1740 and All That

An outline of Catt's memoirs, not intended for someone who hasn't read them. It's meant as a reference for someone who has and wants to be able to find a passage again. I've included only the passages of interest to me at the present time, which means I've omitted much of the poetry and war material.


7: Fritz has lost weight
11: D'Argens gives Catt advice
12: Mitchell gives Catt advice
15: Fritz starts telling Catt about his ADCs and other people he associates with
21: Strasbourg anecdote
23: Guichard recounts an anecdote about saving a woman from rape
26: Guichard and Roman soldiers carrying more weight than Prussians
28: Voltaire and Maupertuis
30: Catt and Fritz disagree on religion
31: Voltaire letter arrives, Fritz devours with his eyes
32: Fritz wants to send Voltaire a poem, Catt advises against
32: Maupertuis, Algarotti, La Mettrie, Jordan, d'Argens, de Prades, Darget, the Palladion, d'Arnaud
38: Fritz's snuff habit
41: Voltaire and Fritz argue about war
43: Fritz would like to live a civilian life
44: Fritz makes Guichard wear the gear of a grenadier
48: Catt is accused of overloading his packhorse
49: Childrearing
52: Lentulus and Schwerin
55: Passion for writing poetry
56: Distrusts priests
57: Dream about being taken to Magdeburg
58: FW terrible man, great ruler
59: Fritz beaten for learning Latin
60: Heinrich as favorite son
60: Katte execution
63: Siblings beaten up
64: Reading records relating to his trial after becoming king
66: How terrible Fritz's life is
67: Rebuilding a town in the Italian style
67: Sanssouci, how much it cost, draws a picture of it
68: Count Hoditz
71: "Am I a Trenck that I should pillage you?"
72: Rousseau criticizing Eugene
73: Fritz praising Eugene
77: Immortality of the soul
79: Hussar buried alive
80: Ingratitude is the worst
83: Moved to tears by Racine
86: Foresaw the 7 Years' War 6 years in advance
88: What women are like
90: Praise of MT
91: Can't remember name of opera, wakes up Catt
92: Fritz has an ADC steal from him, lets him keep the money, but dismisses him
93: Free will discussion
101: Ghost-writing love poetry
104: Epaminondas
105: Praises Mitchell
105: Praises Grant, eavesdropped on Grant, who didn't care about being invited to dine with Fritz
110: Loves reading and dancing, enjoyed them at Rheinsberg
113: Raising princes
117: Recites Cicero, importance of trained memory
119: Maupertuis better person than Voltaire, not a genius
120: More ghost-writing
126: Voltaire tried to stir up trouble between d'Argens and Algarotti
129: Wilhelmine encouraged Fritz to read
130: Fritz snuck out at night to read
131: FW tried to make him a hunter, opposed to dancing
131: Fritz hasn't danced since 1750, still likes to see young people dancing
133: Margrave of Brandenburg-Schwedt
134: Wolff deeply flawed
136: FW intelligent and good sense but hates learning, literature, philosophy
138: FW, SD, AW, Wilhelmine dream
139: Dreams and prophets
139: Existence of spirits, ghosts, prophecy, souls
144: Catt very sick
145: Fritz very good at medicine
148: Bookbinding
151: Praises Seydlitz
154: Praises and criticizes Charles XII
157: Hemorrhoids
158: Poetry, Marquis d'Argens
159: Wipes pen on shirt ruffles
160: Swinish, snuff, mother used to send shirts
161: Colic
168: "I would sell Prussia and live in France."
171: Immortality of the soul
175: FW says not to send the letter forgiving G2 unless he dies
178: FW philosopher king
182: Indigestion
183: Hemorrhoids
188: AW dies
197: If only AW had had better advisors, like Catt's brother-in-law
200: Village burns down
202: Heaven doesn't care about us more than we care about ants
204: Voltaire doesn't believe war requires special skill
211: Seydlitz complains His Confounded Majesty doesn't believe intelligence
215: Catt doesn't need to keep such a detailed diary any more
220: Balbi dressed down for failing to succeed in the siege, Balbi says Fritz never changes his mind
221: Marwitz warned Catt that Fritz will turn on you for the least offense, or no offense, after thirty years
223: Balbi owes his advancement to a dream
228: Laments AW and bad advisors, Fritz wanted to retire and let AW become king
230: Speaks with one kind of enthusiasm, and acts with another
232: Fritz has a bad temper but only when provoked
236: If they had tried to raise me instead of humiliating me, I would be a better person. Have to be won with praise, like Voltaire did.
244: Catt chats with Mitchell
244: The Keiths
247: Schwerin dies
248: Fritz accidentally opens letters belonging to other people
249: One is Catt's, in which a Swiss friend has criticized Fritz
258: Tries to ask a Bohemian peasant a question in his own language, can't understand the answer
264: Tells Catt to keep his diary around so Fritz can plagiarize from it later
269: Catt insists on joining the King, August 10, gets told he'll get in trouble for going uninvited, doesn't get in trouble
274: Turenne says anyone who hasn't made mistakes hasn't waged war
276: Watchmaker Deist argument
278: Küstrin destroyed by Russians
285: Fritz makes verses on the eve of Zorndorf
301: Pose-dam
301: Lesson on Zorndorf
305: The Wreeches
306: Peasant woman wants a place for her son
309: Lucretius, religion, Catt thinks Fritz's opinions aren't firm because he speaks of them so often



2: Seydlitz and Zorndorf
4: Amalia visits, talks about AW's death
4: AW's terrible medical care and how it killed him, plus bad advisors
5: Fritz used to listen to flattering friends too
6: Importance of not being led
7: D'Argens hypochondriac
8: Imagines himself at Sanssouci
13: Letter of Pompadour to the Queen of Hungary
14: Apostolic Hag
15: Catt meets Heinrich, Fritz speaks well of him
17: Fritz needs help with basic Latin
18: Fritz wants to send an ode on the French to Voltaire, Catt advises against it
22: Worried that Voltaire may have made a copy of the book of poems that was retrieved at Frankfurt
23: Voltaire exaggerated Frankfurt
24: March to Hochkirch
28: Worried about Wilhelmine, who taught him to work and to moderate his temper, trying to write a letter with an ode for her
33: Battle of Hochkirch starts
39: Catt says Fritz exposes himself too much
40: Shows Catt opium
42: Fritz didn't listen to advice
44: Opium again
47: Wilhelmine dies
48: Catt consoles him
52: Heinrich visits, Fritz and Heinrich have a good cry
54: Fritz eavesdrops on Marwitz, who complains about Fritz berating him for how he pitched his camp
56: Seydlitz: "Well, win it then, Your Majesty."
59: Finally sleeps a little
61: Depressed, doesn't want cheering up, wants some sympathy
67: Torments Guichard by not letting him eat when he's hungry
70: Feverish
71: Makes fun of guy who believes in prophets
73: Refuses to ride in carriage, despite being sick and having a rash
79: Misses Wilhelmine, wants Catt to speak of her often
82: Doesn't like sitting in high, royal chairs
83: Mocks the King of Poland
84: Writing his memoirs, hopes his family will be pleased
86: Sends instructions to his generals to Fouque
88: Hochkirch not entirely his fault, but an unfortunate stone in his garden
102: Dog keeps jumping up and interrupting him
103: Hopes to see mother and sister after death
106: Doesn't like Voltaire's ode to his sister
106: Voltaire given credit for Fritz's history of Brandenburg
107: Fritz thinks Voltaire gave himself credit and pretends to be outraged
110: Prince of Brunswick wants promotion, Fritz refuses to be pressured
115: Praises and snipes at Voltaire
122: MT hates whores
124: Thinks Wedell is the greatest
125: Sometimes makes snap judgments and has to go back on them
133: Colic
135: Misses Wilhelmine and SD
136: FW anecdotes: knocks down girl, tells Grumbkow a secret,
138: Rheinsberg, Mollwitz, no opium at Mollwitz
142: Wedell defeated by Russians
146: Studied geometry more for logic than math, forgot most of the math, kept the reasoning abilities
147: Leaves Catt with Heinrich
151: Catt doesn't think you should use the servant grapevine
152: Praise of Heinrich
159: Kunersdorf, Fritz saved by gold case from bullet
165: Charles XII
170: Maxen
178: Nobody except Catt dares inform Fritz of the disaster
182: Brief allusion to Küstrin
186: Wishes he had been laid up with gout longer so he could have prevented this
187: Wants to retire
191: Compares himself to Voltaire, Catt says Fritz writes for a distraction, Fritz says genius even bigger difference
194: Religion, immortality of the soul
200: Bother-free Voltaire visits
207: Individual vs. general maps
208: Fritz can't draw up retreat plan after Kolin
209: Discussion of Kunersdorf
213: Jesuits and education
215: Trained memory
217: Missing Wilhelmine and Keith
219: Gout
224: FW2 positive appraisal
237: Anonymous letter, Fritz's secret poems published
241: Fritz toothache
241: Rewrites offensive poems
245: Doesn't believe in turning the other cheek
245: Says Voltaire bites
247: D'Alembert
254: Lulls inner child with poems
256: Catt tells Fritz he usually guesses wrong about how things are going to turn out
266: Young officer is wet behind the ears but old in courage
269: Misbehaved as a child, but would have been better with more gentleness. 270: Hard to undo upbringing.
270: Anecdote about minister of state beating coachman
272: Voltaire, letters
273: Voltaire yelling "warmth" in theater
274: Classical education
280: Vengeance is sweet
283: Peasant won't spy on Austrians
288: Very bad mood, impatient with everyone, talks about hanging himself
290: Fouqué captured
299: Dreams of father, wants his approval, asks Old Dessauer if he should attack