with the
earnest life of reality. The poor little Professor Semler, who, in the
midst of the deepest emotion, still studied his attitudes and
prepared his compliments, and the great King, who, in calm expectation
of the hour of death, wrote in finely-formed periods concerning
self-destruction, were both sons of that same time in which the pathos
that found no worthy expression in art twined like a creeper round real
life. But the King was greater than his philosophy; in fact, he never
lost his courage, nor the stubborn strength of the German, nor the
quiet hope which is needful to man for every great work.

And he held out. The strength of his enemies became less, their
Generals were worn out, and their armies shattered, and at last Russia
withdrew from the coalition. This, and the King's last victory, decided
the question. He had triumphed, he had preserved the conquered Silesia
to Prussia; his people exulted, the faithful citizens of his capital
prepared him a festive reception, but he avoided all rejoicings, and
returned alone and quietly to Sans Souci. He wished, he said, to live
the rest of his days in peace and for his people.

The first three-and-twenty years of his reign he had struggled
and fought, and established his power throughout the world;
three-and-twenty years more was he to rule over his people as a
wise and strict father. The ideas according to which he guided the
State--with great self-denial, but also self-will, aiming at the
highest, but also ruling in the most trifling matters--have been partly
set aside by the higher culture of the present day; they express the
knowledge which he had gained in his youth, and from the experiences of
his early manhood. The mind was to be free, and each one to think as he
chose, but to do his duty as a citizen. As he subordinated his pleasure
and expenditure to the good of the State, restricting the whole royal
household to about 200,000 thalers, and thought first of the advantage
of the people, and not till then of his own; so were all his subjects
to be ready to do the duties and bear the burdens he might impose upon
them. Each was to remain in the sphere in which his birth and education
had placed him; the nobleman was to be landowner and officer; the
sphere of the citizen was the city, commerce, industry, teaching, and
invention; that of the peasant was field labour and service. But each
in his position was to be prosperous and comfortable. There was to be
eq