Tea at Trianon: Remember the Romans

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

Wednesday, June 11, 2025

Remember the Romans

From The History Desk:

Open borders is another utopian idea. History has shown us that utopias don't work. And yet, there are people who just won't let that dream go. It is insane. But I think one day the history books will write about this particular era as the age of insanity. Even in the days of the Hunter-gatherers, the tribes had their hunting grounds that were not open to other tribes.
Getting back to the Roman empire, after 1000 years in Byzantium, in 1453, it fell to the Ottoman Sultan, Mehmed II, after a siege lasting 55 days. Alas, the Roman Empire was, truly, no more.
The Romans were replaced by the Ottomans. The Ottomans did not have the lasting power that the Romans did. Their rule over that part of the world ended with the reactions of WWI. Those reactions had to do with a general overthrowing of monarchs. Russia, the Hapsburg empire, those too were overthrown. The Hapsburg empire was broken up, and, along with Russia, and Turkey, they became modern states. Though Russia and Germany went from the frying pan into the fire, with their radical take on what a modern state should be.
Which is to point out that we must always be careful about what we wish for. The open border people are violent. So there is more to it than an open border. This movement is world wide, so be wary. We have already seen how Europe and the UK are faring under their policies of inviting the world in. Now there is some push back. But the fight needs to grow on the other side. Especially in a democracy, where the other side can win through fraud and intimidation during an election. (Read more.)