's humor in regard to this, began to
have his own misgivings; and determined to read some of Wolf's Books for
himself. Reading in Wolf, he had sense to discern that here was a man of
undeniable talent and integrity; that the Practical Military judgment,
loading with the iron ramrod, had shot wide of the mark, in this matter;
and, in short, that a palpable bit of foul-play had been done. This was
in 1733;--ten years after the shot, when his Majesty saw, with his own
eyes, how wide it had gone. He applied to Wolf earnestly, more than
once, to come back to him: Halle, Frankfurt, any Prussian University
with a vacancy in it, was now wide open to Wolf. But Wolf knew better:
Wolf, with bows down to the ground, answered always evadingly;--and
never would come back till the New Reign began.

Friedrich Wilhelm knew little of Book-learning or Book-writing; and
his notion of it is very shocking to us. But the fact is, O reader,
Book-writing is of two kinds: one wise, and may be among the wisest
of earthly things; the other foolish, sometimes far beyond what can be
reached by human nature elsewhere. Blockheadism, Unwisdom, while
silent, is reckoned bad; but Blockheadism getting vocal, able to speak
persuasively,--have you considered that at all? Human Opacity falling
into Phosphorescence; that is to say, becoming luminous (to itself and
to many mortals) by the very excess of it, by the very bursting of
it into putrid fermentation;--all other forms of Chaos are cosmic in
comparison!--Our poor Friedrich Wilhelm had seen only Gundlings among
the Book-writing class: had he seen wiser specimens, he might have
formed, as he did in Wolf's case, another judgment. Nay in regard to
Gundling himself, it is observable how, with his unutterable contempt,
he seems to notice in him glimpses of the admirable (such acquirements,
such dictionary-faculties, though gone distracted!),--and almost has a
kind of love for the absurd dog. Gundling's pensions amount to something
like 150 pounds; an immense sum in this Court. [Forster, i. 263, 284
(if you can RECONCILE the two passages).] A blockhead admirable in some
sorts; and of immense resource in Tobacco-Parliament when business is
slack!--

No end to the wild pranks, the Houyhnhnm horse-play they had with
drunken Gundling. He has staggered out in a drunk state, and found, or
not clearly FOUND till the morrow, young bears lying in his bed;--has
found his room-door walled up; been obliged to grope about