Tea at Trianon: Dr. Alice von Hildebrand on the Meaning of Words

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

Monday, February 5, 2007

Dr. Alice von Hildebrand on the Meaning of Words

Here is a great article by the wonderful Alice von Hildebrand, featured in this month's New Oxford Review. It ties in with what we have been saying about blogging etiquette. The general coarsening of society leads to rudeness and the use of vulgar language.

Dr. Hildebrand is a true scholar and a very great lady. She demonstrates how the use of language reflects on how we view marriage, sexuality, and ourselves. She is not advocating a return to the prudery of Jansenism or Puritanism, but merely an acceptance of the reality of God and the dignity of the human person. Share

2 comments:

Anonymous said...: A very fine article! Thanks for posting, EMV!; February 5, 2007 at 8:55:00 PM EST
elena maria vidal said...: Your are welcome, Melanie! Dr Hildebrand has written the preface of a book of articles on women's issues, including an article of mine, which is going to be published by a group called Project Dominic sometime this year. Stay tuned for details....; February 5, 2007 at 11:27:00 PM EST