Tea at Trianon: Diabólica vitáre contágia

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, October 9, 2014

Diabólica vitáre contágia

From Fr. Mark:

If the Church makes us pray to avoid contact with the devil, it is because such contact is possible. The very mention of contact with the devil conjures up images of Pan Twardowski and of Faust, of Madame Blavatsky and of Huysman’s Là–bas. Sadly, contact with the devil is not limited to the infernal dalliances of philosophers, artists, theosophists, and decadent aesthetes. If there is a weak point in any man’s life — and there always is — the devil will find it and use it, be that man lettered or unlettered, rich or poor, young or old, believer or unbeliever, impious or devout, clerical or lay.

One can come into contact with the devil either by deliberately seeking it, or inadvertently by taking foolish risks or by placing oneself recklessly in harm’s way. I shall not address the first possibility; it lies, to my mind, among those things that Saint Paul says, “should not so much as be named among you” (Ephesians 5:3). The question of foolish risks, however, must be named; such risks include everything related to the occult, including Tarot cards, fortune–telling, the ouija board, spiritualistic practices, and superstitions. (See my post on Blessed Bartolo Longo here.) This is, by no means, an exhaustive list. One engaged in the illicit pursuit of possessions, pleasure, or power can be certain that the Evil One is lying in wait for him along the way. The devil is always ready to ambush the unsuspecting adventurer. He bides his time. He “goes about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8), but he also slithers along silently like a deadly viper quick to strike. (Read more.)