Tea at Trianon: Tour de France

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

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Tour de France

Some compelling reflections from Australian author R. J. Stove. (Via The Western Confucian) To quote:

Correct me if I’m wrong—did the French not produce Zola, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Laplace, Galois, the lovely prose of Alexis De Tocqueville, and indeed about 12,000 shelf-feet of such like? ... The French respect intelligence, whereas we are deeply suspicious of it. I’m not sure that intelligence has much place in diplomacy, other than to let one make bad choices in better prose. Still, misjudgment engaged in with class at least makes better reading for later students of history. Whatever their failings, the French do not cultivate boorishness. ... We didn’t either, once.

Theodore Harvey said...: I have mixed feelings about this sort of thing, because while I have nothing in common with neocon Americanist Francophobes, I cannot accept the Republic either. The true France is Catholic and Royal, the France you write about. I'm disappointed that R J Stove--who I believe is not entirely without monarchist sympathies--only hints at that.; December 3, 2009 at 5:42:00 PM EST
elena maria vidal said...: Theodore, the article, written some time ago, is about contemporary France, which has a great heritage in spite of the damage caused by the Revolution.; December 3, 2009 at 6:01:00 PM EST
lara77 said...: You are right Elena Maria about France's culture; it never dimmed no matter the government in Paris OR Versailles! I have to agree with Theodore in not accepting the Republic. In my opinion it demeans France as her heritage is Catholic and Royal. Though in the end the French are happy with their choice! I feel sorry for the outnumbered French Royalists.; December 4, 2009 at 12:46:00 PM EST