Preface.

Since everyone is expressing their opinion freely and publicly about the great and small events of the world, then permit me as well to speak straight from the heart Original: von der Brust weg sprechen, an idiom meaning to speak frankly or without reservation., and reveal to you what I think about the small pamphlet which has recently been presented to you under the title: Secret Letters on the Prussian State Constitution since the Accession of Frederick William the Second The author is referring to Geheime Briefe über die preußische Staatsverfassung, a controversial work published around 1787/1788 that critiqued the transition of power from Frederick the Great to his successor..

I am no journalist, no political pothouse politicianOriginal: Kannengießer. A derogatory term originating from a 1722 play by Ludvig Holberg, referring to an amateur who discusses politics in a tavern without any real expertise or responsibility., I belong to no club—those which now increase so frequently in number and would like to... The sentence continues on the next page, as noted in the metadata.