Frederick the Great's Philosophical Writings

Frederick II, Avi Lifschitz, Angela Scholar

• Publisher: Princeton University Press
• Year: 2020
• Print ISBN:
  9780691258911
  9780691176420
• eBook ISBN:
  9780691189369
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Early Modern History
• Index: History

The first modern English edition of diverse Enlightenment-era writings by Prussian monarch Frederick the Great

Frederick II of Prussia (1712–1786), best known as Frederick the Great, was a prolific writer of philosophical discourses, poems, epics, satires, and more, while maintaining extensive correspondence with prominent intellectuals, Voltaire among them. This edition of selected writings, the first to make a wide range of Frederick's most important ideas available to a modern English readership, moves beyond traditional attempts to see his work only in light of his political aims. In these pages, we can finally appreciate Frederick's influential contributions to the European Enlightenment—and his unusual role as a monarch who was also a published author.

In addition to Frederick's major opus, the Anti-Machiavel, the works presented here include essays, prefaces, reviews, and dialogues. The subjects discussed run the gamut from ethics to religion to political theory. Accompanied by critical annotations, the texts show that we can understand Frederick's views of kingship and the state only if we engage with a broad spectrum of his thought, including his attitudes toward morality and self-love. By contextualizing his arguments and impact on Enlightenment beliefs, this volume considers how we can reconcile Frederick's innovative public musings with his absolutist rule. Avi Lifschitz provides a robust and detailed introduction that discusses Frederick's life and work against the backdrop of eighteenth-century history and politics.

With its unparalleled scope and cross-disciplinary appeal, Frederick the Great's Philosophical Writings firmly establishes one monarch's multifaceted relevance for generations of readers and scholars to come.

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Introduction
• Timeline of Principal Events and Publications
• Note on the Texts
• 1. Dissertation on the Innocence of Errors of the Mind
• 2. Anti-Machiavel, or a Study of Machiavelli’s The Prince
• 3. Preface to History of My Age
• 4. Dissertation on the Reasons for Establishing or Repealing Laws
• 5. Epistle XVIII: To Marshal Keith, on the Vain Terrors of Death and the Fears of Another Life
• 6. Epistle XX: To My Soul (À mon esprit)
• 7. Preface to Extracts from Bayle’s Historical and Critical Dictionary
• 8. Preface to Abridgement of the Ecclesiastical History by Fleury
• 9. Essay on Self-Love, Considered as a Principle of Morality
• 10. Letter on Education
• 11. Examination of the Essay on Prejudice
• 12. Critical Examination of The System of Nature
• 13. Dialogue of the Dead between Madame de Pompadour and the Virgin Mary
• 14. Essay on the Forms of Government and the Duties of Sovereigns
• Acknowledgements
• Notes
• Index