Tea at Trianon: To End the Long Night of Doubt

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, January 30, 2020

To End the Long Night of Doubt

Jacob Rees-Mogg on Brexit from The Daily Mail:

With the deal done and the agreement in place, we will leave the EU in five days’ time. Independence restored, the Government will focus on unleashing the potential of this country. It will be a Government acutely attuned to the will of the people. For that is the sine qua non* of our departure: Members of Parliament chosen by the people will decide the laws of the land. Those directly accountable representatives will have taken back control. We will be free to chart our own course and we are reclaiming mastery of our policy decisions, from agriculture to trade, foreign policy to fisheries, employment law to immigration.

We can embark on this new age with confidence and excitement. Over two millenniums since mighty Augustus quelled the unrest and strife in ancient Rome and brought in a new golden age, our auriferous* Prime Minister is bringing in a new era of revitalisation to our nation. These two great leaders sought unity where there had been division; they saw the importance of a public-supported police force and they recognised the power of infrastructure to bring great economic and social returns. Under our Prime Minister, our police force is gaining an extra 20,000 recruits and powers to stop and search more effectively so we can begin to clamp down on the scourge of knife crime.

In the Boris Johnson era, we are embarking on the biggest rail modernisation since Victorian times. With £48 billion dedicated to delivering rail projects such as the new high-speed line between Manchester and Leeds and electrifying hundreds of miles of track, people across the country will be closer to each other than ever before. We are investing in the future of talented workers with our ambitious plans for a dynamic, outward-looking economy. Outside the EU, our trade policies will be forged with the best interests of UK businesses in mind. (Read more.)