The old king at last relented, and Frederick obtained his liberty; but it was only on the special condition that he married Elizabeth Christina, a princess of the house of Brunswick. This forced marriage proved utterly abortive of the object intended by the tyrannical old match-maker, for Frederick never lived with the princess, although, through life, he treated her with the greatest respect. She was a woman of meritorious conduct, but quite destitute of personal attractions.
Frederick’s marriage took place in 1732, and from that time till the death of his father in 1740, he resided at Rheinsberg, a village some leagues from Berlin. During this interval of eight years, he devoted himself chiefly to literary pursuits, and wrote his Anti-Machiavel, and Reflections on the Character of Charles XII. The social circle with which he was connected at this time, consisted mostly of learned and ingenious Frenchmen, and probably that circumstance contributed to imbue him with the strong predilection which he ever afterwards displayed in favor of everything French.
His accession to the throne in 1740, brought at once into action the whole energies of his character. He himself entered personally upon all the duties, usually committed by kings to their ministers; and in order to accomplish the multiplicity of business which thus devolved upon him, he laid down strict rules for the appropriation of his time, to which he ever afterwards scrupulously adhered. He rose regularly at four in the morning, occupying but a few minutes with his dress, of which, however, he was careless even to slovenliness; and this practice he continued till a late period of his life.
The details of a peaceful administration were, however, found quite inadequate to the activity of his mind. Accordingly, in the first year of his reign, he resolved on war; but, unfortunately for his character, it was a war of aggression—a war, too, against a female, and the heir of the very house which had saved him from the scaffold. He resolved to wrest Silesia from Maria Theresa, of Austria, and in less than two years he accomplished this object, the province being ceded to him by the treaty of Breslaw, in 1742. It has ever since continued to form a part of the Prussian dominions.
The acquisition of Silesia, and the grasping policy of Frederick seem to have excited the jealousy of other European powers, as well as the enmity of Austria; for a new war broke out in 1742, in which, after a good deal of bloodshed, Prussia was again victorious, and had the possession of Silesia confirmed to her by a new treaty.
In the succeeding ten years, Frederick sedulously cultivated the arts of peace, and by adhering strictly to the systematic apportionment of his time, he was enabled to exercise a personal superintendence over every department of government, without abridging either his pleasures or amusements, and without the slightest abandonment of his literary pursuits. He carried on an extensive correspondence with Voltaire, and several of the most distinguished literati of Europe. He wrote the History of his own Times, and Memoirs of the House of Brandenburg; and he re-established the Academy of Sciences of Berlin. It was in the interval of peace, too, that he invited Voltaire, and other literary characters to reside at his capital. The visit of that extraordinary man, and its result, are well known. The quarrel between him and Frederick, and the terms on which they parted, were little creditable to either; and, besides, they very clearly proved to the world, that in the business of life, philosophers are not superior to ordinary men.
The most important portion, however, of all Frederick’s labors during these ten years of peace, was his civil administration. It comprehended various useful reforms, and the introduction of numerous improvements, for the benefit of the people. He was zealous in the cause of education, and in the establishment of schools and professorships. He also caused the laws to be revised and a new code to be prepared, which, after much labor, was effected, and it still goes under his name. This code abolished torture, and recognized universal toleration in religion. Perhaps the general character of the jurisprudence he established, may be best gathered from his celebrated instruction to the judges:—“If a suit arise between me and one of my subjects, and the case is a doubtful one, always decide against me.”
In the midst of all his improvements, Frederick was again roused to war. He had been advised that Austria, Russia, and Saxony had entered into a treaty for the conquest and partition of his territories. He demanded an explanation from the court of Vienna, which, being unsatisfactory, he immediately struck the first blow by marching an army into Saxony, and taking possession of it almost unopposed. Thus commenced the celebrated “seven years’ war,” the result of which, after numerous battles, and an incredible waste of human life and treasure, was a treaty which again confirmed Prussia in the possession of Silesia, and established the reputation of Frederick as the greatest military genius of the age.
The next ten years were spent in efforts to repair the devastation and misery which Prussia had suffered by the war. Among other ameliorations, may be mentioned his emancipation of the peasantry, from hereditary servitude, which he began by giving up his own signorial rights over the serfs on the crown domains. A good deal of his time was also devoted to literary pursuits, as it was during this period that he wrote his “History of the Seven Years’ War.”
In 1772 he became a party to the partition of Poland, and shared largely in the spoil, as well as in the disgrace of that infamous political robbery. In 1778, he was again in hostility with Austria, respecting the succession to Bavaria, which that power, at the death of the Elector, without issue, proposed on some antiquated, feudal grounds, to re-annex to her own dominions. This war was of short duration, Frederick being successful in settling the question by treaty. In 1785, he had another dispute with Austria, in which he appeared as the defender of the Germanic Confederation, and the rights of its several princes. Here he was also successful, the emperor Joseph yielding the question at issue, without having recourse to arms.