain all that is paffing : but I confole myfelf in the hope that you will be as fortunate as you deferve to be. The phyfician Tronchin fays that your hemor- rhoidal colic is not dangerous ; but he fears left fo many labours mould affect the ftate of your blood.This man is certainly the greateft phyfician in Europe, and the only one acquainted with na- ture. He allured me that remedies might be ap- plied for .the effectual recovery of your auguft lifter, fix months previous to her death. I did all in my power to induce her to commit herfelf to the care of Tronchin ; but (he confided in igno- rant obftinacy ; and Tronchin announced her death to me two months before the fatal mo- ment. Never did I feel defpair more fenfibly. She has fallen the victim of the felf-fufficiency of thofe who undertook her cure. Be careful of yourfelf, lire, for you are necef- fary to mankind. * Cardinal de Tencin. The abbe de Bernis obliged him to fign a letter, which he fent him, to break off all negotiation. LET- CORRESPONDENCE. 435 LETTER CCLXII. From the King. Breflauj January 2, 1759. 1 DO not merit all the praifes you beftow on me. We have efcaped from danger by an almqft : but, confidering the multitudes whom we have to oppofe, to do more were next to impoffible. We have been vanquifhed, and like Francis I. we have faid " All is loft except " our honour." You have great reafon to regret marihal Keith, whofe lofs will be felt by the army and by pri- vate fociety. Daun takes advantage of the dark- nefs of night, during which little is left for cou- rage to perform. Yet are we on our legs, and are preparing again to advance. Perhaps the Turk, more chriflian-like than the catholic apoftolic powers, will not fuffer political banditti to give themfelves airs, and to confpire againft a prince whom they have offended, and by whom they were not molefted. Live happily, and pray to God for the unfor- tunate, the apparently damned, for they are obliged continually to be at warfare. Vale. FREDERIC Ff2 436 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. LETTER CCLXIII. From the King. Brcflau, January 23, 1759. I HAVE received the verfes you have written. It mould feem I did not explain my- felf fufficiently. I wi(h for fome more fplendid and public teftimony. All Europe mould be taught to weep, with me, for virtue too little known. My name mud not have any participa- tion in the eulogium ; the world muft be told that (he was worthy of immortality, which it is for you to beflow. It has been faid that Apel- les only was worthy to paint Alexander ; and I believe your pen alone is worthy of rendering this fervice to her who will remain the eternal fubjeft of my tears. I inclofe fome poetry, written in a camp, and which I fent to her a month before that cruel cataftrophe which has deprived us of her everlaftingly. The verfes are certainly not worthy of her, but they at lead bear the true impreflion of feeling. In a word, I mail not die fatisfied, till you (hall firft have furpafled yourfelf in the acquittal of this mournful duty, which I require you to perform. Pray for peace; but, even mould victory bring peace, CORRESPONDENCE. 437 peace, neither peace nor vidory, nor all the uni- verfe contains, could ever alleviate the cruel for- rows which confume me. Live you more happily, at Laufanne, and ren- der yourfelf worthy that I Ihould wholly forget the paft. FREDERIC LETTER CCLXIV. From the King. Breflau, March 2, 1759. lOUR letter contains an exprefs contra- diction in words and things. You affirm your ima- gination is fled, yet at the fame time your whole Epiftle abounds in fancy. You ought to have been more on your guard, in writing to me, and to have fupprefled the fine fire .with which at the age of fixty-five you are ftill animated. I much fear left it mould be with you as with the ma- jority of mankind, whofe thoughts are all fixecl on the future, and who forget the paft. The human mind, on fordid int'reft bent, On virtue dead no longer is inteat t * My poetry is not written for the public. I have neither imagination enough, nor am I F f 3* fuffi- 438 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. fufficiently acquainted with the language, to write good poetry ; and mediocrity in rhyme is dcteftable. All that can be faid is that it is fufferable among friends. I fend you verfes of various kinds, but which all tafle of the fame foil, and partake of the times in which they were written. As you are, at prefent, a rich and po- tent lord, I have no fear of making you pay dearly for the poflage of my nonfenfe. I fend you by the fame poft all the wretched ftuff by the writing of which I have at intervals amiifed myfelf. I now come to the article which feems mofl to affect you; and I give you every affurance to think no more of the paft, and to grant you fa- tisfaction. But firft let a man die in peace whom you have cruelly perfecuted *, and who, ac- cording to every appearance, has but a fhort time to live. With refpect to what I have requefted of you, I ftill have it very much at heart ; be it in profe or be it in verfe ; each is to me indifferent. Such a tribute is neceflary, to eternize virtue fo pure and fo uncommon, and which has not been generally enough known. Were I perfuaded I could write well, I would not commit the tafk to any one ; but, as you are certainly the firft * Maupertuis, man CORRESPONDENCE. 439 man of our age, I can only addrefs myfelf to you. I am again on the point of recommencing my curfed erratic life. It often happens that I re- ceive letters from Berlin dated fix months back, I therefore do not expect immediately to receive your anfwer ; but I hope you will not forget a work which, on your part, will but be an aft of gratitude. Adieu. FREDERIC. LETTER CCLXV. From the King. Breflau, March 12, 1759. IT muft be confefled that your months do not refemble the weeks of the prophet Daniel ; his weeks are ages, and your months are days. I have received the Ode, which has coft you fo little, which is very beautiful, and which cer- tainly will not do you difhonour. This is the firft moment of confolation I have for five months enjoyed. Let me entreat you to have it printed, and to difperfe it through the four quarters of the world. It (hall not be long before I will teftify my gratitude to you. Ff 4 I fend 44O POSTHUMOUS WORKS. I fend you an old Epiftle, which I wrote a year ago ; but, as you are mentioned in it, it is for you to defend yourfelf, if you think yourfelf able fo to do. The verfes themfelves are bad, but I am perfuaded that what they affirm is truth: fuch at leaft is my opinion. The older we grow the more are we perfuaded that his facred majefty Chance does three-fourths of the work of this wretched world ; and that thofe who think themfelves the wifeft are the greatefl lunatics, among the unfeathered fpecies of bipeds, of which we have the honour to be a part. I may in confcience be pardoned folecifms, and bad poetry, made in the midft of tumult, cares, and perplexities, by which I am inceflantly furrounded. You wifli to be informed of what Neaulme is printing ; and this information you require from me, who know not whether Neaulme be ftill in exiftence, who have not for almoft thefe three years fet foot in Berlin, and whofe oply intelli- gence comes from Fermor, Daun, Soubife, Lau- trichauflen, and a clafs of men concerning whom you trouble yourfelf very little; and concerning whom, likevvife, I mould be very glad not to trouble myfelf at all. Adieu. Live happily, and preferve peace in your CORRESPONDENCE. 44! your Swifs Signiory ; for the wars of the pen and of the fword are but feldom fuccefsful. I know not what will be my deftiny this year ; but, in cafe of misfortune, I recommend myfelf to your prayers, and requeft a mafs from you, to relieve my foul from purgatory ; mould there any purgatory be found, in the other world, worfe than the life I lead in this. FREDERIC, LETTER CCLXVI. From the King. Breflau, March 21, 1759. V OU have not been entirely miftaken; I am on the point of marching j and though not to lay fiege, I am on the marph to refift my per- fecutors. I have been delighted with the corrections and additions which you have made, in *<:nd to your Ode. Nothing gives me more pleafure than whatever relates to this fubjec]:. The new ftanzas are very beautiful, and I ardently wifli that the whole were already printed. You may add a letter to it, if fuch be your good pleafure j and, though I am exceedingly indifferent con- cerning what may be faid of me in France, a^d elfewhere, 44^ POSTHUMOUS WORKS. clfevvhere, no one will vex me by attributing my ; Hiftory of Brandenburg to you. This is to fup- pofe it exceedingly well written, and rather to praife me than to blame. Amid the tumultuous troubles in which I am about to engage, I mall not have time to en- quire what libels may be written againft me in Europe, or whether I (hall be calumniated ; but I fhall always be convinced, and fhall remain a proof of the fact, that my enemies have made great efforts to overwhelm me. 1 know not whether the objecl: be worth the trouble. I with you that tranquillity and peace which I fhall never enjoy, while thus unremittingly per- fecuted by Europe. Adieu. FREDERIC. P. S. You have fpoken fo much to me of the phyfician, Tronchin, that I beg you would con- fult him, relative to the health of my brother Ferdinand, which is in a very bad ftate. In the conrfe of laftyearhe had two inflammatory fevers, which had left him in a ftate of great weaknefs. To this are added the fymptoms of night fweats, with a cough and a difcharge from the lungs. The phyficians here believe an abfcefs is formed in the lungs ; and, having feen myfelf fo many fimilar cafes, which always have proved fatal to the CORRESPONDENCE. 443 the patient, my fears for his life are very great. Not that I think death very near ; but I dread a decline, which with the fall of the leaf will bring him to the grave. I think it my duty to neglect nothing, and to try what aid art can afford; though I have but little confidence in phyficians. I requeft you would confult Tronchin, to know what are his thoughts, and whether he imagines my brother may be faved. I ought to add, for the information of the phyfician, that his urine is very red and highly coloured ; that the expectorated pus has a bad fmell ; that his \veaknefs is great, his dejection confiderable, and that he has every fymptom of a flow fever, which however does not make its appearance by day, during which the pulfe is feeble. May he entertain better hopes of the cafe than I do ! LETTER CCLXVII. From M. de Voltaire. SIRE, AvxDdtctS) March $7, 1759. I RECEIVED the letter with which your majefty honoured me, written on the fecond of March in the hand of your fecretary, my Swifs countryman, and figned Frederic. From. this 444 POSTHUMOUS WORKS. this it appears your majefty had not then re- ceived the fmall monument which you required me, with feeble hands, to raife to your adorable fifter. I therefore here fend another copy, which I commit to chance, recommending it to God, to the huffars, and to thofe curious perfons who open letters. Your packet, which I have re- ceived with your letter, contained your Ode to prince Henry, your Epiftle to the lord inarfhal, and your Ode to prince Ferdinand. There is one paflage in that Ode of which you alone could be the author. It is not fufficient to be in poflfefiion of genius to write thus, but it is further neceffary to be at the head of a hundred apd fifty thoufand men. Your majefty tells me, in your letter, that it appears I am only defirous of the baubles which you do me the honour to mention to me. True it is, after an attachment of more than twenty years, you ought to have forborne to have taken from me things which have no other value, in my eftimation, than that which they acquired from the hand by which they were beftowed. I could not even wear fuch marks of my ancient devotednefs to you, during the war : my lands are in France, though they are fituated on the frontiers of Swifferland ; they are entirely fre$ ; neither do I pay any thing to France ; flill they arc CORRESPONDENCE. 445 are in the French dominions. I have rents in France to the amount of fixty thoufand livres (two thoufand five hundred pounds fterling) and my fovereign has, by brevet, continued me in the place of gentleman in ordinary of his cham- ber. I wifh your majefty to be firmly perfuaded that the proofs of bounty, and juftice, which you wifh to afford me, will no otherwife affect me than becaufe I have always regarded you as a great man : me you have never known. I do not in any manner requeft the trifles which you fuppofe I fo much defire to pofTefs. I will have none of them : I wilh only for your good opinion. When I told you it was my de- / fire to live and die with you, I told you nothing ! but the truth. Your majefty treats me like the reft of the world. You laugh at me when you fay the pre- fident is dying. He has juft had a law-fuit with a girl, who wimed to be paid for a child which he manufactured for her. Would to the Lord I might have a fimilar fuit ! But I am far from incurring any fuch rilk. I have been very ilJ, and am very old : that I am very rich, very in- dependent, and very happy, I confefs ; but you are wanting to my happinefs, and I (hall foon die without having feen you. For this you trou- ble yourfelf but little, and I endeavour to follow your 446 POSfHUM~OtfS WORKS. your example. I love your verfe, your profe, your wit, and your bold and firm philofophy. I have neither been able to live without you nor with you. I do not addrcfs myfelf to the hero and the king; it is for monarchs fo to addrefs you ; but I converfe with a man who enraptured me, whom I have loved, and with whom I con- tinue to be angry. LETTER CCLXVI1L From M. de Voltaire. March 30, 1759* THOUGH the whole world be in arms and in alarms, I have notwithftanding received all your majefty's packets. The Epiftle to her Beatitude, the abbefs of Quedlimburg, on his moil facred majefty Chance, contains a great fund of truth ; and, were it but polifhed, I mould regard it as the mod philofophic and bed of your writings. From the date of thefe verfes, it mould appear that your majefty amufed your- felf in compofing them fome days previous to your adventure of Rofbach. You certainly were the only man in Germany who at that time wrote verfes. Chance was not on our fide. I cannot CORRESPONDENCE. 447 but think that the man who boots himfelf at four in the morning has a great advantage, in play, over one. who gets into his coach at noon. I paffionately with the game were ended, and that your days might be as peaceable as they are fplen- did. Your majefty has deigned to be not dif- fatisfied with the tribute of praife, and regret, which I have paid to the memory of the moft refpectable princefs the world ever faw. True it is, my heart dictated the eulogium with tole- rable fpeed ; it has been corrected by reflection more flow. Forgive me for having added the following ftanza, which I fubmit to your judg- ment. It feems to me that I have not fuffi- ciently fpoken of the courage with which that worthy princefs ended her life. Uluftru meurtrifrs, vifiimes merccnaires, v S>ul t rtdoutar.t la bontc et furmontant la peur, Animu Pun par Fautre aux combats fanguinaires, Fuiriezji "sous Tofiez t et mourn far boimeur ; Utufcmme t une princeffe 9 Qui dldatgna la mofleffe, Qui du fort f out tnt let coups j JLt qui