Tea at Trianon: O Emmanuel

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

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

O Emmanuel

O Emmanuel, our King and Lawgiver, the Expectation and Savior of the nations! come and save us, O Lord our God!

Now all is fulfilled....Ecce completa sunt omnia....(Lauds of December 23)

(Artwork courtesy of Micki) Share

8 comments:

tölgy said...: I wish You peace and joy, and merry Christmas, and a new year of health and prosperity.

tölgy
(oak); December 23, 2008 at 11:52:00 AM EST
elena maria vidal said...: Merry Christmas to you and to all!!!; December 23, 2008 at 11:58:00 AM EST
Anonymous said...: What a beautiful artwork!! I think I am going to "borrow" it and make it my Christmas e-card!

Merry Christmas, Elena and family!

~Georgette; December 23, 2008 at 12:33:00 PM EST
elena maria vidal said...: Merry Christmas to you and yours, Gette!; December 23, 2008 at 12:50:00 PM EST
Ann Murray said...: It's really beautiful. Merry Christmas, Elena, to you and your family.; December 23, 2008 at 12:53:00 PM EST
elena maria vidal said...: Merry Christmas, Veritas, to you and all of your family!!!; December 23, 2008 at 12:54:00 PM EST
Dymphna said...: What a beautiful picture of Baby Jesus!; December 23, 2008 at 11:11:00 PM EST
elena maria vidal said...: Yes, it's pretty unique!; December 23, 2008 at 11:23:00 PM EST