Tea at Trianon: Brutally Honest

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

Saturday, September 28, 2024

Brutally Honest

This is bizarre. And so sad. The end of humanity must be near. From BuzzFeed:

There's no denying that people (and women in particular) face humongous pressure in our society to have children. But the decision to have a baby is a life-altering one, and many people decide that it is not the right choice for them. Well, over on Quora, people started talking about their decision to have or not have children and whether they regret their choice, and some of the conversations were extremely thought-provoking.
1. "I love my son. He is the best thing that has ever happened to me in many ways. He's made me a more patient, responsible person. I don't believe in heaven, but I would think he was an angel if I did. His smiles and giggles light up my soul. But I have never felt so hopeless, exhausted, and worn down. If I could do it all over again, I really think I would have given him up for adoption." (Read more.)