Tea at Trianon: Ancient Cross Found in Northern Pakistan

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, July 16, 2020

Ancient Cross Found in Northern Pakistan

I doubt that it is a Buddhist symbol. From Ancient Origins:

Researchers have unearthed a massive ancient cross in a remote mountain area of northern Pakistan. The evidence suggests it is a Christian object from the Middle Ages , but there is also the possibility that it is a Buddhist symbol . It is believed that the cross comes from a time of great religious change in the region in and around what is now Pakistan.

The remarkable discovery was made by researchers from the University of Baltistan in the northeast of Pakistan. Prof. Dr Muhammad Naeem Khan and two of his colleagues were exploring the mountains of Skardu accompanied by local villagers when they made the discovery. They came across a massive ancient cross of similar form to that which has been a symbol of Christianity for centuries. But definitively ascertaining its origin and symbolism is not simple.

The huge cross is carved out of marble and weighs between 3-4 tons (2,722-3,629 kg). It is 7 feet high (2.1 meters) and 6 feet (1.8 meters) in width. It was discovered about 1.12 miles (2 km) from the team’s base camp in a spectacular setting that overlooks the Indus River . The team leader is quoted by Herald Malaysia Online as stating that the cross seemed to have descended ‘directly from the heavens.’ The researchers were amazed by their discovery as there are no Christians in this part of Pakistan. Prof Khan is quoted by The Telegraph as saying that ‘villagers told researchers from the university they had always known about the cross, but had never bothered with it and left it where it was because it could not be moved.’ (Read more.)