History of Friedrich II of Prussia — Volume 04Carlyle, Thomas
History
History of Friedrich II of Prussia — Volume 04
Carlyle, Thomas
Frederick II, King of Prussia, 1712-1786; Prussia (Germany) -- History -- Frederick II, 1740-1786; Social problems
1. Must impress my Son with a proper love and fear of God, as
the foundation and sole pillar of our temporal and eternal welfare.
No false religions, or sects of Atheist, Arian (ArRian), Socinian, or
whatever name the poisonous things have, which can so easily corrupt a
young mind, are to be even named in his hearing: on the other hand,
a proper abhorrence (ABSCHEU) of Papistry, and insight into its
baselessness and nonsensicality (UNGRUND UND ABSURDITAT), is to be
communicated to him:--Papistry, which is false enough, like the others,
but impossible to be ignored like them; mention that, and give him due
abhorrence for it. For we are Protestant to the bone in this country;
and cannot stand ABSURDITAT, least of all hypocritically religious
ditto! But the grand thing will be, "To impress on him the true
religion, which consists essentially in this, That Christ died for
all men," and generally that the Almighty's justice is eternal and
omnipresent,--"which consideration is the only means of keeping a
sovereign person (SOUVERAINE MACHT), or one freed from human penalties,
in the right way."
2. "He is to learn no Latin;" observe that, however it may
surprise you. What has a living German man and King, of the eighteenth
Christian SOECULUM, to do with dead old Heathen Latins, Romans, and the
lingo THEY spoke their fraction of sense and nonsense in? Frightful, how
the young years of the European Generations have been wasted, for ten
centuries back; and the Thinkers of the world have become mere walking
Sacks of Marine-stores, "GELEHRTEN, Learned," as they call themselves;
and gone LOST to the world, in that manner, as a set of confiscated
Pedants;--babbling about said Heathens, and THEIR extinct lingo and
fraction of sense and nonsense, for the thousand years last past!
Heathen Latins, Romans;--who perhaps were no great things of Heathen,
after all, if well seen into? I have heard judges say, they were
INferior, in real worth and grist, to German home-growths we have had,
if the confiscated Pedants could have discerned it! At any rate,
they are dead, buried deep, these two thousand years; well out of
our way;--and nonsense enough of our own left, to keep sweeping into
corners. Silence about their lingo and them, to this new Crown-Prince!
"Let the Prince learn French and German," so as to write and speak,
"with brevity and propriety," in these two languages, which may be
useful to him in life. That will suffice for languages,--provided he
have anything effectually rational to say in them. For the rest,
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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