I am a literary giant in Russia

Chapter 253 The Power of Genuine Parisians and Londoners
Soon after Kant, sophists emerged who were nothing more than manipulators of words. They misused obscure and profound terms to bore and irritate the thinking people of their time, and then frightened them away from philosophy and stopped trusting this kind of knowledge.

But now, a more intellectually capable person will emerge, restoring philosophy to its former glory.

—Schopenhauer's first words when he began his lectures at the University of Berlin in 1820
As an important free city within the German Confederation, Frankfurt has been a vital trading center since the Middle Ages. Located at the crossroads of European trade routes, it is renowned for its markets and finance. As early as 1150 AD, Frankfurt already hosted formal trade fairs.

In a region with such an important geographical location and frequent commercial exchanges, it is natural that many celebrities will emerge and various major events will take place here.

Just like in 1567, a Jewish merchant built a house in the Frankfurt ghetto. The house had a red sign that read "roth Schild" in German. His son took the family name as his surname, and thus the family was named "Rothschild".

In 1749, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, one of the greatest writers and poets in German history, was born here.

In 1848, the citizens of Frankfurt, inspired by the revolutionary old region of France, enthusiastically took to the streets and eventually established the Frankfurt National Assembly. Here, they discussed drafting a unified and free constitution for Germany and establishing a unified German Empire governed by an elected parliament.

After some twists and turns, they finally chose to implement a constitutional monarchy and elected Frederick William IV, King of Prussia, as German Emperor. However, William IV, who believed in the divine right of kings, refused to be crowned: "I will not wear a crown from the hands of the common people." In the end, the revolution was suppressed and parliament was forced to dissolve.

In 1846, everything seemed calm on the surface, but many things were already showing signs of what was to come.

However, before the event actually occurred, the citizens of Frankfurt continued their ordinary lives as usual, just like Arthur Schopenhauer.

At the age of fifty-eight, his life remained as regular as ever. He would get up between 7 and 8 a.m., take a cold shower, drink a cup of coffee, and then bury himself in writing until noon. After finishing his work, he would put on formal clothes and go to a restaurant called "The English Hotel" for a meal.

After finishing his meal, he went home and read until four o'clock, then took his curly-haired dog for a walk.

At six o'clock sharp, he arrived at the library. In the library's reading room, he read the British newspaper, *The Times*. Schopenhauer largely agreed with his father's statement on this: "From *The Times*, you can know everything you want to know."

The same applies to tonight.

But when Schopenhauer saw a brief news item in The Times, he couldn't help but frown.

"The fact that Mr. Mikhail, the author of *A Study in Scarlet*, has apparently left London seems to reflect something."

Schopenhauer: "?"

What else does it reflect besides that he has left London?
When did the solemn and composed Times become so easily alarmed?

However, Schopenhauer recently saw a lot of news about this writer named Mikhail in the British newspapers. Heaven knows what's going on with this writer; he always manages to do one surprising thing after another.

Even in Frankfurt, people often discuss this writer.

After all, in the German intellectual circles of 1846, French culture represented "modernity," "fashion," and "civilization." Paris was the cultural capital of Europe, and French literature enjoyed extremely high prestige and was highly sought after among the German nobility, bourgeoisie, and intellectuals.

Meanwhile, English literature, particularly the historical novels of Sir Walter Scott and the poetry of Lord Byron, had a profound influence in Germany. Charles Dickens was also beginning to emerge at this time.

As a major publishing and book fair city, Frankfurt sees a large number of English and French novels translated into German and circulated there. The bookshelf of a cultured Frankfurt family will almost certainly contain several German translations of French or English novels.

It was under these circumstances that a young Russian man in his early twenties suddenly appeared, writing French novels in France and English novels in England, and then surprisingly, he succeeded in both!

Such a legendary experience has made him one of the most popular and talked-about poets and writers in the past year.

Schopenhauer, however, always held a critical and arrogant attitude towards this phenomenon, just as he wrote in his book:
"We should dedicate our limited reading time to reading the great works of various countries and peoples throughout history."

In short, read classics and read less popular books.

That's why, even though he saw a lot of news about this young man in the newspapers and heard many people discussing him in various places, Schopenhauer still scoffed at the young man's novels and had no interest in reading them at all.

After seeing such a boring news item in The Times, Schopenhauer immediately lost interest in reading it. With a hint of disdain, he put the newspaper back and, as usual, took his curly-haired dog to his familiar English hotel.

However, the restaurant seemed to be doing quite well today; when Schopenhauer arrived, he couldn't find a single seat at all.

In this situation, he would have no choice but to sit at a table with other people to eat.

Even so, to avoid sitting with officers who only talked about horses and women, Schopenhauer still carefully selected his tablemates.

He observed for only a short while before being drawn to a calm and well-mannered young man. Compared to most of the people present, this young man, who appeared to be very cultured, might be a good conversationalist.

With this thought in mind, Schopenhauer quickly walked over and said succinctly, "Sir, do you have a seat here?"

"Of course, please have a seat."

To Schopenhauer's surprise, the young man stared at him for a long time after he looked up, only withdrawing his gaze after Schopenhauer finally came to his senses.

After Schopenhauer sat down, the young man asked with great interest, "Sir, does your dog have a name? It looks very spirited."

"It's called the soul. Or rather..."

At this point, Schopenhauer gave a slightly sarcastic smile: "You can also call it the world spirit."

"Oh?"

Upon hearing the name, the young man gave a somewhat strange smile, and then said, "Are you referring to the embodiment of the ultimate idea in Mr. Hegel's philosophy, the World Spirit?"

"Yes."

Schopenhauer, who felt agitated at the mere mention of Hegel's name, glanced at the young man and said, "Could it be that you are also a follower of this pseudo-philosopher who spouts empty rhetoric?" Strictly speaking, Schopenhauer and Hegel initially had academic disagreements.

In 1820, Hegel, who held a pivotal position at the University of Berlin, disliked Schopenhauer's philosophy, but he ultimately granted Schopenhauer's request to start classes at the same time as him.

The result was that Schopenhauer suffered a crushing defeat, and the rather peculiar Schopenhauer held a grudge against Hegel for the rest of his life.

"No, Mr. Hegel's philosophy has many valuable aspects, but it also has its absurdities. More importantly..."

Upon hearing what was valuable, Schopenhauer was already itching to vehemently refute the young man, but his next words surprised him slightly:
"In a sense, all idols are false, and worshipping any person or thing is enslaving oneself for a false sense of security and comfort. So I will not be a believer in anything, but I am very interested in learning."

Just as Schopenhauer was pondering this somewhat profound and rather bold statement, the young man suddenly stretched out two fingers, rubbed them against his beloved dog, and made a "sucking" sound.

Immediately afterwards, Schopenhauer saw his beloved dog run straight toward the young man and then circle around his legs quite attentively.

Schopenhauer: "?"

After patting his dog's head, the young man suddenly pulled two gold coins from his pocket and placed them on the table. Facing Schopenhauer's gaze, the young man smiled and said, "If I hear those officers here talking about anything more serious than women and horses, then I will use these gold coins to help the poor."

Of course, relief will still be provided even if no one hears about it.

Isn't this a habit and excuse I used for a period of time last year?

Except for that last sentence.

Finally, realizing something, Schopenhauer first tried to recall for a while, and then couldn't help but ask, "Could it be that we know each other?"

“I am your reader, Mr. Schopenhauer. Your ‘The World as Will and Representation’ is quite brilliant; it’s hard to imagine that you could have completed it when you were thirty.”

Schopenhauer was slightly surprised by this, but not too shocked.

After all, although his philosophy has not yet entered the public eye, he already has a few followers, some of whom are making every effort to promote his doctrines by writing pamphlets and giving speeches in public.

But encountering such a reader was always a pleasant thing for him, and seeing that the young man was interested in listening, Schopenhauer immediately became interested.

As soon as the young man asked a question, Schopenhauer launched into a long and detailed discussion of life, art, philosophy, and current events, becoming so engrossed that he didn't even care whether the listener understood what he was saying.

The young man listened attentively, sometimes even asking questions that Schopenhauer didn't find particularly insightful.

The other people in the restaurant looked at the two, one old and one young, with somewhat strange and mocking eyes as they discussed a bunch of inexplicable questions.

However, neither of them seemed to care much, and as time went on, their conversation gradually came to an end.

Just as Schopenhauer was feeling that he hadn't had enough, he remembered to ask the young man in front of him his name.

What is your name?

Schopenhauer had just begun to speak when, for some reason, a sudden, unusual commotion erupted outside the restaurant, and soon after, a large number of guests poured into the English restaurant.

Instead of finding a suitable place to sit down, these impeccably dressed gentlemen rudely sized up everyone present.

After observing for a while, suddenly, a sharp-eyed gentleman's eyes lit up, and he walked straight towards Schopenhauer's table. While Schopenhauer and the surrounding guests were somewhat puzzled, this gentleman warmly extended his hand to the young man and said:

"You must be Mr. Mikhail Romanovich Raskolnikov, right? I believe I am not mistaken."

Who is he?
The author who frequently appears in The Times?

That annoying young man who has achieved such great fame at such a young age?
"I'm."

Slightly surprised, Mikhail asked, "Who are you? How did you manage to find your way here?"

"I am Valentläp, the largest publisher in Frankfurt. I learned of your upcoming visit to Frankfurt from gentlemen in Paris a couple of days ago, and many in Frankfurt's literary circles, including myself, are eagerly anticipating your arrival. We have prepared a banquet to welcome you!"

But it seems you had something else on your mind, so I rushed over as soon as I heard you had arrived.”

In general, Valentrappe wanted to reach a certain cooperation with Mikhail, after all, the gentleman was so young and had a very bright future. His works were very popular in Germany and he would certainly be able to write more works in the future.

In this situation, establishing a cooperative relationship with him early on would indeed be quite beneficial, as it would be both profitable and helpful to the reputation of his publishing house.

However, before Valentrappe could finish speaking, several other publishers crowded around, vying to introduce themselves. Meanwhile, at the back, some cultural figures and literature enthusiasts looked at Mikhail with fervent eyes.

Mikhail: “?”

This is the power of genuine Parisian and London gentlemen.
It seems that all that effort spent in Paris and London finally paid off.
At that very moment, on the other side of the table, Schopenhauer, watching the young man surrounded by Frankfurt's cultural luminaries, thought: "???"

Is this right?
I feel like my life has been stolen.
It is worth mentioning that although Schopenhauer's works are written with great open-mindedness and insight, in real life, his personality and temper were much worse and more intense than the average person.

So just as Schopenhauer was feeling a bit annoyed, he suddenly saw the young man looking at him, and then Mikhail said in a clear voice to the cultural figures beside him: "I am very glad that I have met such a brilliant philosopher in Frankfurt. His philosophy will sooner or later have a great influence on European culture and thought."

As soon as he said this, everyone present, whether cultural celebrities or ordinary guests, turned to look at the slightly bewildered Schopenhauer.
(End of this chapter)