Tea at Trianon: C.S. Lewis and the Meaning of Friendship

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

Friday, December 6, 2013

C.S. Lewis and the Meaning of Friendship

From Acculturated:

How does our society undervalue friendship? One doesn’t need to think too long about how Facebook has changed our understanding of the subject. In the virtual “community,” one can have thousands of friends, some of whom one might never have met or only know of through degrees of separation. Though they may never have spent time together, two “friends” can view each other’s lives unfolding (or at least the best, happiest version of a life that is posted) by scanning photos, status updates, and commentary from other people. They need not share any history, any present experiences, or even hope of meeting in the future. Twitter doesn’t even bother to characterize virtual relationships in terms of friendship; as someone’s “follower,” you need not even hope for reciprocated affection.

To this Lewis would offer, “We picture lovers face to face, but Friends side by side; their eyes look ahead. This is why those pathetic people who simply ‘want friends’ can never make any. The very condition of having Friends is that we should want something else besides Friends. Where the truthful answer to the question, Do you see the same truth? would be, I see nothing and I don’t care about the truth; I only want a Friend,” no Friendship can arise. There would be nothing for the Friendship to be about…and friendship must be about something…Those who have nothing can share nothing; those who are going nowhere can have no fellow-travelers.” (Read more.)