[History of Friedrich II. of Prussia<br> Vol. XIII. (of XXI.) by Thomas Carlyle]@TWC D-Link book
History of Friedrich II. of Prussia
Vol. XIII. (of XXI.)

CHAPTER II
55/55

But may not a man have something other on hand with his Existence than that of "setting fire to it [such the process terribly IS], to show the people a fine play of colors, and get himself applauded, and pathetically blubbered over ?" Alas, my friends!-- It is certain there was seldom such a life-element as this of Friedrich's in Summer, 1741.

Here is the enormous jumbling of a World broken loose; boiling as in very chaos; asking of him, him more than any other, "How?
What ?" Enough to put GLOIRE out of his head; and awaken thoughts,--terrors, if you were of apprehensive turn! Surely no young man of twenty-nine more needed all the human qualities than Friedrich now.

The threatenings, the seductions, big Belleisle hallucinations,--the perils to you infinite, if you MISS the road.
Friedrich did not miss it, as is well known; he managed to pick it out from that enormous jumble of the elements, and victoriously arrived by it, he alone of them all.

Which is evidence of silent or latent faculty in him, still more wonderful than the loud-resounding ones of which the world has heard.

Probably there was not, in his history, any chapter more significant of human faculty than this, which is not on record at all..


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