Tea at Trianon: Therapeutic Gardening

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, March 11, 2010

Therapeutic Gardening

A natural approach to health, healing and recovery. Gardening, which has long been part of the monastic experience, is good for body, mind and soul. Share

4 comments:

tubbs said...: Friend's Hospital in Philadelphia is an historic institution for the care of the mentally ill. (In the Quaker tradition, it has always been one of the most humane of such institutions, rarely-if-ever shackling their wards). Horticulture therapy has been utilized there since its founding.

Here in Florida, and double-burdened with Elder-Care, I could certainly use the theraputic aspect of one of my favorite pasttimes. My first attempt caused a run-in with fire ants; the second attempt introduced me to a coral snake. I haven't made my third attempt yet, but garden fever is still hitting me as the days start to lengthen. Hopefully #3 will be the charm!; March 11, 2010 at 3:51:00 PM EST
elena maria vidal said...: Be careful!; March 11, 2010 at 4:01:00 PM EST
Alexandra said...: Gardens are so important. They feed the soul. I have a potager garden on a little sliver of land in the only sunny spot of my backyard, the SW corner. The rest is oak trees, but they are wonderful as well - shade is a blessing in the South.; March 11, 2010 at 6:53:00 PM EST
Julygirl said...: My therapy from a garden is to sit with a glass of ice tea or something stronger and LOOK at the garden. The digging in the dirt part is not fun to me. But I know many many people who agree with the theraputic effects of digging in the dirt.; March 12, 2010 at 2:47:00 PM EST