Tea at Trianon: Marie-Antoinette and Tolerance

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, June 18, 2015

Marie-Antoinette and Tolerance

Someone wrote to me, accusing me of intolerance because of my defense of the marriage bond. I was told I should take Marie-Antoinette as an example, because she was tolerant. But really, it is not that I am against "gay marriage." There is no such thing as "gay marriage" for me to be against. For two persons of the same sex to "marry" is a biological impossibility according to the natural law and any human laws to the contrary are aiding and abetting a fantasy. Anyone who wants to stop following my blog because of my opinion on this issue is free to do so. But don't throw Marie-Antoinette up to my face and say that she would be in favor of "gay marriage" because she was "tolerant." Marie-Antoinette was a practicing Catholic who refused to receive the sacraments from any priest not in union with Rome. She was loyal to the Church, and sins against nature were particularly repellent to her. Share

2 comments:

julygirl said...: I have noticed that many of the people who accuse others of not being tolerant are themselves intolerant. Everyone has an opinion and a right to that opinion. The fact is, our Federal government has taken on issues that are not in their realm to enforce, and citizens have the right to protest without being verbally attacked by those who have a different opinion.; June 19, 2015 at 9:00:00 PM EDT
Kaitlyn said...: I have observed this also! It's a shame. Those who say that we are without love of our neighbors tend to be even less tolerant and forgiving than us. The hypocrisy is blatant.; June 20, 2015 at 10:36:00 PM EDT