Tea at Trianon: Modesty without Frump

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, December 30, 2007

Modesty without Frump

Some thoughts from Ladies Against Feminism.

A woman can be stylish and modest at the same time. In fact, I would even say that women who decide to dress modestly out of a personal conviction about their intrinsic value as a woman created by God have an even more sacred duty to dress themselves in a way that allows their beauty to shine.....

God made me a woman; He shaped me like one. I don't need to prove that by "bringing my melons to the market," as we say in Dutch, but I also don't need to hide the fact. That would be telling God he made a mistake.

SuzanneG said...: Isn't this the perfect few sentences to sum up the concept of "stylish (read-not frumpy) yet modest"....??? It's GREAT!

Hope you and your family have a wonderful New Year's Eve!
Hugs to you, Elena!; December 31, 2007 at 1:58:00 PM EST
Enbrethiliel said...: +JMJ+

God made me a woman; He shaped me like one. I don't need to prove that by "bringing my melons to the market," as we say in Dutch, but I also don't need to hide the fact. That would be telling God he made a mistake.

This is one of the reasons I wear a veil to church. I'm very thankful that God has made me a woman.; January 1, 2008 at 7:30:00 AM EST
elena maria vidal said...: I agree, dear friends! Happy New Year to you both!; January 1, 2008 at 11:13:00 AM EST