Tea at Trianon: Alexandria and Its Library

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

Tuesday, August 9, 2016

Alexandria and Its Library

From Realm of History:

One of the largest libraries of the ancient times, the Great Library of Alexandria was dedicated to Muses, the nine goddesses of art. And in spite of its eminence, the grand library’s founding is still lost in legend – with most scholars agreeing that the impressive institution was initially established by Ptolemy I (305-285 BC), but was fully completed during Ptolemy II’s reign (285-246 BC). It was the latter ruler who took the brilliant (yet surprising) initiative of sending invitations to other kings to contribute their books and tomes to the library. On many levels, the search for books almost took the obsessive route – with even commercial ships being thoroughly inspected by the authorities for papyrus rolls (that were either confiscated or returned after copies were made). On other occasions, the royal members of Egypt sponsored special trips to well known book-fairs (like in Athens and Rhodes) for acquiring various rare specimens of literary works. One significant (though arguable) incident mentioned by Galens, refers to how Ptolemy III paid fifteen talents (1,000 lbs/450 kg) of a precious metal to the Athenians for procuring the original scripts of Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides. (Read more.)