As early as July 30, 1789, shortly after he heard about the Storming of the Bastille, he wrote to his father-in-law, philologist Christian Gottlob Heyne, that it was beautiful to see what philosophy had nurtured in people's minds and then had realized in the state.
Încă de la 30 iulie 1789, puțin după ce a aflat despre Căderea Bastiliei, el i-a scris socrului său, filologul Christian Gottlob Heyne, că era frumos să vadă că ce sădise filosofia în mințile oamenilor s-a realizat apoi în stat.