Chapter 4
“What they’re doing, these revolutionaries—it’s no different from what Frederick Wilhelm once did.”
Those were the words of the noble magistrate Magnus.
Frederick Wilhelm, that is, the father of Frederick the Great, was an exceptionally wicked man.
Ever since he became King of Prussia, he gathered giants—men taller than 180 cm—and imposed harsh punishments on those who disobeyed.
In other words, he had them killed.
Even Katte, a cavalry officer who was one of Frederick the Great’s most trusted men, was beheaded as a traitor.
As a result, Frederick the Great endured a gloomy youth.
Ironically, the soldiers his father had raised ended up flourishing not during the father’s reign, but during the son’s.
Still, the achievements Frederick left behind are undeniably impressive.
Perhaps that’s why Voltaire followed him, Raphael thought vaguely.
“I know exactly what you’re thinking,”
Magnus said with a smirk that lifted only one side of his lips.
“Frederick der Große. A man of great accomplishments, no doubt.”
“Yeah, I suppose.”
Raphael replied, somewhat sullenly.
Magnus gently patted Raphael’s shoulder.
“I am your patron. And you owe your rise to none other than His Majesty the King. Don’t forget that.”
“So, you’re saying I should side with the royalists?”
Raphael pressed his eyelids and let out a bitter smile.
“That’s right.”
“Spare me. Sure, you’re a noble magistrate… and yes, you’re my patron…”
Magnus furrowed his brows in concern.
Raphael had once been a poor provincial boy at the University of Paris, barely able to eat.
Magnus had taken him in and given him a path in philosophy and thought.
Fearing he might hurt Magnus, Raphael swallowed the words he wanted to say and instead spoke another.
“Maybe I should’ve just become a painter.”
Hiding from fate’s irony, Raphael continued to shed silent tears.
“Raphael Sanzio… Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo Buonarroti! The stars of the Renaissance lived lives far better than mine…”
“Enough now…”
Magnus searched for words to calm Raphael.
Then, after taking a deep breath, he said this:
“Indeed, perhaps they lived fulfilling lives. But in this 18th century, painting holds no sway. And besides, Frederick II is no longer of this world. if you went to Prussia now, a naive kid like you would be turned away or killed.”
Frederick II, after all, had been a homosexual, an art fanatic, and a war maniac.
And above all, what he devoted himself to most—was alchemy.
“Be glad you didn’t have to follow such a mad king, Raphael.”
Without saying a word, Raphael downed the coffee that had been placed in front of him in one gulp.
The phrase Raphael feared to say aloud was—
“Monsieur Magnus, you magistrate nobles are just social climbers. No different from the Medici family.”
Author’s Notes
For example, in the 17th century, Descartes’ father and Antoine Arnauld held roles such as judges, but many thinkers were included in this group.
These magistrates helped foster not only literary and philosophical figures but also religious leaders.
In Arnauld’s case, he was so dedicated to establishing monasteries and so disgusted by the loose conduct of the clergy that he even appointed his own young daughter as abbess out of sheer puritanical zeal (laughs).
“No different from the Medici family”…
The Medici were a family that expanded their influence by aligning with the French royal house.
But in reality, they were just bankers, and for that, they were looked down upon by the French nobility.
(Since the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre of the Huguenots and the Thirty Years’ War are involved, I’ll skip over that for now ^_^)
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