A TRAVELLER AT BERLIN. 



oppofed the reception of a Lutheran profeffor ; but the 

 king difregarded their objections, and obliged them to 

 admit him. We may juflly affirm, that with the reign 

 of this great monarchy the moft brilliant period of Ber- 

 lin, in regard to learning, took its rife: he attracted 

 the beft writers from abroad to this capital ; and though 

 he was not able then properly to eftimate the value of 

 the learned of his own country, nor feemed delirous of 

 learning how to prize them ; yet he encouraged them in 

 all manner of ways, moft probably in the delign of 

 rendering them what he ardently wiihed them to be. — 

 I muft here take occalion to obferve, that he began in 

 the latter years of his life, to do more juftice to the 

 german literati. The marquis Luccheiini, who is fo 

 eftimable in fuch a variety of refpecls, adds this to his 

 other merits, that he fludied the german language and 

 literature with indefatigable induftry ; and by imper- 

 ceptible degrees found means to insinuate a tafte for 

 them into the mind of his royal patron. I know for 

 certain, that at prefent he keeps up an acquaintance 

 with fome of the greater! writers, and prizes them as 

 they deferve ; it is but lately that Gleim had a very 

 ftriking proof of it, at a vifit he paid him. — But, to 

 return to the literary men of Berlin : perhaps in all 

 Germany there is no other city, the univerfities excepted, 

 where men like Sultzer, Spalding, Teller, Mendel rTohn, 

 Nicolai, Ramler, Dohm, Engel, Gedike, Biefter, 

 Hertz, and others, have fhone in fuch numbers at one 

 time. The multitude of perfons addicted to letters, 

 excites genius ; their ftudies, their productions, and 

 their converfation, encourage it, and impell young 

 people to ftrive at refemblmg them. Hence, as they 



die 



