“The heart of my king will be ever young; it is full of trust and kindliness.”

Frederick shook his head thoughtfully.  “Do not believe that, Rothenberg; the hands that labor become hard and callous, and so is it with the heart.  Mine has labored and suffered; it will turn at last to stone.  Then I shall be condemned.  The world will forget that it is responsible; they will speak only of my hard heart, and say nothing of the anguish and the deceptions which have turned me to stone.  But what of that?  Let these foolish two-legged creatures, who proudly proclaim that they are made in the image of God, say what they please of me; they cannot deprive me of my fame and my immortality.  He who possesses that has received his reward, and dare utter no complaint.  Truly Erostratus and Schinderhannes are celebrated, and Eulenspiegle is better known and beloved by the people than Socrates.”

“This proves that Wisdom herself must take the trouble to make herself popular,” said Rothenberg.  “True fame is only obtained by popularity.  Alexander the Great and Caesar were popular, and their names were therefore in the mouths of the people.  This was their inheritance, handed down from generation to generation, from father to son.  So will it be with King Frederick the Second.  He is not only the king and the hero, but he is the man of the people.  His fame will not be written alone on the tablets of history by the Muses; the people will write it on the pure, white, vacant leaves of their Bibles; the children and grandchildren will read it; and, centuries hence, the curious searchers into history will consider this as fame, and exalt the name of Frederick the Great.”

“God grant it may be so!” said the king solemnly.  “You know that I am ambitious.  I believe that this passion is the most enduring, and that its burning thirst is never quenched.  As crown prince, I was ever humiliated by the thought that the love, consideration, and respect shown to me was no tribute to my worth, but was offered to a prince, the son of a powerful king.  With what admiration, with what enthusiasm did I look at Voltaire! he needed no high birth, no title, to be considered, honored, and envied by the whole world.  I, however, must have rank, title, princely revenues, and a royal genealogical tree, in order to fix the eyes of men upon me.  Ah, how often did I remind myself of the history of that great prince, who, surrounded by his enemies, and about to surrender, saw his servants and friends despairing and weeping around him!  He smiled upon them, and uttered these few but expressive words:  ’I feel by your tears that I am still a king.’  I swore then to be like that noble man, to owe my fame, not to my royal mantle, but to myself.  I have fulfilled but a small portion of my oath.  I hope that my godmother, Maria Theresa, and the Russian empress, will soon afford me more enlarged opportunities.  Our enemies are indeed our best friends; they enrage and inspire us.”