Tea at Trianon: Free Love

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, March 16, 2011

Free Love

How young men have it all. (Via The Marriage Debate) To quote from Slate:

When attractive women will still bed you, life for young men, even those who are floundering, just isn't so bad. This isn't to say that all men direct the course of their relationships. Plenty don't. But what many young men wish for—access to sex without too many complications or commitments—carries the day. If women were more fully in charge of how their relationships transpired, we'd be seeing, on average, more impressive wooing efforts, longer relationships, fewer premarital sexual partners, shorter cohabitations, and more marrying going on....

Julygirl said...: Young women, since the start of the 'Sexual Revolution' in the late 1960's, think they control their sexuality, but in truth,women were more in control back in the day when they withheld sex until marriage.; March 16, 2011 at 1:38:00 AM EDT
Theresa Bruno said...: I'm so glad I'm married and don't have to date anymore. Men seem to think that if they pay for your meal, you should have sex with them. What am I? A prostitute?; March 17, 2011 at 7:15:00 PM EDT
elena maria vidal said...: Really, Theresa. I'll never forget when I was in my twenties and a young man took me out to a fine restaurant for dinner. We had a nice time but I asked to be taken home afterwards. Later, one of his buddies told me that their circle of friends were shocked that he spent "$75" on me but I did not sleep with him. (This was back in the 80's.) $75!!! If I were going to be a whore it would be for a lot more than that.... I'm worth at least a ruby necklace, a house in Paris and a charge account at Christian Dior. Seriously though, NOTHING can pay for the damage to your soul and character. I'll be a poor but respectable wife any day....; March 17, 2011 at 7:30:00 PM EDT