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Source: Correspondenz von Leibniz mit der Prinzessin Sophie vol III Onno Klopp (ed) pp 116-119 Date: 18 March 1705 Translated from the French View this translation in PDF format (17k) Back to home page Search texts by category: METAPHYSICS MIND, BODY AND SOUL FREE WILL AND NECESSITY SCIENCE POLITICS, LAW AND ETHICS THEOLOGY |
LEIBNIZ TO PRINCESS CAROLINE OF ANSPACH[K III p116] Madam. I had the pleasure to learn of Your Serene Highness's restoration to health by the honour of your own letter, when I was hit with the news of a more dangerous relapse and of the desperate state, little different from agony, which it was said you were in. In addition, Madam, you had said farewell to the Queen, which alarmed me greatly. I was in a state of anguish, and nevertheless I supported myself by the hope that one always has as long as the afflicted person draws breath, when I was overwhelmed from another side by a most unexpected and crushing blow. I heard of the Queen's death before having known that she was truly sick.1 For a cold and diarrhoea are not counted. At the same time I was made to fear, with reason, for the life of Madam the Electress.2 So there, the three persons in the world among those of your sex [K III p117] whom I not only honoured infinitely with all other reasonable and informed people, but also whom I cherished the most, and whose goodness gave me and promised to me the greatest satisfaction in the world, suddenly became the object of the most burning pain and of the most acute apprehension. Not only was the sadness etched on my face for a long time, but I even found myself completely changed and ready to fall ill. The King himself noticed it, for I was still in Berlin, not having been able to follow the Queen at the outset. Finally I breathed again in some way, having learned that youthfulness, or rather providence, had saved Your Highness, and that Madam the Electress had recovered. Having finally arrived in Hanover two weeks ago, I learned two things which gave me a great deal of consolation; first, that the Queen died a peaceful death, as Monsignor the Elector told me that she herself said to him: ich sterbe eines gemächlichen Todes;3 second, that she died with a wonderfully serene mind and with great feelings of a soul at peace, resigned to the orders of the supreme providence. I consider this to be very important, and I believe that Your Serene Highness, after having been kind enough at Lutzenburg to want to understand and not to dismiss my opinions on true piety, which requires this resignation, will allow me to say a little more about it. I am convinced, not by flighty conjectures, that everything is ordered by a substance whose power and wisdom are of the highest degree and of an infinite perfection, so that, if in the present state we were able to understand the order which God has placed in things, we would see that nothing better could be wished for, not only in general, but even in particular for all those [K III p118] who share the view I have just mentioned, that is, all those who have a true love of God and the complete confidence which one ought to have in his goodness. And this is what Holy Scripture teaches us, in accordance with reason, in saying that God makes everything turn to the good for those who love him. Now it is rather obvious that love is nothing other than the state in which one finds one's pleasure in the perfections of the object loved. And it is what is done by those who recognize and appreciate these perfections in everything which is pleasing to God. If we were already perceptive enough to see this wonderful beauty of things, it would be a knowledge which would constitute the pleasure of our blessedness: as this beauty is currently hidden from our eyes, and we even sense a thousand things which offend us, which cause the temptation to weaknesses and scandal to the poorly educated, our love of God and our hope are still only based in faith, that is, in an assurance of reason, but which is still not accompanied by anything obvious or verified by sense-experience. Here, Madam, is what the three Christian virtues of faith, hope, and love, consist of, taking these virtues in their general sense. They constitute the essence of the piety which Jesus Christ has taught us divinely well, in accordance with supreme reason, and where our reason hardly reaches without divine grace, although there is nothing so reasonable. I often conversed with the Queen about this great principle of piety, contentment, and blessedness. It seemed to me that she approved of it, and even that her wonderful penetration enabled her to conceive it better than I was able to express it. This resignation of a mind which was calm and satisfied with her God shone forth in her words and even [K III p119] in her eyes and gestures until the last moment of her life. I imagine, Madam, that Mrs de Bulau and Miss de Pöllnitz, to whom you have written letters which have demonstrated your piety, your grief and your noble spirit, will have informed you of what happened. Nevertheless I thought that what has given me some consolation could have a similar effect on Your Serene Highness. NOTES: 1. Leibniz is referring here to Sophie Charlotte, who died on 1 February 1705. 2. Electress Sophie. 3. 'I die a gentle death'. © Lloyd Strickland 2006 |