Frederick the Great project: Digital correspondence
from the correspondence of frederick the great — tranche 1
I fear it may be some kind of venereal disease and as you can count on my friendship and on my discretion I beg you to let me know. I will make sure you have all the necessary medicine from Dr Miraux of Potsdam. No-one will know a word, and I assure you that you can confide your secret to me . . .
— Translation from French into English of
Frederick II, king of Prussia to unknown,
Saturday, 20 December 1732;
EE letter ID: fred02EE0010001a1c
In April 1732 Crown Prince Frederick had been made Colonel of the Goltz infantry regiment in Neuruppin, thirty miles north-west of Berlin.
This letter is evidently written in response to news from an officer of similar rank, conveyed by a lower ranking officer. It gives a glimpse of regular visits to Berlin brothels among the officer class and the health hazards involved. Frederick’s concern to provide medical advice is characteristic of a lifelong interest in diseases and their cures.
Very few such informal, personal letters by Frederick survive from this period of his life as a young officer, and it provides a rare insight into his choice of language: while he uses French for ordinary discourse, he resorts to German in military matters.
Katrin Kohl
Fellow and Tutor in German,
Professor of German Literature,
Faculty of Modern Languages
Subscribers have full access to the results of this project and much more.
Find out about subscribing to EE.