Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 9.djvu/772

 736 FREDERICK [OF PRUSSIA. much spirit and so conscientiously that he ultimately gained the esteem of Frederick William, who no longer feared that he would leave the crown to one unworthy of wearing it. At the same time the crown prince was able to indulge to the full his personal tastes. He carried on a lively corre spondence with Voltaire and other French men of letters, and was a diligent student of philosophy, history, and poetry. Two of his best known works were written at this time, Considerations sur Vetat present du corps politique de I Europe and his Anti-Macchiavel. In the former he calls attention to the growing strength of Austria and France, and insists on the necesssity of some third power, by which he clearly means Prussia, counterbalancing their excessive influence. The second treatise, which was issued by Voltaire in Hague in 1740, contains a generous exposition of some of the favourite ideas of the 18th century hilo- sophers respecting the duties of sovereigns. In 1740 he became king. He maintained all the forms of government established by his father, but ruled in a far more liberal and enlightened spirit ; he tolerated every form of religious opinion, granted considerable freedom to the press even in political discussion, was most careful to secure an exact and impartial administration of justice, and allowed every one with a genuine grievance free access to his presence. The Potsdam regiment of giants was dis banded, but the real interests of the army were as carefully studied by Frederick as by Frederick William. On the year of his accession, the emperor Charles VI. died. Frederick at once began to make extensive military prepara tions, and it was soon clear to all the world that he intended to enter upon some serious enterprise. He had made up his mind to take possession of Silesia. For this resolution he is often abused still by historians, and at the time he had the approval of hardly any one out of Prussia. He himself, writing of the scheme in his Nemoires, laid no claim to lofty motives, but candidly confessed that &quot; it was a means of acquiring reputation and of increasing the power of the state.&quot; He firmly believed, however, that he had in herited lawful claims to the Silesian principalities ; and although his father had recognized the Pragmatic Sanction, whereby the hereditary dominions of Charles VI. were to descend to his daughter, Maria Theresa, Frederick insisted that this sanction could refer only to lands which rightfully belonged to the house of Austria. He could also urge that, as Charles VI. had not fulfilled the engagements by which Frederick William s recognition of the Pragmatic Sanction had been secured, Prussia was freed from her obligation. Frederick cannot fairly be charged with hav ing let loose the elements of war which desolated Europe during the next few years, for, independently of him, the elector of Bavaria instantly protested against the Pragmatic Sanction, and there can be no doubt that in any case France would have taken advantage of so favourable a chance of breaking the power of Austria. Frederick sent an ambassador to Vienna, offering, in the event of his rights in Silesia being conceded, to aid Maria Theresa against her enemies. The queen of Hungary, who regarded the proposal as that of a raere robber, haughtily declined ; whereupon Frederick immediately invaded Silesia with an army of 30,000 men. His first victory was gained at Mollwitz on the 10th of April, 1741. Under the im pression, in consequence of a furious charge of Austrian cavalry, that the battle was lost, he rode rapidly away at an early stage of tlio struggle, -a mistake which gave rise for a time to the groundless idea that he lacked personal courage. A second Prussian victory was gained at Chotusitz, near Czeslau, on the 17th May 1742, by which time Frederick was master of all the fortified places of Silesia. Maria Theresa, in the heat of her struggle with France and the elector of Bavaria, now Charles VII., and pressed by England to rid herself of Frederick, concluded with him, on the llth June 1742, the peace of Breslau, conceding to Prussia Upper and Lower Silesia as far as the Oppa, together with the county of Glatz. Frederick made gooff use of the next two years, fortifying his new territory, and repairing the evils inflicted upon it by the war. By the death of the prince of East Friesland without heirs, he also gained possession of that country. He knew well that Maria Theresa would not, if she could help it, allow him to remain in Silesia; accordingly, in 1744, alarmed by her victories, he arrived at a secret understanding with France, and pledged himself, with Hesse-Cassel and the palatinate, to maintain the imperial rights of Charles VII., and to de fend his hereditary Bavarian lands. Frederick began the second Silesian war by entering Bohemia in August 1744, and taking Prague. By this brilliant but rash venture lie put himself in great danger, and soon had to retreat ; but in 1745 he gained the battles of Hohenfriedberg, Sorr, and Hennersdorf ; and Leopold of Dessau (&quot; l)er alte Dessauer&quot;) won fur him the victory of Kesselsdorf in Saxony. The latter victory was decisive, and the peace of Dresden (De cember 25, 1745) assured to Frederick a second time the possession of Silesia. Frederick had thus, at the age of thirty-three, raised him self to a great position in Europe, and henceforth he was the most conspicuous sovereign of his time. He was a thoroughly absolute ruler, his so-called ministers being mere clerks whose business was to give effect to his will. To use his own famous phrase, however, he regarded himself as but &quot;the first servant of the state;&quot; and during the next eleven years he proved that tbe words expressed his inmost con viction and feeling. All kinds of questions were submitted to him, important and unimportant : and he is frequently censured for having troubled himself so much with mere details. But in so far as these details related to expendi ture he was fully justified, for it was absolutely essential for him to have a large army, and with a small state this was impossible unless he carefully prevented unnecessary outlay. Being a keen judge of character, he filled the pub lic offices with faithful, capable, energetic men, who were kept up to a high standard of duty by the consciousness that their work might at any time come under his strict supervision. The Academy of Sciences, which had fallen into contempt during his father s reign, he restored, infusing into it vigorous life; and he did more to promote elemen tary education than any of his predecessors. He made canals between the Oder and the Elbe, and the Oder and the Havel, and all kinds of manufacture, particularly silk manufacture, owed much to his encouragement. To the army he gave unremitting attention, reviewing it at regular intervals, and sternly punishing negligence on the part of the officers. Its numbers were raised to 160,000 men, while fortresses and magazines were always kept in a state of readiness for war. The influence of the king s example was felt far beyond the limits of his immediate circle. The nation was proud of his genius, and displayed something of his energy in all departments of life. Lessing, who as a youth of twenty came to Berlin in 1749, composed enthusi astic odes in his honour, and Gleim, the Halbsrstadt poet, wrote of him as of a kind of demi-god. These may be taken as fair illustrations of the popular feeling long before tbe Seven Years War. He despised German as the language of boors, although it is remarkable that at a later period, in a French essay on German literature, he predicted for it a great future. He habitually wrote and spoke French, and had a strong ambi tion to rank as a distinguished French author. Nobody can now read his verses, but his prose writings have a certain calm simplicity and dignity, without, however, giving evi dence of the splendid mental qualities which he revealed in