Tea at Trianon: "Let Us Eat Lies"

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Sunday, January 7, 2007

"Let Us Eat Lies"

Here is a fascinating article by Dr. Gabriel Garnica about how the lies and distortion concerning the truth about Queen Marie-Antoinette are typical of modern and revolutionary political agendas. Share

4 comments:

Anonymous said...: A bit over the top, but hey, elena, it looks like you are up there with Deborah Cadbury.; January 9, 2007 at 7:01:00 PM EST
elena maria vidal said...: Wordsmith, you are very sweet, thank you. All that matters to me is that the truth about the king, queen, and the Revolution is made known.; January 9, 2007 at 8:43:00 PM EST
Viola said...: Hello Elena Maria,

I saw the film recently and I don't really agree with this interpretation of it. It did portray Marie-Antoinette as rather a frivolous girl who loved fashion until the beginning of the Revolution, and it did show her as having an affair with Count Fersen, I must admit. However, I got the impression that the film was sympathetic to her to a large extent and I thought that it was clear that she was a scapegoat for the problems of the people. It was fairly shallow, though.

Best Regards,
Lisa
www.webwritereditor.com; January 18, 2007 at 6:17:00 AM EST
elena maria vidal said...: Hi, Lisa! Thanks for your thoughts! I have not seen the film yet but I am glad that it seems to have gotten many people more interested in Marie-Antoinette and wanting to read about her! Stop by again soon!; January 18, 2007 at 10:34:00 AM EST