Tea at Trianon: Murder and Mayhem in old Alexandria

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, March 4, 2007

Murder and Mayhem in old Alexandria

...And I don't mean Alexandria, Virginia, either. I was going to post this lurid article about ancient Egypt yesterday, but I got too busy writing about Aunt Ellen. It is amazing that Cleopatra was a competent ruler, considering that she came from such a dysfunctional and murderous family. Once again, we see how extreme decadence and immorality, even by pagan standards, lead to a culture of death. I do confess, however, that I always liked the movie Cleopatra, starring Elizabeth Taylor, if just for the sheer pageantry of a (mercifully) bygone and glittering era in history. It is the classic tale of how unrestrained passion destroys, unlike true love, which builds and creates. Share

2 comments:

Jeffrey Smith said...: She was rather remarkable. One of the most interesting, but thoroughly neglected, aspects of history is how good monarchs sometimes crop up under the most adverse circumstances.
Thanks for the link. I clicked on that reconstruction of the harbor. Enlarges nicely and it's quite useful.; March 4, 2007 at 2:45:00 PM EST
elena maria vidal said...: Thanks, Jeffrey! So glad to be of some use.

Yes, people focus on the torrid aspects of Cleopatra's life while overlooking her accomplishments as a ruler.; March 4, 2007 at 2:51:00 PM EST