Chapter 25 24. Frederick the Great

The German royal family has never been known for favoring a government run by the common people.But the family was a clear-headed man, fond of collecting books and almsgiving to the poor, and did some very salutary contributions to the cause of tolerance before the madness of the Bavarians corrupted them. At some level of difficulty this is a practically desired result.The German royal family inherited the poorest place in Europe, a vast expanse of sand and forest, only half of which is inhabited.The Thirty Years' War destroyed the families of the residents there.They needed manpower and money in order to rehabilitate the family business, and they set out to seek it all, regardless of race, creed, or previous humble status.

Frederick the Great's father was a vulgar fellow who talked and behaved like a coal miner and was very interested in barmaids.But he was courteous when he met with the delegation of foreign fugitives.His motto was "the more the merrier" when it came to matters involving the kingdom's vital statistics, and he made a conscious effort to collect all that was thrown away by the state, as if collecting six-foot-three grenadiers to serve as his own. Same as the guards. His son was of extraordinary ability and well-bred.His father did not allow him to study Latin and French, but he insisted on studying these two languages.He liked the prose of Montaigne, hated the poetry of Luther, liked the wisdom of Epictetus, and hated the ignorance of those Catholics.The father was strict with the child in accordance with the teachings of the Old Testament (in order to teach the child obedience, the father ordered the child's best friend to be beheaded at the window), but this did not incline the son to the Jewish ideal of integrity. Both Germanic and Calvinist pastors lavished praise on Jewish ideals.Frederick saw all religion as a resurgence of a prehistoric state of fear and ignorance, a state of servility carefully manipulated by a handful of intelligent but shameless fellows who knew how to make the most of themselves. The superior position enjoys pleasure by benefiting oneself at the expense of others.Frederick was not only interested in Christian doctrine but even more in Christ himself, but he approached the subject in the light of Locke and Sozny, and was therefore a man of great tolerance, at least in matters of religion, and In his country, it may be said without pretension, "everyone can seek salvation in his own way."

This wise statement by Frederick laid the groundwork for further experiments along the path of tolerance.For example, he proclaimed that all religions are good as long as those who teach them are upright and live decent and law-abiding lives, so all beliefs must have equal rights, and the government is not allowed to interfere in religious affairs, It is enough to act as a policeman and maintain peace between different sects.He did believe this, and only required obedience and loyalty from his subjects, leaving the final judgment on thoughts and actions to God, "God alone understands the conscience of man", and he never made even the slightest comment on God's will, Lest it be supposed that he needs human help, that is, to use force and brutality to further a divine purpose.

Frederick was two centuries ahead of his time in thought.The king gave the Catholics a piece of land in the center of the capital to build their own churches, and people shook their heads.The Jesuits were driven out of most Catholic countries, and he stood up to protect them, and people began muttering vicious warnings.When he declared that morality and religion were two separate concepts, and that everyone was free to follow whatever religion he wanted as long as he paid his taxes and served in the army, he was no longer considered a Christian. As they happened to live in Prussia at the time, the critics were afraid to act rashly, for your majesty was well versed in epigrams, and a little remark in royal law could do something unusual to the cause of those who in some respects did not please him. s consequence.

But in reality he was an enlightened despot who reigned for thirty years and who for the first time brought almost complete religious liberty to Europe. For the first time in this remote corner of Europe, Protestants, Catholics, Jews, Turks and Agnostics enjoyed equal rights and equal treatment.A person who likes to wear red cannot be king over a person in green, and a person in green cannot be king over a person in red.Those who returned to Nicaea for spiritual comfort were forced to live in peace and friendship with those who had dealt with both bad men and the bishop of Rome. Was Frederick really happy with the fruits of his efforts?I doubt it.When he was about to die, his faithful dog was called.Dogs appear to be better companions than "so-called humans" (Her Majesty is a capable newspaper columnist) at this most important time.

He died, the first Marcus Aurelius to stray into this wrong century, and he, like his predecessors, left a good legacy to his successors.