Tea at Trianon: Holy Fools

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

Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Holy Fools

Terry Nelson reflects upon the Russian tradition of the Holy Fool.

According to Christian ascetic tradition, “foolishness” included consistent rejection of worldly cares and imitating Christ, who endured mockery and humiliation from the crowd - who even declared he must be insane. More deeply, the spiritual meaning of “foolishness” stems from the early ages of Christianity and was associated with the penitent’s rejection of ordinary social conventions that consisted of prevarication, hypocrisy, brutality and thirst for power, riches, and honor.
The hermit, St. Anthony the Great said the following concerning the end times: “There will come a time, when people will behave like madmen, and if they encounter any one who does not behave as they do, they will condemn him and say: “You are mad” - because he is not like them.”

wendybirde said...: I just love this tradition : ) Catherine Doherty goes into this a lot too, it ties in with holy poverty.

Hope you are well, and that your week will be peaceful : ) Wendy; April 30, 2008 at 2:55:00 PM EDT
Terry Nelson said...: Thank you Elena - see - I have an excuse for how I am... I could only hope!; April 30, 2008 at 10:43:00 PM EDT