Perpetual motion is
undoubtedly a world-shaking invention but before that, it also shakes its inventor mentally and emotionally. Inventor must
be prepared to face difficult circumstances at any cost. Orffyreus was a very sensitive and emotional man. Since
early experiences of his life were not pleasant, he developed a pessimistic view of world. He already had various kinds
of disappointments in his mind. Among these, some of his own because of difficulties in perpetual motion, while other
from his melancholic observation about the world. He was cynical to see various kinds of disappointments in love, position,
rank, honor, wealth in life, experiences of deliberate wickedness, ingratitude of the world and the dissertation by friends
and relatives without any obvious cause. He was grieved to see corresponding inequality when the weak, the effeminate,
and unworthy were crowned with success in every way.
No one was yet ready
to pay 20000 pounds for the invention. Dream of Orffyreus was then going to be shattered. Those in whom Orffyreus
rested his hopes were going to cheat him. He needed money to realize his dreams. His plan to sell the invention to raise the
school “ Fortress of God” was furthering away. It had a bad start right from the beginning.
When Gravensande was caught secretly attempting to examine the internal structure of the wheel, it angered him very much.
Orffyreus regretted the act of the Gravesande. Orffyreus became sure that he was going to be cheated without getting
money. Gravesande's impertinent curiosity had already created worst doubts in mind of the Orffyreus that no easy and safe
way could be found to get a right reward.
16th
August 1721, the ominous day arrived. Now the most horrible thing was going to take place in his life. Over the night, again
and again he remembered his painful past. The examination of his wheel by the distinguished persons, impertinent curiosity
of Gravesande to grab his secret and his failure in negotiations to sell out the invention- everything shocked him.
He
found himself under complete grip of negative thoughts. Orffyreus suffered many persecutions in his time. He questioned
to himself -“Why persecution arose despite he was truthful and for that he put in its favor the many evidences? He tried
to be a man of God, yet persecution was heaped upon him without reason. He recalled that on one occasion he was
tarred and feathered by a mob. He was forced out of place wherever he went. He was driven out of various towns where in
he had tried to live. His pain of persecution was indeed deep. His case was a just yet nobody helped him as he desired.
In his turbulent thoughts
Gravesande appeared like an unknown devil. Orffyreus did not know who he was and why he (Gravesande) asked so many questions
and expressed such a keen interest in learning about its internal structure. Orffyreus formed the opinion that he wanted to
grab his secret, and therefore it was right to refuse to show him any details of working mechanism of machine. All this angered
Orffyreus so much that he went into a rage. He seemed to cringe in agony. A wave of anger crossed his face, which was
crazy and unnecessary. Sometime during the night, Frank Edward tells us, his mental frothing bubbled over, his blood
began to heat and in a rage, he rushed to the room where his wheel, source of all trouble to him, was located. He took
an axe and gave few powerful blows that shattered the machine into small pieces so that there would be nothing more to fear.
On 16th August 1721,
Orffyreus destroyed his wheel at Weissenstein Castle. After smashing the wheel, he left a message on the wall saying that
he had been strained to do this by the impertinent curiosity of the Gravesande.
It
was the most tragic end of the invention. Hearing the noise, guards who were attending the castle rushed to the site
and they informed count Karl what they had seen. Karl was already aware of the eccentric and hypersensitive nature of Orffyreus
so he had appointed an attendant to keep watch over the Orffyreus who might even kill himself in a fury. Chandra mohan
Pradhan writes that guards wanted to shoot him when they saw him destroying his machine but they could not do it, as they
had no orders from Counnt Karl to shoot him.
Karl
assumed because he was going to provide Orffyreus a new house in a small village near the castle, Orffyreus might have
broken the machine before moving there as he usually did before whenever he shifted to different place. This time, main
reason to break the wheel, we can understand, was to avoid any prying eyes aroused by Gravesande’s letter.
After demolishing his machine, Orffyreus was overcome with sorrow at the thought of all what he had done. Orffyreus felt ashamed
over the act when Karl called him and asked about the sad incident. He repented and asked Count Karl to forgive him. Count
Karl forgave him on the condition that he would not repeat the offense.
Orffyreus promised
to build another wheel but it never happened up to the end, as he wanted. Probably, his destiny forbade it. There is no information
on any further wheels exhibited by Orffyreus but there is suggestion that he built a smaller uni-direction type
wheel in his later years.
Karl Donates House
In 1721, Count Karl provided Orffyreus a house with a garden and a meadow attached, in the nearby town of Karlshafen.
Orffyreus left the Weissenstein with broken part of his machine and painful experience of the past, never to be seen again
in Weissenstein. People there were greatly concerned about the Orffyreus' disappearance but guards took sigh of
relief. For some time, Orffyreus lived peacefully there with his family.
