Tea at Trianon: Obedience, Grace, and Free Will

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

Friday, March 10, 2023

Obedience, Grace, and Free Will

From Nobility:

The Church teaches that without the help of grace no one can stably practice the Ten Commandments. This is the point of reference from which we must always consider anything relating to the religious crisis, spiritual life, or any other similar issue.
Imagine the most fascinating Man in history: Our Lord Jesus Christ in His Humanity. He was history’s wisest, most intelligent, most perfect, most elevated, most pleasant, most gentle, and most attractive man—as well as the most terrible in His wrath. Imagine Him using His infinite personal superiority to influence overwhelmingly the least of men for a period of five years. Imagine that the two of them were the only ones on earth and Our Lord dedicating Himself exclusively to that man. If Our Lord were to use just His natural superiority, He would not be able to ensure that the man could practice all the commandments stably. Supernatural action must come into play.
No matter how intelligent or how much influence the person has over the other, as soon as he turns his back the other person could easily fall into sin—even grave sin. One sin leading to another, after a year it could very well be that the person would try to kill Our Lord. He would think: “I am going to kill that brute. I am fed up with him! Why? I don’t know, but I am fed up with him!” This could happen because no one can be forced to be good.

Thus within the “planet-satellite” relationship, the planet can only lead a satellite if the satellite wants to be led. The success of the “planet-satellite” relationship is never due to intimidation or personal qualities. A “planet” that thinks he can lead a “satellite” through his great talents has not understood the ABC’s of how talent or the strength of personality works. No intimidation in the world can make a man practice virtue. A defect never leads to virtue; only virtue leads to virtue. (Read more.)