Tea at Trianon: Behind The Eyes Of Elves

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 25, 2022

Behind The Eyes Of Elves

From Gamerant:

Elves don’t sleep in the traditional manner of men or hobbits. When he, Gimli and Aragorn, are tracking Merry and Pippin, who have been taken by the Uruk-hai, Legolas is described as sleeping with his ‘eyes unclosed, blending living night and deep dream, as is the way of the elves.’ It is worth noting that in all of the 3 films, we never see Legolas sleeping. He, like many others of his kind, is able to send his mind into another realm, a sort of hypnotic state, whilst his body is still awake and active. The quote "he could sleep, if sleep it could be called by men, resting his mind in the strange paths of Elvish dreams, even as he walked, open-eyed in the light of this world."

This rare and uncanny gift allows him to be a phenomenal lookout whilst the others sleep around the fire, as he is able to both keep watch and recharge his batteries in the restful domain behind his open eyes. He is shown pacing, singing softly to himself and watching the stars turn into morning whilst the other two earn some much-needed recuperation after the day's orc pursuit.

Lots of questions arise about whether this is something inherent to elven DNA or lineage, or whether this is a skill that has been learned across their many immortal years. It is a valuable skill in the light of the many great battles that have been fought across Middle Earth, for it would allow soldiers to keep fighting and protecting their kingdoms whilst still catching the rest they need to survive. It is possible that one other among the fellowship has been blessed with learning how to enter this secret sleep realm of the elves. (Read more.)