Tea at Trianon: Five Sublime, Effective and Simple Resolutions for the New Year

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, January 1, 2019

Five Sublime, Effective and Simple Resolutions for the New Year

From Return to Order:

One concrete resolution would be to set aside time to study, read, walk, converse or pray—again if only for fifteen minutes. When you develop habits like these, it has the effect of putting life in order.

A third resolution would be to find ways to seek after sublime things. Sublime things are those that by their excellence cause us to be overawed by their magnificence, grandeur and marvelousness. This can be done by developing skills of appreciation for the truly awe-inspiring things in life.

One concrete resolution would be to take some time each day—even if it be only fifteen minutes—to develop an artistic skill like playing an instrument, painting pictures, writing or even cooking. Such a resolution will help you expand your horizons and look beyond yourself. (Read more.)