Inspiration In A Tragic Anniversary
It was on this day in 1793 that His Most Christian Majesty King Louis
XVI of France was beheaded by a gang of revolutionary criminals calling
themselves the government of the First French Republic. He was certainly
not the only innocent man to have his life taken by this same insidious
poison. His wife would also lose her head and their little boy would be
brutalized and ultimately starved to death. The "Reign of Terror" would
take the lives of many, many tens of thousands of French men, women and
children, all in the name of their radical, Utopian, egalitarian,
blood-stained ideology. Most readers here will be well aware of this
unpleasant story, so repeating all the gory details can be avoided.
However, there is something beneficial in the inspiration that this sad
history provides. The most obvious, of course, the pious and courageous
way in which King Louis XVI met his end but it extends far beyond his
own example.
Thomas Paine, famous as the propagandist of the American War for
Independence (who ended his life despised in America for his virulent
anti-Christian tirades and attacks on the character of George
Washington) was also part of the gang of villains behind the French
Revolution. However, he warned his fellow revolutionaries that killing
King Louis XVI would be a mistake. Indeed, his opposition caused Paine
to be arrested and were it not for foreign intervention he likely would
have been killed too. Paine, of course, had little to no sympathy for
King Louis XVI himself, but warned the French revolutionaries that if
they killed the King they would forever forfeit the goodwill and support
of the American people and the newly independent United States which
saw His Most Christian Majesty as their great savior, who had aided them
in their hour of need. Paine was proven correct. The Franco-American
alliance died along with King Louis XVI at the Place de la Revolution.
The
U.S. would go on to fight an "undeclared war" against the French
Republic, its first conflict as an independent country but this was
relatively minor compared to the reaction of the rest of the western
world. The regicide of King Louis XVI sparked what was probably the
greatest era of monarchial solidarity that western civilization would
ever see. That was truly inspirational. The Austrian Kaiser, the King of
Prussia, the King of Spain, the King of Portugal, the King of Naples
and the rulers of other Italian states all came together. The King of
Piedmont-Sardinia, who could not hope to triumph over his massive
neighbor, enthusiastically joined the fight. The King of Great of
Britain and Ireland, which had so recently fought against King Louis
XVI, nonetheless put history aside and joined in the common struggle
against the revolutionary pestilence. Here was an example of European
unity that required no top-heavy talking shop of sinister, parasitic
politicians to bring about, only shared values and a sense of honor.
Their example should serve as an inspiration for us and shame us for our
own divisions and petty squabbling. The Habsburg and Bourbon dynasties
had long been rivals, the French and English for even longer. Britain
and Prussia were Protestant, Spain and Austria were Catholic but none of
that mattered in the face of this outrage. All came together to avenge a
monstrous crime, defend Christianity, civilization and the concept of
traditional authority. They did this, not out of naive idealism but out
of a rational understanding that they had to put aside their differences
and come together because all of them were equally threatened by this
revolutionary poison that had brought down, in so violent a way, the
revered House of Capet which had seemed as permanent as the sun in the
sky. They knew they faced a grave danger that was far more serious than
what issues divided them. Their example is one we would all do well to
follow today.
