Tea at Trianon: Consideration

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, October 22, 2008

Consideration

Quotes from Vogue's Book of Etiquette, 1969.

A person's good manners are primarily a matter of considerate actions; a house's good manners are largely a matter of considerate furnishings that are comfortable, co-operative, and easy to live with. They take into account the fact that things, no matter how beautiful, are less important than people....

A reasonable amount of shabbiness is nothing to be ashamed of, and certainly should not be confused with dirtiness...Too much newness can have overtones of a store display and give the impression that a house is more of a showpiece than a place for enjoying a full life.

Enbrethiliel said...: +JMJ+

That's a great quote, Elena! =)

I'm the kind of person who likes to boil complex concepts down to one meaningful word. Thanks to your links, I've learned that wifely dressing is all about discipline (and really, all women's dressing is!) and that "a house's good manners"--such a wonderfully homey metaphor--are all about consideration.; October 23, 2008 at 8:24:00 AM EDT
elena maria vidal said...: Discipline and consideration...I am still a learner where they are concerned....; October 23, 2008 at 9:12:00 AM EDT
Enbrethiliel said...: +JMJ+

Elena, if you are still a learner, then I am still playing hookey! =P

Just because I know what's on the syllabus of life, it doesn't mean that I'm willing to apply myself . . . unfortunately. It's one of those "Lord, make me _____, but not yet!" things for me.; October 23, 2008 at 9:25:00 AM EDT