64 LITERARY AND SCIENTIFIC MEN.

to augment it, was regarded as a deep offence. Vol-taire must be humbled. Treated like a servant, not afriend, what wonder that the sensitive poet felt thatthe orange was squeezed a little too hardly, and beganto earnestly desire to save as much of it as he could.A sort of reconciliation, however, ensued; again allappeared smiling on the surface, though all washollow beneath. Voltaire engaged in printing his “ Ageof Louis XIV. ,” was desirous of finishing it before hequitted Prussia; meanwhile he had a sum of money tothe amount of 300,000 livres, about 1 5 , 0001 , whichhe wished to place; he took care not to put it in thePrussian funds, but secured it advantageously on certainestates which the duke of Wirtemburg possessed inFrance . Through the infidelity of the post Frederic dis-covered this transaction, and felt that it was a preparationfor escape. Accordingly, he made more use of him thanever as a corrector of his literary works. In spite ofall these disturbances, there was something in the lifeof Potzdam peculiarly agreeable to Voltaire . “ I amlodged conveniently,” he writes, “ in a fine palace. Ihave a few friends about me of my own way of think-ing, with whom I dine regularly and soberly. WhenI am well enough, I sup with the king; and convers-ation does not turn either upon individual gossip orgeneral ineptities, but upon good taste, the arts, andtrue philosophy; on the means to attain happiness,on the mode of discerning the true from the false,upon liberty of thought: in short, during the two yearsI have spent at this place, which is called a court,but which is really a retreat for philosophers, not aday has passed during which 1 have not learnt some-thing instructive.” Thus Voltaire tried to blind him-self, while he really enjoyed the conversation andfriendship of Frederic, and while the cloven foot ofdespotism remained in shadow.

Among other modes of civilising Prussia and spread-ing the blessings of knowledge, Frederic had esta-blished an academy. This was a favourite creation, and