Tea at Trianon: Decluttering

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

Sunday, January 19, 2025

Decluttering

From Home and Garden:

Firstly, the trend for decluttering is more nuanced than it might initially seem, and – contrary to appearance – much of it stems from an attempt to curtail the practices of a throwaway society. The subtext of the instruction to streamline is an entreaty to live with less, to stop buying cheap clothes, plastic table decorations, and unnecessary kitchen appliances – so, in a sense, you are right: it isn’t applicable to you. However, alongside is genuine research; a study at Princeton University found that decluttering your living space helps your brain focus, and that organised environments lead to a sharp, productive and concentrated mind. And herein is my second point: Sir John Soane, the Medicis, Alexandra Tolstoy, Benedict Foley etc. – they had or have the necessary space. The organisation of the Sir John Soane Museum might seem crowded and slightly chaotic, but actually, it’s exactly as it was arranged by Soane, with objects carefully placed that their qualities might be exalted through creative and inspiring juxtapositions. (Read more.)