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37 I must confess that I know no more of the political constitution of states than one might learn through ordinary acquaintances with people who are not much above my rank. How, therefore, can I judge a project that presupposes the most profound knowledge of statistics? Generally speaking, the idea seems to me to be a grand one and to have arisen in a spirit that is conscious of its powers. The zeal for tolerance, the aversion to hierarchy, and the convictions regarding religion and morals prove that the author is accustomed to thinking as wisely as he does grandly. Even the confidence with which the author speaks of executing such a bold undertaking has instilled in me an uncommonly high regard for his character. The boldness of my spirit, if I otherwise possess any of it, extends merely to speculative matters. In practical matters I have always been confined to an alltoo -narrow sphere to have been able to acquire the skill to raise myself to great things and to see beyond ordinary difficulties. Who can add a span to his own height? Thegreatestdifficultythatseemstometostandinthewayofthisprojectisthe character of my nation. It is not sufficiently prepared for any great undertaking. The hardship under which we have lived for so many centuries has deprived our spirit of all of its vigor. It is not our fault, but we cannot deny that the natural impulse for freedom has lost all activity in us. It has changed into a monkish virtue that merely expresses itself in praying and suffering, not in acting. From a nation so widely scattered as mine I do not expect the spirit of unity, without which the most carefully considered plan must fail. Furthermore, this undertaking seems to me to require immense sums, and knowing that the wealth of my nation consists more in credit than in actual assets , I cannot believe that its powers suffice for obtaining such sums even should [its] desire for freedom be ever so great and the love of shiny metal have ever so little power over it. All of these difficulties aside, such a project seems feasible to me only if the 5 | Letter to “a Man of Rank” (Rochus Friedrich Graf von Lynar), 26 January 1770 38 | p o l e m i c a l w r i t i n g s great European powers are entangled in a general war and each has to take care of itself. Given the peace in which they live at present, a single jealous power (and there would be not a few of them) could frustrate this project. The calamitous crusades seem to justify this misgiving only too well. Therefore, I am herewith returning, with a most solemn promise of eternal silence, the papers that have been entrusted to me. I likewise promise to suppress the natural and in every other case praiseworthy desire to become better acquainted with a person who must be held in high regard. Berlin, 26 January 1770 Moses Mendelssohn ...

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