Tea at Trianon: God and Woman at Harvard

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, September 2, 2010

God and Woman at Harvard

A young lady takes the veil. There is hope for the world. To quote:

From its earliest years, the Church’s doctrine of the equality of all humans as beloved children of God and its reverence for Mary as the spouse and mother of God elevated women to a status previously unheard of. In our own times, the Church’s unequivocal opposition to practices such as abortion and contraception, which harm women physically and psychologically, and threaten to render them victims of their own and others’ unchecked desires, makes the Church a lone voice above the chaos, promoting women’s dignity and happiness.

Alexandra said...: This was great, but the questions were so over the top obnoxious(hilarious). Was this a characterization of a lefty reporter? Satire? I'm not sure if the National Review is conservative.; September 4, 2010 at 9:18:00 PM EDT
elena maria vidal said...: I know, really, I was wondering myself. I think the National Review stopped being conservative a long time ago....; September 4, 2010 at 9:39:00 PM EDT
Christina said...: Doesn't she have student loans from Harvard to pay off? It's never mentioned in the article. If not, she is very fortunate. I've read that student debt is one of the biggest barriers for young men and women entering religious life, since they have to pay off their debts before professing vows.; September 7, 2010 at 3:26:00 PM EDT