Tea at Trianon: Louis XIV's Words to Louis XV

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, October 13, 2010

Louis XIV's Words to Louis XV

From Madame Delors:

Sweetheart, you are going to be a great King, but all of your happiness will depend on your submission to God and the care you will have of your people. For that, you must to the best of your abilities avoid waging war: it is the ruin of the people. Do not follow the poor example I set for you in this regard; I often commenced war too lightly and continued it out of vanity. Do not imitate me, but be a peaceful ruler, and let your main concern be the relief of your subjects’ sufferings.

May said...: I will admit that Louis XIV is not my favorite person. Nevertheless, these are very touching words.; October 13, 2010 at 4:42:00 PM EDT
Svea Love said...: What thoughtful encouragement and knowledge to pass on to his son.; October 13, 2010 at 10:44:00 PM EDT