Tea at Trianon: The Theology of the Lion

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

Monday, February 10, 2025

The Theology of the Lion

From Andrew Klavan at The New Jerusalem:

One of the fascinating things about the systems that arose from the Enlightenment, is that they work so well precisely because they’re not “Christian” in that sense. Democracy, capitalism, free trade — they harness our natural ambition, competitiveness, partisanship and desire for gold. These things, when set free under controlled circumstances, encourage creativity, achievement and the building of wealth. Sure, a billionaire may be charitable, but he didn’t become a billionaire by being charitable. He did it by crushing the other guy with his superior products, investments and strategies.
And we admire him for it. I mean, we can piously pretend not to, but assuming he did business honestly, and won out through cleverness, hard work and drive, we respect him for his success. Just like we admire and respect a character like James Bond who not only gets the beautiful girl, but gets a different beautiful girl in every movie. Again, readers can leave pious comments saying tsk tsk tsk, but the truth is: assuming Bond is not an abuser or an adulterer, guys want to be him, and girls want to be with him. And when Dr. No tries to destroy the world, who you gonna call?
I’ll go even further. Christians who get prissy about human nature are incredibly off-putting. Those people who attacked J. D. Vance for speaking simple moral common sense? Does anyone admire or respect them even a little? Not even themselves, I’d wager. They’re like those people who acknowledge that their land once belonged to the Indians when they are in no way prepared to give the land back. Why even strike the pose?
Christianity certainly adds a new dimension to our moral calculations — the dimension of eternal life. But in practical terms, this does not delionize the lion, it merely directs the man toward his highest self. It confirms us in our sense that there are things more important than present advantage, things even worth dying for. (Read more.)