Tea at Trianon: The Great Antiphons-- O Wisdom

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, December 17, 2008

The Great Antiphons-- O Wisdom

Today the "O Antiphons" begin at Vespers. The antiphon for today is O Sapientia. Don Marco has a beautiful meditation on the meaning of true wisdom.

“O Wisdom coming forth from the mouth of the Most High God, Your lordship is over all that is, stretching from the beginning to the end, You who order all things with might and with sweetness, come teach us the path of prudence."

(Artwork courtesy of Micki) Share

4 comments:

Athanasius said...: I've also started a series on the Antiphonae majores. The gregorian chants for them will be posted every day until Christmas Eve.; December 17, 2008 at 1:24:00 PM EST
elena maria vidal said...: Yes, I saw your beautiful post on "O Sapientia."; December 17, 2008 at 5:24:00 PM EST
Victoria Thorne said...: this is beautiful. thank you.; December 18, 2008 at 2:00:00 AM EST
elena maria vidal said...: You are welcome, Victoria. The Great antiphons are very old but always new, just like Christmas.; December 18, 2008 at 9:08:00 AM EST