Justi's Essay on Universal Monarchy (1747): A Misunderstood Satire

Abstract

This article provides more textual evidence to support my interpretation and explains in greater depth the meaning of Justi's essay on universal monarchy in its political context. 1Justi had a very eventful and colourful life. He started his career as a soldier in the Saxon army before studying legal and cameral sciences in Wittenberg from 1742 to 1744. In 1745 he began publishing his first journal and from that time onwards he was always managing at least one journal. In 1747 Justi won an essay prize contest set by the Royal Prussian Academy of Sciences with his text Nichtigkeit und Ungrund der Monaden, in which he criticized Leibniz's and Christian Wolff 's theory of monads. In this same year Justi had been appointed to the service of the widowed Duchess of Sachsen-Eisenach. Three years later, in 1750, Justi went to Vienna, where he was called upon to be chair of eloquentia Germanica at the Theresianum, Maria Theresa's new "imperial academy" for recruits to the civil service. From 1752 he became its professor of Praxis im Cameral-Commercialund Bergwesen. In the following year Justi moved to Leipzig and from there in 1755 to Göttingen, where he became Ober-Policey-Commissar and the first lecturer to teach cameral sciences at the University of Göttingen. Soon after, in 1757, Justi left Göttingen and went to work for the Danish Court. After a short period in Denmark he supported himself until 1765 as an independent writer. This was the time when he wrote most actively. He was granted a pension from Prussia for his pro-Prussian and pro-English pamphlets. In 1765 he was appointed as an inspector of mines, glassand steelworks (Berghauptmann) in Prussia. Three years later he was accused of having misused the state's money. Justi died in 1771, nearly blind and accused of embezzlement, imprisoned in Küstrin.