Tea at Trianon: Etruscans Originated From Steppes

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, September 8, 2023

Etruscans Originated From Steppes—Not Anatolia

From The Greek Reporter:

The mystery of the origins of the Etruscan people—the center of an enigma that stretches back millennia—has recently been solved, due to the miracles of DNA testing. But in effect, the answer the scientists uncovered only prompts more questions about the advanced civilization that flourished north of Rome. It has long been known that the Etruscans, who called themselves the Rasenna and who battled the early Romans in defending their territory, had a very advanced culture with elaborate architecture and burials and grave objects of exquisite artistry showing the advancement of their technology. The physical reminders of the Etruscans, including stunning sculpture and monuments, show that they had a rich culture valuing great craftsmanship and the production of artwork. Almost all of Etruscan art shows that they had a deep understanding and knowledge of Greek culture, as well. Their sophisticated political systems were also notable. (Read more.)