History of Friedrich II of Prussia — Volume 16Carlyle, Thomas
History
History of Friedrich II of Prussia — Volume 16
Carlyle, Thomas
Frederick II, King of Prussia, 1712-1786; Prussia (Germany) -- History -- Frederick II, 1740-1786; Social problems
At the name Keith, a slight shadow (very slight, for how could
Keith help himself?) crosses the mind: "Is this, by ill luck, the
Feldmarschall Keith?" No, reader; this is Lieutenant-Colonel Keith; he
of Wesel, with "Effigy nailed to the Gallows" long since; whom none of
us cares for. Sulzer, I notice too, is of this long-eared Sanhedrim.
ACH, MEIN LIEBER SULZER, you don't know (do you, then?) DIESE VERDAMMTE
RACE, to what heights and depths of stupid malice, and malignant length
of ear, they are capable of going. "Thursday, 13th April," this is
Forger Konig's doom:--and, what is observable, next morning, with a
crash audible through Nature, the Powder-Magazine flew aloft, killing
several persons! [Supra, p. 203.] Had no hand, he, I hope, in that
latter atrocity?
On authentic sight of this Sentence (for which Konig had at once, on
hearing of it, applied to Formey, and which comes to him, without help
of Formey, through the Public Newspapers) Konig, in a brief, proud
enough, but perfectly quiet, mild and manful manner, resigns his
Membership. "Ceases, from this day (June 18th, 1752), to have the honor
of belonging to your Academy; 'an honor I had been the prouder of, as it
came to me unasked;'--and will wish, you, from the outside henceforth,
successful campaigns in the field of Science." [--Maupertuisiana,--No.
iv. 129.] And sets about preparing his Pamphlet to instruct mankind on
the subject. Maupertuis, it appears, did write, and made others write to
Konig's Sovereign Lady, the Dowager Princess of Orange, "How extremely
handsome it would be, could her Most Serene Highness, a friend to
Pure Science, be pleased to induce Monsieur Konig not to continue this
painful Controversy, but to sit quiet with what he had got." [Voltaire
(infra).] Which her Most Serene Highness by no mean thought the suitable
course. Still less did Konig himself; whose APPEAL TO THE PUBLIC, with
DEFENCE OF APPEAL,--reasonably well done, as usual, and followed and
accompanied by the multitude of Commentators,--appeared in due course.
["September, 1752, Konig's APPEL" (Preuss, in--OEuvres de Frederic,--xv.
60 n.).] Till, before long, the Public was thoroughly instructed; and
nobody, hardly the signing Curators, or thin Euler himself, not to speak
of Perpetual Formey, who had never been strong in the matter, could well
believe in "forgery" or care to speak farther on such a subject.
Subject gone wholly to the Stygian Fens, long since; "forgery" not now
imaginable by anybody!
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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