This letter has been denounced as ‘a breath-taking blend of arrogance, aggression, sarcasm and false solicitude’.97 It can also be read as giving Frederick William one (very) last opportunity for a dignified exit, and extremely accurately estimating Prussia’s chances in the coming war (indeed the prediction of disaster ‘within a month’ was an underestimate, since the battles of Jena and Auerstädt took place within two weeks).
