] THIRD ACT OF THE
VOLTAIRE
VISIT.
Thomas Carlyle
But at no
time can the painful critic call it cynicism as of other than an
observer; always a kind of vinegar cleanness in it, except in
theory. Cynicism of an impartialobserver in a dirty element;
observer epically sensible (when provoked to it) of the brutal
contemptibilities which lie in Human Life, alongside of its
big struttings and pretensions. In Friedrich's utterances
there is that kind of cynicism undeniable; -- and yet he had
a modesty almost female in regard to his own person; "no
servant having ever seen him in an exposed state. *'*** Which
had considerably strengthened rumour No. 2. O ye poor im-
pious Long-eared, -- Long-eared I will call you, instead of
Two-horned and with only One hoof cloven! Among the
tragical platitudes of Human Nature, nothing so fills a con-
sidering brother mortal with sorrow and despair, as this
innate tendency of the common crowd in regard to its Great
Men, whensoever, or almost whensoever, the Heavens do,
at long intervals, vouchsafe us, as their all-including blessing,
anything of such! Practical "Blasphemy," -- is it not, if you
reflect? Strangely possible that sin, even now. And ought
to be religiously abhorred by every soul that has the least
piety or nobleness. Act not the mutinous flunkey, my friend;
though there be great wages going in that line.
4". That in these circumstances, and taking into view
the otherwise known qualities of this high Fellow-Creature,
* See Zimmermann's Fragmente, and Nicolai patiently pounding it to
powder (whoever is curious on this disgusting subject).
** For example {"Correspondence with Fredersdorf"), (Euvres, xxvn.
in. 145. *** Preuss, i. 876.
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? CHAP. X. ] DEMON NEWSWRITEK, OP 1752. 109
June 1752.
the present Editor does not, for his own share, value the
rumour at a pin's fee. And leaves it, and recommends his
readers to leave it, hanging by its own head, in the sad sub-
terranean regions, -- till (probably not for a long while yet)
it drop to a far Deeper and dolefuller Region, out of our way
altogether.
"Lamentable, yes," comments Diogenes; "and especially
"so, that the idle public has a hankering for such things!
"But are there no obscene details at all, then? grumbles the
"disappointed idle public to itself, something of reproach in
"its tone. A public idle-minded; much depraved in every
"way. Thus, too, you will observe of dogs: two dogs, at
"meeting, run, first of all, to the shameful parts of the con-
stitution; institute a strict examination, more or less satis-
"factory, in that department. That once settled, their in-
"terest in ulterior matters seems pretty much to die away,
"and they are ready to part again, as from a problem done. "
-- Enough, oh, enough!
Practically we are getting no good of our Demon;
-- and will dismiss him, after a taste or two more.
This Demon Newswriter has, evidently, never been to
Potsdam; which he figures as the abode of horrid cruelty, a
kind of Tartarus on Earth; -- where there is a dreadful
scarcity of women, for one item; lamentable to one's moral
feelings. Scarcity nothing like so great, even among the
soldier-classes, as the Demon Newswriter imagines to him-
self; nor productive of the results lamented. Prussian sol-
diers are not encouraged to marry, if it will hurt the service;
nor do their wives march with the Regiment except in such
proportions as there may be sewing, washing, and the like
women's work fairly wanted in their respective Companies:
the Potsdam First Battalion, I understand, is hardly per-
mitted to marry at all. And in regard to lamentable results,
that of "Liebsten-Scheine, Sweetheart-7Ycfcete," -- or actual
military legalising of Temporary Marriages, with regular
privileges attached, and fixed rules to be observed, -- might
perhaps be the notablest point, and the smi-lamentablest, to
a man or demon in the habit of lamenting. * For the rest, a
* Preuse, i. 426.
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? 110 THE TEN YEAKS OF PEACE. [book XVI.
June 1752.
considerably dreadful place this Potsdam, to the flaccid,
esurient and disorderly of mankind; -- "and strict as Fate"
(Demon correct for once) "in inexorably punishing military
sins.
"This King," he says, "has a great deal of esprit; much
"less of real Knowledge (connaissances) than is pretended.
"He excels only in the military part; really excellent there.
"Has a facile expeditious pen and head; understands what
"you say to him, at the first word. Not taking nor wishing
"advice; never suffering replies or remonstrances, not even
"from his Mother. Pretty well acquainted with Works of
"Esprit, whether in Prose or in Verse: burning" (very hot
indeed) "to distinguish himself by performance of that kind;
"but unable to reach the Beautiful, unless held up by some-
"body (e'laye). It is said that, in a splenetic moment, his
"Skeleton of an Apollo" (squeletted'Apollon, M. de Voltaire,
who is lean exceedingly) "exclaimed once, some time ago,
"'When is it, then, that he will have done sending me nis
"'dirty linen to wash? '
"The King is of a sharp mocking tongue withal; pricking
"into whoever displeases him; often careless of policy in
"that. Understands nothing of Finance, or still less of
"Trade; always looking direct towards more money, which
"he loves much; incapable of sowing" (as some of us do! )
"for a distant harvest. Treats almost all the world as slaves.
"All his subjects are held in hard shackles. Rigorous for
"the least shortcoming, where his interest is hurt: --never
"pardons any fault which tends to inexactitude in theMili-
"tary Service. Spandau very full," -- though 1 did not
myself count. "Keeps in his pay nobody but those useful
"to him, and capable of doing employments well" (true,
always); "and the instant he has no more need of them, dis-
"missing them with nothing" (false, generally). "The Sub-
sidies imposed on his subjects are heavy; in constant pro-
"portion to their Feudal Properties, and their Leases of
"Domains (Contrats et Baux); and, what is dreadful, are
"exacted with the same rigour if your Property gets into
"debt," -- no remission by the iron grip of this King in the
name of the State! Sell, if you can find a Purchaser; or get
confiscated altogether; that is your only remedy. Surely a
tyrant of a King.
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? CHAP. X. ] DEMON NEWSWRITER, Or 1752. Ill
June 1752.
"People who get nearest him will tell you that his Polite-
"ness is not natural, but a remnant of old habit, when he
"had need of everybody, against the persecutions of his
"Father. He respects his Mother; the only Female for
"whom he has a sort of attention. He esteems his Wife, and
"cannot endure her; has been married nineteen years, and
"has not yet addressed one word to her" (howtrue! ). "It was
"but a few days ago she handed him a Letter, petitioning
"some things of which she had the most pressing want. He
"took the Letter, with that smiling, polite and gracious air
"which he assumes at pleasure; and without breaking the
"seal, tore the Letter up before her face, made her a pro-
found bow, and turned his back on her. " Was there ever
such a Pluto varnished into Literary Rosepink? Very proper
Majesty for the Tartarus that here is.
* * "The Queen-Mother," continues our Small Devil,
"is a good fat woman, who lives and moves in her own way
"(rondement). She has 16,000J. a year for keeping up her
"House. It is said she hoards. Four days in the week she
"has Apartment" (Royal Soiree); "to which you cannot go
"without express invitation. There is supper-table of
"twenty-four covers; only eight dishes, served in a shabby
"manner (indecemment) by six little scoundrels of Pages.
"Men and women of the Country" (shivering Natives,
cheering their dull abode) "go and eat there. Steward Royal
"sends the invitations. At eleven, everybody has withdrawn.
"Other days, this Queen eats by herself. Stewardess Royal
"and three Maids of Honour have their separate table; two
"dishes the whole. She is shabbily lodged (in my opinion),
"when at the Palace. Her Monbijou, which is close to
"Berlin" (now well within it), "would be pretty enough, for
"a private person.
"The Queen Regnant is the best woman in the world. All
"the year" (not quite) "she dines alone. Has Apartment on
"Thursdays; everybody gone at nine o'clock. Her morsels
"are cut for her, her steps are counted, and her words are
"dictated; she is miserable, and does what she can to hide
"it"-- according to our Small Devil. "She has scarcely
"the necessaries of life allowed her," -- spends regularly
two-thirds of her income in charitable objects; translates
French-Calvinist Devotional Works, for benefit of the
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? 112 THE TEN YEARS OP PEACE. [bookxVT.
June 1752.
German mind; and complains to no Small Devil, of never
so sympathising nature. "At Court she is lodged on the
"second floor" (scandalous). "Schonhausen her Country
"House, with the exception of the Garden which is pretty
"enough, -- our Shopkeepers of the Rue St. Honore* would
"sniff at such a lodging.
"Princess Amelia is rather amiable" (thank you for
nothing, Small Devil); "often out of temper because -- this
"is so shocking a place for Ladies, especially for maiden
"Ladies. Lives with her Mother; special income very small;
"--Coadjutress of Quedlinburg; will be actual Abbess," in
a year or two. *
"Eldest Prince, Heir Apparent," -- do not speak of him,
Small Devil, for you are misinformed in every feature and
particular: -- enough, "he is facsimile of his Brother. He
"has only 18,0001, a-year, for self, Wife, Household, and
"Children" (two, bothBovs); "--and is said" (falsely) "to
"hoard, and to follow Trade, extensive Trade with his
'' Brother's Woods.
"Prince Henri, who is just going to be married," --
thank you, Demon, for reminding us of that. Bride is
Wilhelmina, Princess of Hessen-Cassel. Marriage, 25th June
1752; -- did not prove, in the end, very happy. A small
contemporary event; which would concern Voltaire and
others that concern us. Three months ago, April 14th, 1752,
the BerlinPowder-Magazine flew aloft with horrible crash;*
-- and would be audible to Voltaire, in this his Second Act.
Events, audible or not, never cease.
"Prince Henri," in Demon's opinion, "is the amiablest
"of the House. He is polite, generous, and loves good com-
"pany. Has 12,000/. a-year left him by Papa. " Not enough,
as it proved. "If, on this Marriage, his Brother, who
"detests him" (witness Reinsberg and other evidences, now
and onward), "gives him nothing, he won't be well off. They
"are furnishing a House for him, where he will lodge after
"wedding. Is reported to be -- Potzdamiste" (says the scan-
dalous Small Devil, whom we are weary of contradicting), --
Potsdamite, in certain respects. "Poor Princess, what a
"destiny for you!
* llth April 1756: Preuss, xxvn. p. xxxrv. (of Preface).
** In Helden-Geschichte (m. 531) the details.
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? CHAP, x. ] DEMON NEWSWRITER, OP 1752. 113
Jane 1752.
"Prince Ferdinand, little scraping of a creature (petit
"chafouin), crapulous to excess, niggardly in the extreme,
"whom everybody avoids," -- much more whose Portrait, by
a Magic-lantern of this kind: which let us hastily shut, and
fling into the cellar! -- "Little Ferdinand, besides his
"15,000/. a-year, Papa's bequest, gets considerable sums
"given him. Has lodging in the Kings-House; goes shifting
"and visiting about, wherever he can live gratis; and strives
"all he can to amass money. Has to be in boots and uniform,
"every three days. Three months of the year practically
"with his regiment: but the shifts he has for avoiding ex-
"pense are astonishing. " * *
What an illuminative "Idea" are the Walpole-Sel-
wyn Circles picking up for their money! ? --
Carlyle, Frederick the Great. IX.
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? 114 THE TEN YEARS OF PEACE. [book XVI.
March 1751--March 1753.
CHAPTER XL
THIKD ACT AND CATASTROPHE OF THE VOLTAIRE VISIT.
Meantime there has a fine Controversy risen, of
mathematical, philosophical, and at length of very mis-
cellaneous nature, concerning that Konig-Maupertuis
dissentience on the Law of Thrift. Wonderful Contro-
versy, much occupying the so-called Philosophic or
Scientific world; especially the idler population that
inhabit there. Upon this item of the Infinitely Little,
-- which has in our time sunk into Nothing-at-all, and,
but for Voltaire and the accident of his living near it,
would be forgotten altogether, -- we must not enter
into details; but a few words to render Voltaire's share
in it intelligible will be, in the highest degree, neces-
sary. Here, in brief form, rough and ready, are the
successive stages of the Business; the origin and first
stage of which have been known to us for some time
past:
"September 1750, Konig, his well-meant visit to Berlin
"proving so futile, had leftMaupertuis in the humour we saw;
"--pirouetting round his Apartment, in tempests of rage at
"such contradiction of sinners on his sublime Law of Thrift;
"and fulminating permission to Konig: 'No time to read
"'your Paper ot Contradictions; publish it in Leipzig, in
"'Jericho; any where in the Earth, in Heaven, in the Other
'"Place, where you have the opportunity! ' Konig, return-
"ing on these terms, had nothing for it but to publish his
"Paper; and did publish it, in the Leipzig ActaEruditorum
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? CHAP. XI.
] THIRD ACT OF THE VOLTAIRE VISIT. 115
March 1751--March 1753.
"for March 1751. There it stands, legible to this day: and
"if any of the human species should again think of reading it,
"I believe it will be found a reasonable, solid and decisive
"Paper; of stedfast, openly articulate, by no means insolent,
"tone; considerably modifying Maupertuis's Law of Thrift,
"or Minimum of Action; -- fatal to the claim of its being a
"' Sublime Discovery,' or indeed, so far as true, any discovery
"at all. * By way of finis to the Paper, there is given;, what
"proves extremely important to us, an Excerpt from an old
"Letter of Leibnitz's; which perhaps it will be better to present
"here incorpore, as so much turned on it afterwards. Konig
"thus winds up:
"I add only a word, in finishing; and that is, that it ap-
"pears Mr. Leibnitz had a theory of Action, perhaps much
"more extensive than one would suspect at present. There
"is a Letter written by him to Mr. Hermann" (an ancient
mathematical sage at Basel), "where he uses these expres-
sions: 'Action is not what you think; the consideration of
"'Time enters into it; Action is as the product of the mass by the
"'space and the velocity, or as the time by the vis viva. Ihave re-
"' marked that in the modifications of motion, the action becomes
"'usually a maximum or a minimum: -- and from this there might
"'several propositions of great consequence be deduced. It might
"'serve to determine the curves described by bodies under attrac-
"'tion to one or more centres. I had meant to treat of these things
"'in the Second Part of my Dynamique; which I suppressed,
"'the reception of the First, by prejudice in many quarters, having
"'disgusted me. '"** Your Minimum of Action, it would ap? In Acta Eruditorum (Lipsite, 1751): "De universali Principio JEqni-
"Ubrii el Motus. " By no means uncivil to Maupertuis; though obliged to
controvert him. For example: "Qum itaque de Minima Actionis in modifi-
"cationibus moditm obtincnte in genere proferuntur vchementer laudo;"
"continent" nempe '* fcecundum longeque pulcherrimum Dynamices sub-
"limioris principium, cujus vim in difficillimis qwestionibtts swpe expertus
** Maupertuisiana, No. n. 22 (from Acta Eruditorum, ubi supra). In,
Maupertuisiana, No. iv. 166, is the whole Letter, "Hanover, 16th October
1707;" no address left, judged to be to Hermann. Maupertuisiana (Ham-
burg, 1753) is a mere Bookseller's or even Bookbinder's Farrago, with
printed Titlepage and List, of the chief Pamphlets which had appeared on
this Business (sixteen by count, various type, all 8vo size, in my copy). Of
8*
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? 116 THE TEN YEARS OF PEACE. (book XVI.
March 1751--March 1753.
pear, then, is in some cases a Maximum; nothing can be said
but that, in every case, it is either a Maximum or Minimum.
What a stroke for our Law of Thrift, the "at last conclusive
"Proof" of an Intelligent Creator, as the Perpetual President
had fancied it! "So-ho, what is this! My Discovery an
Error? And Leibnitz discovered it, so far as true? " --
"May 28th -- 8th October 1751. Maupertuis, compressing
"himself what he can, writes to Konig: 'Very good, Mon-
"' sieur. But please inform me where is that Letter of Leib-
"'nitz's; I havejnever seen or heard of it before, -- and I
"' want to make use of it myself. ' To which Konig answers:
"'Henzi gave it me, in Copy,' -- (unfortunate Conspirator
"Henzi, who lost his head three years ago, by sentence of
"the Oligarch Government at Berne): * -- 'he, poor fellow
"'had no end of Papers and Excerpts; had, as we know,
"' above a hundred volumes of the latter kind; this, and some
'V other Letters of Leibnitz's, among them, -- I send you the
"'whole Letter, copied faithfully from his Copy. '** To that
"effect, still in perfect good-humour, was Konig's reply to
"his Maupertuis.
"'Hm, Copy? By Henzi? ' grumbles Maupertuis to him-
"self: -- 'Search in Berne, then; it must be there, if any-
'"where! ' To Konig Maupertuis answers nothing: but
"sulkily resolves on having Search made; -- and, to give
"solemnity to the matter, requests his Excellency Marquis
"dePaulmy, the French Ambassador at Berne, to ask the
"Government there, -- Government having seized all Henzi's
"Papers, on beheading him. ExcellencyPaulmy does, ac-
which only No. n. (Konig's Appel ou Public) and No. iv. (2d edition of said
Appel, with Appendix of Correspondence) are illuminative to read.
* Government by "The Two Hundred;" of Select-Vestry nature, very
stiff, arbitrary, and become rife in abuses; against whom had risen angry
mutterings more than once, and in 1749, a Select Plot (not select enough, for they discovered it in time). Poor Ex-Captain Henzi, "Clerk of the
Salt-Office," most frugal, studious, and quiet of men; a very miracle, it
would appear, of genius, solid learning, philosophy, and piety, -- not the
chief or first of the conspirators, but by far the most distinguished, -- was
laid hold of, July 2d, 1749, and beheaded, with another of them, a day or
two after. Much bewailed in a private way, even by the better kinds of
people. (Copious account of him in Adelung, vn. 86-91).
** "The Hague, 26th June," in Maupertuisiana, No. iv. 130.
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? CHAP. XI. ]' THIRD ACT OP THE VOLTAIRE VISIT. 117
March 1751--March 1753.
"cordingly', make inquiry in the highest quarter; some in-
quiries up and down. Not the least account of this, or of
"any Leibnitz Letter, to be had from among Henzi's Papers,
"--the 'hundred volumes,' seemingly, exist no longer; --
"Original of this Leibnitz Piece is nowhere. For eight
"months the highest Authorities have been looking about
"(with one knows not what vivacity or skill in searching),
"and have found nothing whatever. " Stage second of the
Business finishes in this manner.
How lucky for the Perpetual President, had he
stopped here! ToKonig and the common contradiction
of sinners, he could have opposed, as it was apparently
his purpose to do, an Olympian silence, "Pshaw! "
Whereby the small matter, interesting to few, would
have dropped gently into dubiety, into oblivion, and
been got well rid of. But this of the great Leibnitz,
touching on one's Law of Thrift; and not only "dis-
covering" it, half a century beforehand, but discovering
that it was not true: to Leibnitz, one must speak; --
and the abstruse question is, What is one to say? "Find
me the original; let us be certain, first:" that you can
say: that is one clear point; and pretty much the only
one. The rest, at this time, as I conjecture, may have
been not a little abstruse to the Perpetual President!
And now, had the Perpetual President but stopped
here, there might still have rested a saving shadow of
suspicion on Konig's Excerpt, That it was not exact,
that it might be wrong in some vital point: -- "You
never showed me the Original, Monsieur! " Unluckily,
the Perpetual President did not stop. One cannot well
fancy him believing, now or ever, that Konig had
forged the Excerpt. Most likely he had the fatal per-
suasion that these were Leibnitz's words; and the
question, What was to be said or done, if the Original
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? 118 THE TEN TEARS OP PEACE. [book XVI.
March 1751 --March 1753.
should turn up? might justly be alarming to a Son of
the Pure Sciences. But at this point a new door of
escape disclosed itself: "Where is the Original, I say! "
-- and he rushed, full speed, into that; galloping trium-
phantly, feeling all safe.
"October 7 th (1751), Maupertuis summons his Academy:
"'Messieurs, permit me to submit a case perhaps requiring
"'your attention. One of our number dissents from your
"'President'sDiscovery of the Law of Thrift; which surely
"'he is free to do: but furthermore he gives an Excerpt pur-
"' porting to be from Leibnitz; whereby it would appear that
"'your President'sDiscovery, sanctioned in your Acts as new,
'"is not new, but Leibnitz's (so far as it is good for anything),
"'--possibly stolen, therefore; and, at any rate, fifty-four
"'years old. In self-defence, I have demanded to see the
"'Original of said Excerpt; and the Hon. Member in ques-
"'tion does not produce it. What say you? ' 'Shame to him! '
"say they all" -- (there seem to be but few Scientific Mem-
bers, and most of them, it is insinuated, have Pensions from
the King through their Perpetual President); -- "and de-
"termine to make a Star-chamber matter of it!
"Accordingly, next day, October 8th, SecretaryFormey
"writes officially toKonig, 'Produce that Letter within one
"'month,' -- and has got his Majesty to order, That our Prus-
"sian Minister at the Hague shall take charge of delivering
"such message, and shall mark on what day. Thing serious,
"you see! ---Prussian Minister at the Hague delivers, and
"dockets accordingly. To Konig's astonishment; who is in
"a scene of deep trouble at this time; Royal Highness the
"Stadtholder suddenly dead, or dying: 'died, October 22d;
"'leaving a very young Heir, and a very sorrowful Widow
"'and Country. ' Much to think of, that lies apart from the
"Maupertuis matter! Which latter, however, is so very
"serious too, his Prussian Majesty's Minister at Berne is now
"charged to make new perquisition for the Leibnitz Original
"there: In short, within one month that Document is pe-
remptorily wanted at Berlin. "
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? CHAP. SI. ] THIRD ACT OP THE VOLTAIRE VISIT. 119
March 1751--March 1753.
High proceedings, these;-- and calculated to have
one result, if no other. Namely, that, at this point,
as readers can fancy, the idler Public, seeing a street-
quarrel in progress, began to take interest in the
Question of Minimum; and quasi-scientific gentlemen to
gather round, and express, with cheery capable look,
their opinions, -- still legible in the vanished Jugemens
Libres (of Hamburg), Gazette des Savans (Leipzig), and
other poor Shadows of Journals, if you daringly evoke
them from the other side of Styx. Which, the whole
matter being now so indisputably extinct, shadowy,
Stygian, we will not here be guilty of doing; but
hasten to the catastrophes, that have still a memo-
rability.
"Konig, having in fact nothing more to say about the
"Leibnitz Excerpt, was in no breathless haste to obey his
"summons; he sat almost two months before answering any-
"thing. Did then write, however, in a friendly strain to
"Maupertuis (December 10th, 1751). * Almost on which
"sameday, as it chanced, the Academie, after two months'
"dignified waiting, had in brief terms repeated its order on
"Konig. ** To which Konig makes no special answer (having
"as good as answered the day before); -- but does silently
"send off to Switzerland to make inquiries; and does write
"once or twice more, when there is occasion for explaining;--
"always in a clear, sonorous, manfully firm and respectful
"tone: 'That he himself had, or has, no kind of reason to
"'doubt the authenticity of the Leibnitz Letter; that to him-
"'Belf (and, so far as he can judge, to Maupertuis) the ques-
'"tion of its authenticity is without special interest; -- he,
'"Konig, having thrown it in as a mere marginal illustration,
"'which decides nothing, either for or against the Law of
"' Thrift. That he has, in obedience to the Academy, caused
"'search to be made in Switzerland, especially at Basel,
'"where he judged the chance might lie; but that of this
* Mauperluisiana, No. iv. 132. ** December 11th, 1751 (lb. 137).
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? 120 THE TEN YEAKS OF PEACE. [book XVI.
13th April -- 18th June 1752.
"'particular Letter nothing has come to light; that he has
"'two other Leibnitz Letters, of indifferent tenor, in the late
"'Henzi'shand, if these will serve in aught,* -- but what
"'farther can he do? ' In short, Konig speaks always in a
"clear business-like manful tone; the one person that makes
"a really respectful and respectable figure in this Con-
"troversy of the Infinitely Little. A man whom, viewed
"fromthis quiet distance, it seems almost inconceivably ab-
"surd to have suspected of forging for so small an object.
"Oh, my President, that dira regnandi cupido! --
"Question is, however, What the Academy will do? One
"Member, 'the best Geometer among them'" (whose name is
not given, but which the Berlin Academy should write in big
letters across this sad Page of their Annals, by way of erasure
to the same), "dissented from the high line of procedure;
"asserting Konig's innocence in this matter; nay, hinting
"agreement with Konig's opinion. But was met by such a "storm, that he withdrew from the deliberations; which
"henceforth went their own bad course, unanimous though
"slow. And so the matter pendulates, all through Winter
"1751-2, and was much the theme of idle men. "
Voltaire heard of it vaguely all along; but not with
distinctness till the end of July following. As Spring
advanced, Maupertuis had fallen ill of lungs, --
threatened with spitting of blood ("owing to excess of
brandy," hints the malicious Voltaire, "which is fashion-
able at St. Malo," birthplace of Maupertuis), -- and
could not farther direct the Academy in this affair.
The Academy needs no direction farther. Here, very
soon, for a sick President's consolation, is what the
Academy decides on, by way of catastrophe:
Thursday Evening, 13th April 1752, The Academy met;
Curator, Monsieur de Keith, presiding; about a score of
acting Members present. To whom Curator de Keith, as the
first thing, reads a magnanimous brief Letter from our Perpe-
* Maupertuisiana, No. iv. 155; and ib. 172-192, the Letters themselves.
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? CHAP. XI. ]? THIRD ACT OF THE VOLTAIRE VISIT. 121
13th April --18th June 1752.
tual President: "That, for two reasons, he cannot attend on
"this important occasion: First, because he is too ill, which
"would itself be conclusive; but, secondly, and a fortiori,
"because he is in some sense a party to the cause, and ought
"not if he could. " Whereupon, Secretary Formey having
done his Documentary flourishings, Curator Euler, -- (great
in Algebra, apparently not very great in common sense and
the rules of good temper), -- reads considerable "Report;" *
reciting, not in a dishonest, but in a dim, wearisome way,
the various steps of the Affair, as readers already know them;
and concludes with this extraordinary practicalresult: "Things
"being so (les choses etant telles); the Fragment being of lt- "self suspect" (what could Leibnitz know of Maxima and
Minima? They were not developed till one Euler did it,
quite in late years! ),** "of itself suspect; and Monsieur
"Konig having failed to" &c. &c. ,-- "it is assuredly manifest
"that his cause is one of the worst (desplusmauvaises), and
"that this Fragment has been forged. " Singular to think!
"And the Academy, all things duly considered, will not
"hesitate to declare it false (suppose), and thereby deprive it
"publicly of all authority which may have been ascribed to
"it" (Hear, Hear, from all parts).
Curator de Keith then collects the votes, -- twenty-three
in all; some sixteen are of working Members; two are from
accidental Strangers ("travelling students," say the enemy);
the rest from Curators of Quality: -- Vote is unanimous,
"Adopt the Report. Fragment evidently forged, and cannot
"have the least shadow of authority (aucune ombre tfauthorite).
"Forged by whom, we do not now ask; nor what the Academy
"could, on plain grounds, now do to Monsieur Konig" (not
nail his ears to the pump, oh no! ); "enough, it is forged, and
"so remains. " Signed, . "Curator de Keith," and Six other
Office-bearers; "Formey, Perpetual Secretary," closing
the list.
At the name Keith, a slight shadow (very slight, for how
could Keith help himself? ) crosses the mind: "Is this, by ill
"luck, the FeldmarschallKeith? " No, reader; thisis Lieutenant-Colonel Keith; he of Wesel, with "Effigy nailed to the
"Gallows" long since; whom none of us cares for. Sulzer,
* Is No, i. of Muvperlnisiana. ** lb. No/i. 22.
?
time can the painful critic call it cynicism as of other than an
observer; always a kind of vinegar cleanness in it, except in
theory. Cynicism of an impartialobserver in a dirty element;
observer epically sensible (when provoked to it) of the brutal
contemptibilities which lie in Human Life, alongside of its
big struttings and pretensions. In Friedrich's utterances
there is that kind of cynicism undeniable; -- and yet he had
a modesty almost female in regard to his own person; "no
servant having ever seen him in an exposed state. *'*** Which
had considerably strengthened rumour No. 2. O ye poor im-
pious Long-eared, -- Long-eared I will call you, instead of
Two-horned and with only One hoof cloven! Among the
tragical platitudes of Human Nature, nothing so fills a con-
sidering brother mortal with sorrow and despair, as this
innate tendency of the common crowd in regard to its Great
Men, whensoever, or almost whensoever, the Heavens do,
at long intervals, vouchsafe us, as their all-including blessing,
anything of such! Practical "Blasphemy," -- is it not, if you
reflect? Strangely possible that sin, even now. And ought
to be religiously abhorred by every soul that has the least
piety or nobleness. Act not the mutinous flunkey, my friend;
though there be great wages going in that line.
4". That in these circumstances, and taking into view
the otherwise known qualities of this high Fellow-Creature,
* See Zimmermann's Fragmente, and Nicolai patiently pounding it to
powder (whoever is curious on this disgusting subject).
** For example {"Correspondence with Fredersdorf"), (Euvres, xxvn.
in. 145. *** Preuss, i. 876.
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? CHAP. X. ] DEMON NEWSWRITEK, OP 1752. 109
June 1752.
the present Editor does not, for his own share, value the
rumour at a pin's fee. And leaves it, and recommends his
readers to leave it, hanging by its own head, in the sad sub-
terranean regions, -- till (probably not for a long while yet)
it drop to a far Deeper and dolefuller Region, out of our way
altogether.
"Lamentable, yes," comments Diogenes; "and especially
"so, that the idle public has a hankering for such things!
"But are there no obscene details at all, then? grumbles the
"disappointed idle public to itself, something of reproach in
"its tone. A public idle-minded; much depraved in every
"way. Thus, too, you will observe of dogs: two dogs, at
"meeting, run, first of all, to the shameful parts of the con-
stitution; institute a strict examination, more or less satis-
"factory, in that department. That once settled, their in-
"terest in ulterior matters seems pretty much to die away,
"and they are ready to part again, as from a problem done. "
-- Enough, oh, enough!
Practically we are getting no good of our Demon;
-- and will dismiss him, after a taste or two more.
This Demon Newswriter has, evidently, never been to
Potsdam; which he figures as the abode of horrid cruelty, a
kind of Tartarus on Earth; -- where there is a dreadful
scarcity of women, for one item; lamentable to one's moral
feelings. Scarcity nothing like so great, even among the
soldier-classes, as the Demon Newswriter imagines to him-
self; nor productive of the results lamented. Prussian sol-
diers are not encouraged to marry, if it will hurt the service;
nor do their wives march with the Regiment except in such
proportions as there may be sewing, washing, and the like
women's work fairly wanted in their respective Companies:
the Potsdam First Battalion, I understand, is hardly per-
mitted to marry at all. And in regard to lamentable results,
that of "Liebsten-Scheine, Sweetheart-7Ycfcete," -- or actual
military legalising of Temporary Marriages, with regular
privileges attached, and fixed rules to be observed, -- might
perhaps be the notablest point, and the smi-lamentablest, to
a man or demon in the habit of lamenting. * For the rest, a
* Preuse, i. 426.
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? 110 THE TEN YEAKS OF PEACE. [book XVI.
June 1752.
considerably dreadful place this Potsdam, to the flaccid,
esurient and disorderly of mankind; -- "and strict as Fate"
(Demon correct for once) "in inexorably punishing military
sins.
"This King," he says, "has a great deal of esprit; much
"less of real Knowledge (connaissances) than is pretended.
"He excels only in the military part; really excellent there.
"Has a facile expeditious pen and head; understands what
"you say to him, at the first word. Not taking nor wishing
"advice; never suffering replies or remonstrances, not even
"from his Mother. Pretty well acquainted with Works of
"Esprit, whether in Prose or in Verse: burning" (very hot
indeed) "to distinguish himself by performance of that kind;
"but unable to reach the Beautiful, unless held up by some-
"body (e'laye). It is said that, in a splenetic moment, his
"Skeleton of an Apollo" (squeletted'Apollon, M. de Voltaire,
who is lean exceedingly) "exclaimed once, some time ago,
"'When is it, then, that he will have done sending me nis
"'dirty linen to wash? '
"The King is of a sharp mocking tongue withal; pricking
"into whoever displeases him; often careless of policy in
"that. Understands nothing of Finance, or still less of
"Trade; always looking direct towards more money, which
"he loves much; incapable of sowing" (as some of us do! )
"for a distant harvest. Treats almost all the world as slaves.
"All his subjects are held in hard shackles. Rigorous for
"the least shortcoming, where his interest is hurt: --never
"pardons any fault which tends to inexactitude in theMili-
"tary Service. Spandau very full," -- though 1 did not
myself count. "Keeps in his pay nobody but those useful
"to him, and capable of doing employments well" (true,
always); "and the instant he has no more need of them, dis-
"missing them with nothing" (false, generally). "The Sub-
sidies imposed on his subjects are heavy; in constant pro-
"portion to their Feudal Properties, and their Leases of
"Domains (Contrats et Baux); and, what is dreadful, are
"exacted with the same rigour if your Property gets into
"debt," -- no remission by the iron grip of this King in the
name of the State! Sell, if you can find a Purchaser; or get
confiscated altogether; that is your only remedy. Surely a
tyrant of a King.
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? CHAP. X. ] DEMON NEWSWRITER, Or 1752. Ill
June 1752.
"People who get nearest him will tell you that his Polite-
"ness is not natural, but a remnant of old habit, when he
"had need of everybody, against the persecutions of his
"Father. He respects his Mother; the only Female for
"whom he has a sort of attention. He esteems his Wife, and
"cannot endure her; has been married nineteen years, and
"has not yet addressed one word to her" (howtrue! ). "It was
"but a few days ago she handed him a Letter, petitioning
"some things of which she had the most pressing want. He
"took the Letter, with that smiling, polite and gracious air
"which he assumes at pleasure; and without breaking the
"seal, tore the Letter up before her face, made her a pro-
found bow, and turned his back on her. " Was there ever
such a Pluto varnished into Literary Rosepink? Very proper
Majesty for the Tartarus that here is.
* * "The Queen-Mother," continues our Small Devil,
"is a good fat woman, who lives and moves in her own way
"(rondement). She has 16,000J. a year for keeping up her
"House. It is said she hoards. Four days in the week she
"has Apartment" (Royal Soiree); "to which you cannot go
"without express invitation. There is supper-table of
"twenty-four covers; only eight dishes, served in a shabby
"manner (indecemment) by six little scoundrels of Pages.
"Men and women of the Country" (shivering Natives,
cheering their dull abode) "go and eat there. Steward Royal
"sends the invitations. At eleven, everybody has withdrawn.
"Other days, this Queen eats by herself. Stewardess Royal
"and three Maids of Honour have their separate table; two
"dishes the whole. She is shabbily lodged (in my opinion),
"when at the Palace. Her Monbijou, which is close to
"Berlin" (now well within it), "would be pretty enough, for
"a private person.
"The Queen Regnant is the best woman in the world. All
"the year" (not quite) "she dines alone. Has Apartment on
"Thursdays; everybody gone at nine o'clock. Her morsels
"are cut for her, her steps are counted, and her words are
"dictated; she is miserable, and does what she can to hide
"it"-- according to our Small Devil. "She has scarcely
"the necessaries of life allowed her," -- spends regularly
two-thirds of her income in charitable objects; translates
French-Calvinist Devotional Works, for benefit of the
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? 112 THE TEN YEARS OP PEACE. [bookxVT.
June 1752.
German mind; and complains to no Small Devil, of never
so sympathising nature. "At Court she is lodged on the
"second floor" (scandalous). "Schonhausen her Country
"House, with the exception of the Garden which is pretty
"enough, -- our Shopkeepers of the Rue St. Honore* would
"sniff at such a lodging.
"Princess Amelia is rather amiable" (thank you for
nothing, Small Devil); "often out of temper because -- this
"is so shocking a place for Ladies, especially for maiden
"Ladies. Lives with her Mother; special income very small;
"--Coadjutress of Quedlinburg; will be actual Abbess," in
a year or two. *
"Eldest Prince, Heir Apparent," -- do not speak of him,
Small Devil, for you are misinformed in every feature and
particular: -- enough, "he is facsimile of his Brother. He
"has only 18,0001, a-year, for self, Wife, Household, and
"Children" (two, bothBovs); "--and is said" (falsely) "to
"hoard, and to follow Trade, extensive Trade with his
'' Brother's Woods.
"Prince Henri, who is just going to be married," --
thank you, Demon, for reminding us of that. Bride is
Wilhelmina, Princess of Hessen-Cassel. Marriage, 25th June
1752; -- did not prove, in the end, very happy. A small
contemporary event; which would concern Voltaire and
others that concern us. Three months ago, April 14th, 1752,
the BerlinPowder-Magazine flew aloft with horrible crash;*
-- and would be audible to Voltaire, in this his Second Act.
Events, audible or not, never cease.
"Prince Henri," in Demon's opinion, "is the amiablest
"of the House. He is polite, generous, and loves good com-
"pany. Has 12,000/. a-year left him by Papa. " Not enough,
as it proved. "If, on this Marriage, his Brother, who
"detests him" (witness Reinsberg and other evidences, now
and onward), "gives him nothing, he won't be well off. They
"are furnishing a House for him, where he will lodge after
"wedding. Is reported to be -- Potzdamiste" (says the scan-
dalous Small Devil, whom we are weary of contradicting), --
Potsdamite, in certain respects. "Poor Princess, what a
"destiny for you!
* llth April 1756: Preuss, xxvn. p. xxxrv. (of Preface).
** In Helden-Geschichte (m. 531) the details.
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? CHAP, x. ] DEMON NEWSWRITER, OP 1752. 113
Jane 1752.
"Prince Ferdinand, little scraping of a creature (petit
"chafouin), crapulous to excess, niggardly in the extreme,
"whom everybody avoids," -- much more whose Portrait, by
a Magic-lantern of this kind: which let us hastily shut, and
fling into the cellar! -- "Little Ferdinand, besides his
"15,000/. a-year, Papa's bequest, gets considerable sums
"given him. Has lodging in the Kings-House; goes shifting
"and visiting about, wherever he can live gratis; and strives
"all he can to amass money. Has to be in boots and uniform,
"every three days. Three months of the year practically
"with his regiment: but the shifts he has for avoiding ex-
"pense are astonishing. " * *
What an illuminative "Idea" are the Walpole-Sel-
wyn Circles picking up for their money! ? --
Carlyle, Frederick the Great. IX.
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? 114 THE TEN YEARS OF PEACE. [book XVI.
March 1751--March 1753.
CHAPTER XL
THIKD ACT AND CATASTROPHE OF THE VOLTAIRE VISIT.
Meantime there has a fine Controversy risen, of
mathematical, philosophical, and at length of very mis-
cellaneous nature, concerning that Konig-Maupertuis
dissentience on the Law of Thrift. Wonderful Contro-
versy, much occupying the so-called Philosophic or
Scientific world; especially the idler population that
inhabit there. Upon this item of the Infinitely Little,
-- which has in our time sunk into Nothing-at-all, and,
but for Voltaire and the accident of his living near it,
would be forgotten altogether, -- we must not enter
into details; but a few words to render Voltaire's share
in it intelligible will be, in the highest degree, neces-
sary. Here, in brief form, rough and ready, are the
successive stages of the Business; the origin and first
stage of which have been known to us for some time
past:
"September 1750, Konig, his well-meant visit to Berlin
"proving so futile, had leftMaupertuis in the humour we saw;
"--pirouetting round his Apartment, in tempests of rage at
"such contradiction of sinners on his sublime Law of Thrift;
"and fulminating permission to Konig: 'No time to read
"'your Paper ot Contradictions; publish it in Leipzig, in
"'Jericho; any where in the Earth, in Heaven, in the Other
'"Place, where you have the opportunity! ' Konig, return-
"ing on these terms, had nothing for it but to publish his
"Paper; and did publish it, in the Leipzig ActaEruditorum
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? CHAP. XI.
] THIRD ACT OF THE VOLTAIRE VISIT. 115
March 1751--March 1753.
"for March 1751. There it stands, legible to this day: and
"if any of the human species should again think of reading it,
"I believe it will be found a reasonable, solid and decisive
"Paper; of stedfast, openly articulate, by no means insolent,
"tone; considerably modifying Maupertuis's Law of Thrift,
"or Minimum of Action; -- fatal to the claim of its being a
"' Sublime Discovery,' or indeed, so far as true, any discovery
"at all. * By way of finis to the Paper, there is given;, what
"proves extremely important to us, an Excerpt from an old
"Letter of Leibnitz's; which perhaps it will be better to present
"here incorpore, as so much turned on it afterwards. Konig
"thus winds up:
"I add only a word, in finishing; and that is, that it ap-
"pears Mr. Leibnitz had a theory of Action, perhaps much
"more extensive than one would suspect at present. There
"is a Letter written by him to Mr. Hermann" (an ancient
mathematical sage at Basel), "where he uses these expres-
sions: 'Action is not what you think; the consideration of
"'Time enters into it; Action is as the product of the mass by the
"'space and the velocity, or as the time by the vis viva. Ihave re-
"' marked that in the modifications of motion, the action becomes
"'usually a maximum or a minimum: -- and from this there might
"'several propositions of great consequence be deduced. It might
"'serve to determine the curves described by bodies under attrac-
"'tion to one or more centres. I had meant to treat of these things
"'in the Second Part of my Dynamique; which I suppressed,
"'the reception of the First, by prejudice in many quarters, having
"'disgusted me. '"** Your Minimum of Action, it would ap? In Acta Eruditorum (Lipsite, 1751): "De universali Principio JEqni-
"Ubrii el Motus. " By no means uncivil to Maupertuis; though obliged to
controvert him. For example: "Qum itaque de Minima Actionis in modifi-
"cationibus moditm obtincnte in genere proferuntur vchementer laudo;"
"continent" nempe '* fcecundum longeque pulcherrimum Dynamices sub-
"limioris principium, cujus vim in difficillimis qwestionibtts swpe expertus
** Maupertuisiana, No. n. 22 (from Acta Eruditorum, ubi supra). In,
Maupertuisiana, No. iv. 166, is the whole Letter, "Hanover, 16th October
1707;" no address left, judged to be to Hermann. Maupertuisiana (Ham-
burg, 1753) is a mere Bookseller's or even Bookbinder's Farrago, with
printed Titlepage and List, of the chief Pamphlets which had appeared on
this Business (sixteen by count, various type, all 8vo size, in my copy). Of
8*
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? 116 THE TEN YEARS OF PEACE. (book XVI.
March 1751--March 1753.
pear, then, is in some cases a Maximum; nothing can be said
but that, in every case, it is either a Maximum or Minimum.
What a stroke for our Law of Thrift, the "at last conclusive
"Proof" of an Intelligent Creator, as the Perpetual President
had fancied it! "So-ho, what is this! My Discovery an
Error? And Leibnitz discovered it, so far as true? " --
"May 28th -- 8th October 1751. Maupertuis, compressing
"himself what he can, writes to Konig: 'Very good, Mon-
"' sieur. But please inform me where is that Letter of Leib-
"'nitz's; I havejnever seen or heard of it before, -- and I
"' want to make use of it myself. ' To which Konig answers:
"'Henzi gave it me, in Copy,' -- (unfortunate Conspirator
"Henzi, who lost his head three years ago, by sentence of
"the Oligarch Government at Berne): * -- 'he, poor fellow
"'had no end of Papers and Excerpts; had, as we know,
"' above a hundred volumes of the latter kind; this, and some
'V other Letters of Leibnitz's, among them, -- I send you the
"'whole Letter, copied faithfully from his Copy. '** To that
"effect, still in perfect good-humour, was Konig's reply to
"his Maupertuis.
"'Hm, Copy? By Henzi? ' grumbles Maupertuis to him-
"self: -- 'Search in Berne, then; it must be there, if any-
'"where! ' To Konig Maupertuis answers nothing: but
"sulkily resolves on having Search made; -- and, to give
"solemnity to the matter, requests his Excellency Marquis
"dePaulmy, the French Ambassador at Berne, to ask the
"Government there, -- Government having seized all Henzi's
"Papers, on beheading him. ExcellencyPaulmy does, ac-
which only No. n. (Konig's Appel ou Public) and No. iv. (2d edition of said
Appel, with Appendix of Correspondence) are illuminative to read.
* Government by "The Two Hundred;" of Select-Vestry nature, very
stiff, arbitrary, and become rife in abuses; against whom had risen angry
mutterings more than once, and in 1749, a Select Plot (not select enough, for they discovered it in time). Poor Ex-Captain Henzi, "Clerk of the
Salt-Office," most frugal, studious, and quiet of men; a very miracle, it
would appear, of genius, solid learning, philosophy, and piety, -- not the
chief or first of the conspirators, but by far the most distinguished, -- was
laid hold of, July 2d, 1749, and beheaded, with another of them, a day or
two after. Much bewailed in a private way, even by the better kinds of
people. (Copious account of him in Adelung, vn. 86-91).
** "The Hague, 26th June," in Maupertuisiana, No. iv. 130.
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? CHAP. XI. ]' THIRD ACT OP THE VOLTAIRE VISIT. 117
March 1751--March 1753.
"cordingly', make inquiry in the highest quarter; some in-
quiries up and down. Not the least account of this, or of
"any Leibnitz Letter, to be had from among Henzi's Papers,
"--the 'hundred volumes,' seemingly, exist no longer; --
"Original of this Leibnitz Piece is nowhere. For eight
"months the highest Authorities have been looking about
"(with one knows not what vivacity or skill in searching),
"and have found nothing whatever. " Stage second of the
Business finishes in this manner.
How lucky for the Perpetual President, had he
stopped here! ToKonig and the common contradiction
of sinners, he could have opposed, as it was apparently
his purpose to do, an Olympian silence, "Pshaw! "
Whereby the small matter, interesting to few, would
have dropped gently into dubiety, into oblivion, and
been got well rid of. But this of the great Leibnitz,
touching on one's Law of Thrift; and not only "dis-
covering" it, half a century beforehand, but discovering
that it was not true: to Leibnitz, one must speak; --
and the abstruse question is, What is one to say? "Find
me the original; let us be certain, first:" that you can
say: that is one clear point; and pretty much the only
one. The rest, at this time, as I conjecture, may have
been not a little abstruse to the Perpetual President!
And now, had the Perpetual President but stopped
here, there might still have rested a saving shadow of
suspicion on Konig's Excerpt, That it was not exact,
that it might be wrong in some vital point: -- "You
never showed me the Original, Monsieur! " Unluckily,
the Perpetual President did not stop. One cannot well
fancy him believing, now or ever, that Konig had
forged the Excerpt. Most likely he had the fatal per-
suasion that these were Leibnitz's words; and the
question, What was to be said or done, if the Original
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? 118 THE TEN TEARS OP PEACE. [book XVI.
March 1751 --March 1753.
should turn up? might justly be alarming to a Son of
the Pure Sciences. But at this point a new door of
escape disclosed itself: "Where is the Original, I say! "
-- and he rushed, full speed, into that; galloping trium-
phantly, feeling all safe.
"October 7 th (1751), Maupertuis summons his Academy:
"'Messieurs, permit me to submit a case perhaps requiring
"'your attention. One of our number dissents from your
"'President'sDiscovery of the Law of Thrift; which surely
"'he is free to do: but furthermore he gives an Excerpt pur-
"' porting to be from Leibnitz; whereby it would appear that
"'your President'sDiscovery, sanctioned in your Acts as new,
'"is not new, but Leibnitz's (so far as it is good for anything),
"'--possibly stolen, therefore; and, at any rate, fifty-four
"'years old. In self-defence, I have demanded to see the
"'Original of said Excerpt; and the Hon. Member in ques-
"'tion does not produce it. What say you? ' 'Shame to him! '
"say they all" -- (there seem to be but few Scientific Mem-
bers, and most of them, it is insinuated, have Pensions from
the King through their Perpetual President); -- "and de-
"termine to make a Star-chamber matter of it!
"Accordingly, next day, October 8th, SecretaryFormey
"writes officially toKonig, 'Produce that Letter within one
"'month,' -- and has got his Majesty to order, That our Prus-
"sian Minister at the Hague shall take charge of delivering
"such message, and shall mark on what day. Thing serious,
"you see! ---Prussian Minister at the Hague delivers, and
"dockets accordingly. To Konig's astonishment; who is in
"a scene of deep trouble at this time; Royal Highness the
"Stadtholder suddenly dead, or dying: 'died, October 22d;
"'leaving a very young Heir, and a very sorrowful Widow
"'and Country. ' Much to think of, that lies apart from the
"Maupertuis matter! Which latter, however, is so very
"serious too, his Prussian Majesty's Minister at Berne is now
"charged to make new perquisition for the Leibnitz Original
"there: In short, within one month that Document is pe-
remptorily wanted at Berlin. "
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? CHAP. SI. ] THIRD ACT OP THE VOLTAIRE VISIT. 119
March 1751--March 1753.
High proceedings, these;-- and calculated to have
one result, if no other. Namely, that, at this point,
as readers can fancy, the idler Public, seeing a street-
quarrel in progress, began to take interest in the
Question of Minimum; and quasi-scientific gentlemen to
gather round, and express, with cheery capable look,
their opinions, -- still legible in the vanished Jugemens
Libres (of Hamburg), Gazette des Savans (Leipzig), and
other poor Shadows of Journals, if you daringly evoke
them from the other side of Styx. Which, the whole
matter being now so indisputably extinct, shadowy,
Stygian, we will not here be guilty of doing; but
hasten to the catastrophes, that have still a memo-
rability.
"Konig, having in fact nothing more to say about the
"Leibnitz Excerpt, was in no breathless haste to obey his
"summons; he sat almost two months before answering any-
"thing. Did then write, however, in a friendly strain to
"Maupertuis (December 10th, 1751). * Almost on which
"sameday, as it chanced, the Academie, after two months'
"dignified waiting, had in brief terms repeated its order on
"Konig. ** To which Konig makes no special answer (having
"as good as answered the day before); -- but does silently
"send off to Switzerland to make inquiries; and does write
"once or twice more, when there is occasion for explaining;--
"always in a clear, sonorous, manfully firm and respectful
"tone: 'That he himself had, or has, no kind of reason to
"'doubt the authenticity of the Leibnitz Letter; that to him-
"'Belf (and, so far as he can judge, to Maupertuis) the ques-
'"tion of its authenticity is without special interest; -- he,
'"Konig, having thrown it in as a mere marginal illustration,
"'which decides nothing, either for or against the Law of
"' Thrift. That he has, in obedience to the Academy, caused
"'search to be made in Switzerland, especially at Basel,
'"where he judged the chance might lie; but that of this
* Mauperluisiana, No. iv. 132. ** December 11th, 1751 (lb. 137).
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? 120 THE TEN YEAKS OF PEACE. [book XVI.
13th April -- 18th June 1752.
"'particular Letter nothing has come to light; that he has
"'two other Leibnitz Letters, of indifferent tenor, in the late
"'Henzi'shand, if these will serve in aught,* -- but what
"'farther can he do? ' In short, Konig speaks always in a
"clear business-like manful tone; the one person that makes
"a really respectful and respectable figure in this Con-
"troversy of the Infinitely Little. A man whom, viewed
"fromthis quiet distance, it seems almost inconceivably ab-
"surd to have suspected of forging for so small an object.
"Oh, my President, that dira regnandi cupido! --
"Question is, however, What the Academy will do? One
"Member, 'the best Geometer among them'" (whose name is
not given, but which the Berlin Academy should write in big
letters across this sad Page of their Annals, by way of erasure
to the same), "dissented from the high line of procedure;
"asserting Konig's innocence in this matter; nay, hinting
"agreement with Konig's opinion. But was met by such a "storm, that he withdrew from the deliberations; which
"henceforth went their own bad course, unanimous though
"slow. And so the matter pendulates, all through Winter
"1751-2, and was much the theme of idle men. "
Voltaire heard of it vaguely all along; but not with
distinctness till the end of July following. As Spring
advanced, Maupertuis had fallen ill of lungs, --
threatened with spitting of blood ("owing to excess of
brandy," hints the malicious Voltaire, "which is fashion-
able at St. Malo," birthplace of Maupertuis), -- and
could not farther direct the Academy in this affair.
The Academy needs no direction farther. Here, very
soon, for a sick President's consolation, is what the
Academy decides on, by way of catastrophe:
Thursday Evening, 13th April 1752, The Academy met;
Curator, Monsieur de Keith, presiding; about a score of
acting Members present. To whom Curator de Keith, as the
first thing, reads a magnanimous brief Letter from our Perpe-
* Maupertuisiana, No. iv. 155; and ib. 172-192, the Letters themselves.
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? CHAP. XI. ]? THIRD ACT OF THE VOLTAIRE VISIT. 121
13th April --18th June 1752.
tual President: "That, for two reasons, he cannot attend on
"this important occasion: First, because he is too ill, which
"would itself be conclusive; but, secondly, and a fortiori,
"because he is in some sense a party to the cause, and ought
"not if he could. " Whereupon, Secretary Formey having
done his Documentary flourishings, Curator Euler, -- (great
in Algebra, apparently not very great in common sense and
the rules of good temper), -- reads considerable "Report;" *
reciting, not in a dishonest, but in a dim, wearisome way,
the various steps of the Affair, as readers already know them;
and concludes with this extraordinary practicalresult: "Things
"being so (les choses etant telles); the Fragment being of lt- "self suspect" (what could Leibnitz know of Maxima and
Minima? They were not developed till one Euler did it,
quite in late years! ),** "of itself suspect; and Monsieur
"Konig having failed to" &c. &c. ,-- "it is assuredly manifest
"that his cause is one of the worst (desplusmauvaises), and
"that this Fragment has been forged. " Singular to think!
"And the Academy, all things duly considered, will not
"hesitate to declare it false (suppose), and thereby deprive it
"publicly of all authority which may have been ascribed to
"it" (Hear, Hear, from all parts).
Curator de Keith then collects the votes, -- twenty-three
in all; some sixteen are of working Members; two are from
accidental Strangers ("travelling students," say the enemy);
the rest from Curators of Quality: -- Vote is unanimous,
"Adopt the Report. Fragment evidently forged, and cannot
"have the least shadow of authority (aucune ombre tfauthorite).
"Forged by whom, we do not now ask; nor what the Academy
"could, on plain grounds, now do to Monsieur Konig" (not
nail his ears to the pump, oh no! ); "enough, it is forged, and
"so remains. " Signed, . "Curator de Keith," and Six other
Office-bearers; "Formey, Perpetual Secretary," closing
the list.
At the name Keith, a slight shadow (very slight, for how
could Keith help himself? ) crosses the mind: "Is this, by ill
"luck, the FeldmarschallKeith? " No, reader; thisis Lieutenant-Colonel Keith; he of Wesel, with "Effigy nailed to the
"Gallows" long since; whom none of us cares for. Sulzer,
* Is No, i. of Muvperlnisiana. ** lb. No/i. 22.
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