Freiherr von Karl Ludwig Pöllnitz

“ The Gardens of the Palace are as inconsiderable as the Building; they being full of large Fruit-trees, but in very bad Order, and I saw nothing there that can be call’d a fine Prospect.
Mean time the Court Nobility are far from being so ill lodg’d as the Emperor, for they have all stately Houses, both in the City and Suburbs. Prince Eugene of Savoy’s Palace is the most magnificent Building that one shall see; for whether you examine the Outside or the Inside of it, the whole is of the best Contrivance, and the utmost Magnificence. ”

“ XXXVII. I firmly believe, that the Invocation of the Saints is very useful to us for our Salvation, and that ’tis not contrary to the Commands of God, as the Heretics affirm. For the Worship of God is nothing more than honouring God in his Saints, just as (if I may be permitted the Comparison) I honour my King by honouring his Ministers. Would God, who has commanded us to honour our Parents, Persons advanc’d in Years, our Governors and Superiors, forbid us to honour the Saints and Angels, who are his Ministers, and by Consequence our Superiors? ”

“ In a Word, the great Houses of Genoa are mere Solitudes, excepting on Assembly Days, of which there are some held here every Evening at the House of one Nobleman or another. Then the Apartments are nobly illuminated, and there’s all manner of Refreshments serv’d up in Profusion. Assemblies of this kind, and a sorry Italian Opera, were all the Pleasures at Genoa while I was there; so that a Stranger does not know what to do here with his Time. ”

“ All Power is given unto me in Heaven and in Earth. In short, considering the Favours we have receiv’d from Jesus Christ, Are we not his true Slaves? Is it not He who has redeemed us? Is it not He that is our Lord? Ought we not to be for ever at the Service of our Redeemer? ”

“ As for your Persons of Quality, said the Queen, I do not give myself much Trouble about them: All Men are alike to crown’d Heads, and are great no farther than as we bring them to our Courts, and honour them with our Confidence. A Man that you now call a Scrub, perhaps, if I were to give him a Post To-morrow, and admit him to my Service, he is to me as great a Lord as if his Ancestors had liv’d and dy’d in the same Employment. And as for residing in Spain or in Germany, I have weighty Reasons against dwelling in either. ”

“ You perceive, Madame, by what I have already said of Milan, that ’tis a very agreeable Place to live in: I forgot to mention one distinguishing Quality of the Milanese, which is, that they are not at all jealous, a Fault that seems so predominant in the Temper of the Italians, that I cannot imagine how they escape it.
You must know, that never was City subject to more Revolutions than Milan: It has been besieg’d 40 times, and 22 times taken, but was never worse treated than it was by the Emperor Frederic I. surnam’d Barbarossa. ”

“ I think that People ought to be very cautious of neglecting a Sacrament so holy, and which is a Means that God employs to make us Partakers of so many of his Graces. As, by Baptism, we become the Soldiers of Jesus Christ, by the Sacrament of Confirmation we receive Arms to combat our Enemies. By Baptism the Holy Spirit gives us the Fullness of Grace to recover Innocence, and by Confirmation he gives us Grace to acquire the Perfection of Righteousness. By Baptism we are born again to Newness of Life, and Confirmation gives us Strength to fight the good Fight. ”

“ I look upon Confession, as a Part that is absolutely necessary in the Sacrament of Penance.
Tho’ I believe, that perfect Contrition cancels all Sins, yet, as ’tis absolutely necessary, that for producing this Effect it should proceed from a Love purely filial and disinterested towards God, that it should be lively, strong and fervent, and that the Sorrow which produces it in the Soul, may be proportionable to the Heinousness of the Sins committed ”

“ I believe Penance to be a Sacrament in the same manner as Baptism is one: Baptism cancels all Sins, and particularly Original Sin; and for the same Reason Penance, which obliterates all Sins either in Thought or in Deed, that were committed after Baptism, must be truly and properly a Sacrament. Besides, that which is perform’d externally by the Penitent and the Priest, shews the internal Operation in the Soul of the Penitent. ’Tis absolutely necessary to believe, that Penance is a Sacrament, because it contains whatever is essential to a Sacrament: ’Tis the Sign of a holy Thing ”

“ I say, that we ought also to call more particularly upon the Holy Virgin than the other Saints: Because she is the Mother of God, would it not be impious to say, that she deserves not to be invok’d? Who is more proper than a Mother to obtain Favour from a Son? Who can better reconcile us with God than the Virgin? She flies to the Holy Altar of Reconciliation, and does not only repair thither as a Supplicant, but as an Empress, according to the very Words of St. Peter Damien, Serm. ”

“ I stay’d Three Days at Parma, and then proceeded on my Journey; I pass’d thro’ Piacenza or Placentia, so call’d from its pleasant Situation; Nature having not form’d a finer Country any where than that betwixt this City and Parma: Here is a very fine Castle, and a noble Square, in which is the Court of Justice. The Houses are very well built, but not lofty, tho’ indeed it would not signify any thing if they were higher, it being so thinly inhabited, that it looks like a Desert; for sometimes one shall walk a long while in this City, and not meet a Soul. ”

“ V. I believe in Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, and God himself; by whom all Things were made, who has created Heaven and Earth, whom the Angels adore and glorify; who knows the Hearts of Men; whose Power is everlasting, and who vouchsafed to come into the World to be our Saviour and our Redeemer. ”

“ We come first into a great and very long Street, the Houses of which are all of the same Architecture: About the middle of it is the Square of St. Charles, which is encompass’d with Houses perfectly uniform, which would make a much more grand Appearance, if the Piazza’s, that run round it, were but higher. After one has pass’d the Square of St. Charles, the same new Street brings us to a second Square, that fronts the King’s Palace, on the Right Hand of which stands the Palace where liv’d Madame Royale, the King’s Mother: These Two Palaces have a Communication with each other by a Gallery. ”

“ The Sacraments are Symbols of the Grace of God, who sanctifies our Souls, and gives them all the Christian Virtues: The first of all these Sacraments is Baptism, which qualifies us to be Partakers of all the others; and ’twas instituted like all the other Sacraments by our Lord Jesus Christ: ’Tis impossible to be a Christian, or to hope for Life everlasting, without being baptiz’d. ”

“ He talk’d Latin, French and Italian with as much Ease as his native Language.
The Duke Ferdinand is the Elector’s Second Son, tho’ he was first marry’d to a Princess of Neubourg, a Niece of the Elector Palatine. This Duke is the handsomest of the Elector’s Sons; he is perfectly well-shap’d, and has the finest Head of Hair that can be seen; in short, he is a very amiable Prince: He loves Pleasure, but is not a Slave to it; his favourite Sport is Hunting, which he follows commonly with the Princes his Brothers. ”

“ Jesus Christ plac’d this Interval between his Death and Resurrection, to shew, that he was truly Man; and at the same time that there might be no Doubt of his Death. I am firmly persuaded, that ’tis absolutely necessary to believe the Mystery of the Resurrection, which I take to be one of the most important Truths of our Religion, as St. Paul proves, who, speaking to the Corinthians, says in the Fifteenth Chapter, Ver. 14, 17. And if Christ be not risen, then is our Preaching vain, and your Faith is also vain; for ye are yet in your Sins. ”

“ IX. I firmly and religiously believe, that God is the Creator of all Things visible and invisible; that his Power is infinite, and that nothing induc’d him to create the World, but his mere Goodness, which he was indeed pleas’d to communicate to the Things that he created: He form’d the Body of Man from the Clay of the Earth, and dispos’d it in such a manner, that it was capable of being immortal and impassible, not by its own Nature, but thro’ special Grace. ”

“ In Fact, Jesus Christ, as God, gives Men a Share of his Dignities: He is the High-priest, and he honours Men with the Dignity of the Priesthood: ’Tis he that is the true Peter, and he communicates this Quality of Peter to another. Thus he makes his Servants Sharers of what is proper and particular to himself: He establish’d St. Peter to be the Pastor and Head of all Believers, and was willing that he should have the same Power as himself, to govern his Church. ”

“ And if we offer this holy Victim with a pure Heart, a lively Faith, and have a deep Sorrow for our Sins, I doubt not but God will shew us Mercy, and that we shall obtain the Assistance of his divine Grace whenever we need it: Nay, I am persuaded, that ’tis in a manner impossible, that, for the Sake of this sacred Victim, God should not grant us the Grace of Repentance, and the Remission of our Sins. ”

“ After the Peace of Westphalia, the Emperor Leopold summon’d the Dyet of the Empire to Augsbourg in 1690, and there he caus’d himself to be crown’d, and his Son Joseph to be elected King of the Romans.
The assembling of the Dyets, and the flourishing Trade at Augsbourg, have render’d it one of the most magnificent Cities in Germany. Its Squares are large, its Streets spacious, and its Fountains very beautiful. The Town-House is one of the finest Buildings that I have seen. ’Tis a vast square Edifice, well built of Free-Stone. The Porch is all of Marble. ”

“ At other times I repair’d to a Garden behind the House, where her Majesty frequently took a Walk after she had din’d. This Princess always express’d herself in such a kind familiar manner as charm’d me, and she was often glad to be disencumber’d from that Ceremony, which is no less fatiguing to the Princes who grant Audience, than to those who are admitted to it: She did me the Honour to ask me one Day, Whether I did not wonder to see her in such mean Lodgings, and with such a despicable Court? ”

“ According to the constant Tradition of the Apostles, the holy Sacrifice of the Mass may be offer’d up for those Believers who die in the Grace of God before they are intirely cleans’d from their Faults; and ’tis likewise offer’d up to remove Afflictions and public Calamities, and to atone for the Sins of the Living, and the Pains which they have deserv’d. From hence I conclude, that the Sacrifice of the Mass is offer’d particularly for the Benefit and Advantage of all the Faithful. ”

“ The Palace of the Kings of Bohemia, which joins to the Metropolitan Church, is a Heap of several Pavilions without any Regularity, and without much Ornament: The Inside is as ordinary as the Outside, yet for a little Expence it might easily be made a tolerable Structure: The only thing I observ’d here that could be call’d magnificent, was the Situation of it, for from their Majesties Apartments there’s the finest View that can be imagin’d. ”

“ In the Winter they delight to spend their Time in basking in the Sun: In the Summer they sleep all Day long, or else drink Ice-Waters, and they reserve their Walks for the Night: The Country-People, who in all other Parts are so inur’d to Labour, are as idle in Spain as the Town’s-People: They can hardly be said to till the Ground, for they only scrape away the Surface of it, and then scatter their Seed: Yet ’tis surprizing, that every thing comes up here as well as in a Country that is better cultivated. ”

“ The fine Gardens, the Harbour, the Arsenal, the lofty Hills, the terrible Mount Vesuvius, in short, the whole City of Naples, all, Madame, contribute to the Prospect from the Viceroy’s Palace. The Person who then enjoy’d that Dignity was the Cardinal Schrotenbach, not much belov’d by the Neapolitans, who shew’d a very public Concern for the Loss of the Count de Gallas his Predecessor. ”

“ From thence I infer, that by honouring the Saints who are dead in the Lord, by calling upon them, by worshipping their sacred Relics, we do in no wise rob God of any Part of his Glory; on the contrary, I believe, we augment it. The Honour, which we pay to the Saints, strengthens our Hope, renders it more lively, more vehement, and creates a greater Desire in us to tread in their Steps.
Jesus Christ himself was persuaded, that in his State, as Man, the Protection of the Angels was able to deliver him out of the Hand of the Jews ”

“ By these Words I confess, that when Jesus Christ, the Son of God, our only Lord, did for our Sakes take the human Nature upon him in the Womb of the Virgin Mary, he was not conceiv’d after the common manner of other Men, but in a supernatural way; that is to say, by the Operation of the Holy Ghost; so that the same Person being still God, as he had been from all Eternity, became Man, tho’ he was not so before. ”