The Duke of Guise: One must fight to the last even amidst seemingly impossible odds

September 21, 2010

During the battle for La Rochelle, the ship of the Duke of Guise caught fire.  La Rochefoucault approached to inform him:  “Sir, everything is lost!” The Duke immediately turned to the pilot and commanded:  “Turn the ship around. There’s no difference if we go cooked or roasted.” Edmond Guérard, Dictionnaire encyclopédique d’anecdotes (Paris: Firmin Didot, […]

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Soviet “nobility” give a bad name to true elites.

September 20, 2010

Those Russian communists who massacred their centuries-old nobility, then had to endure a brutal oligarchy. Book review: The New Nobility By Andrei Soldatov and Irina Borogan PublicAffairs, 301 pages, $26.95 http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10.html

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The Constable of Bourbon: the common good always comes first

September 20, 2010

The Constable of Bourbon fell mortally wounded in the battle for the conquest of Rome.  Some soldiers saw him stretched out on the ground and started to help him, without recognizing who he was. Not wanting his wounded condition to discourage them the Constable shouted: “Bourbon is up ahead! Forward! Push on!” Edmond Guérard, Dictionnaire […]

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Pius XII: Allocution of January 14, 1945

September 20, 2010

Once again, beloved Sons and Daughters, amid the devastation, the mourning, the anxieties of every sort presently tormenting the human family, you have come to offer Us your devout best wishes, which your illustrious representative has presented Us with nobility of sentiment and delicacy of expression. We thank you for this with all Our heart, […]

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Pius XII: Allocution of January 19, 1944

September 16, 2010

Little was your worry, beloved Sons and Daughters, that the present trials, which interrupt and disturb the calm continuation of family and social life, might prevent you from coming, as in past years, to offer Us, with filial devotion, the homage of your best wishes. This tragic, sorrowful time, so full of anxieties and cares, […]

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From Alfons M. Cardinal Stickler, S.D.B.

September 15, 2010

Most illustrious Professor, I thank you heartily for the kind gift of your work “Nobility and Analogous Traditional Elites in the Allocutions of Pius XII to the Roman Patriciate and Nobility,” sent to me in its Italian translation. It made a deep impression on me for several reasons: first of all, for its timeliness, in […]

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Letter from Mario Luigi Cardinal Ciappi, O.P.

September 15, 2010

Distinguished Professor, Your great renown and the words of praise and encouragement given for your work by the illustrious Fr. Victorino Rodriguez, O.P., generally considered one of the glories of contemporary theology, have led me to read with lively interest your book “Nobility and Analogous Traditional Elites in the Allocutions of Pius XII to the […]

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Letter from Silvio Cardinal Oddi

September 15, 2010

Distinguished Professor, It was with keen interest that I read your work “Nobility and Analogous Traditional Elites in the Allocutions of Pius XII to the Roman Patriciate and Nobility.” The thought of the great Pope Pius XII, as one can see in the documents mentioned, remains entirely relevant, and you have taken the good initiative […]

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Letter from Fr. Raimondo Spiazzi, O.P.

September 15, 2010

Distinguished Professor, I have attentively read your work “The Nobility and Analogous Traditional Elites in the Allocutions of Pius XII to the Roman Patriciate and Nobility,” which you were so kind to send to me. I deem felicitous your idea of giving wide diffusion to those documents of Pius XII, which at first glance might […]

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Absolutism distanced royal authority from the tempered organic monarchy of the Middle Ages

September 13, 2010

While he was visiting Copenhagen, Czar Peter the Great was taken by King Frederick IV to the top of a famous round tower. In order to impress the Danish sovereign with an example of his autocratic form of government, the Russian despot beckoned to a soldier of his guard. “Jump!” the Czar then ordered. The […]

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Pius XII: Allocution of January 11, 1943

September 13, 2010

How, beloved Sons and Daughters, could the warm and heartfelt greetings that the lofty words of your illustrious representative conveyed to Us in your name fail to find their response in the offerings We now raise to God on your behalf? Unvanquished by the sorrows of the present hour, We feel, at this moment, a […]

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“Two hundred years since the French Revolution, and still we have a king.”

September 13, 2010

Despite relentless media criticism, thousands travel to Sweden’s capital for royal wedding, and millions more follow it on television and the internet. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/25/world/europe/25sweden.html?scp=3&sq=&st=nyt

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Everything related to nobility continues to attract worldwide attention

September 10, 2010

http://www.wdrb.com/

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Pius XII: Allocution of January 5, 1942

September 10, 2010

Beloved Sons and Daughters, the loftily worded message of greeting that your illustrious representative has communicated to Us, wishes, it seems to us, to manifest above all that filial attachment to the Apostolic See which spurs your faith and is the finest glory of the Roman Patriciate and Nobility. With great joy and exaltation, We […]

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The Dauphin, the tutor and Diogenes

September 8, 2010

Marie Antoinette’s son had great admiration for his tutor, Father d’Avaux.  After a History lesson, the young prince lit a lantern and began searching the floor for something as he slowly made his way over to his teacher. Having reached the priest, the Dauphin took his hand and said:  “I’m more fortunate than Diogenes.  I […]

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Marie Antoinette reprimands the Dauphin for whistling

September 6, 2010

The Dauphin of France by Alexander Kucharsky While at his studies one day, the Dauphin suddenly began whistling. Hearing this, Marie Antoinette reprimanded him. The young prince excused himself, saying: “Mamma, I just found out how poorly I did in my studies yesterday, so I was booing myself.” Edmond Guérard, Dictionnaire encyclopédique d’anecdotes (Paris: Firmin […]

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Pius XII: Allocution of January 5, 1941

September 6, 2010

A cause for deep, paternal joy in Our heart is granted Us, dear Sons and Daughters, by your welcome gathering around Us at the start of the New Year, a year no less fraught with fearful horizons than the one just passed. Here you have come to present to us your filial good wishes through […]

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Pius XII – Allocution of January 8, 1940

September 3, 2010

Allocution of January 8, 1940 At the start of the New year, a twofold gift has been given us by the Roman Patriciate and Nobility by their gathering around Us: the most appreciated gift of their presence and the gift of their filial best wishes, adornments, as a flower, of the testimonial of their traditional […]

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Louis XII of France: Honor is something more precious than a kingdom

September 2, 2010

Battle of Agnadello by Jollivet Pierre-Jules After losing the kingdom of Naples to Spain, Louis XII stated, “I preferred to lose the kingdom which I can reconquer, rather than lose my honor which can never be restored.” Edmond Guérard, Dictionnaire encyclopédique d’anecdotes (Paris: Firmin Didot, 1872), Vol. I, p. 543. (Nobility.org translation.) Short Stories on […]

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Supreme Court – Elitist?

September 1, 2010

Joel Stein, writing for Time Magazine emphatically says yes in his August 23, 2010 article Bring On the Elites! With so recent antielitist rhetoric flying around, his response is somewhat sarcastic: http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,2010191,00.html

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Modern American Heroes link added

August 31, 2010

Stunning examples of modern American heroes. http://www.modernamericanheroes.com/

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German edition available

August 30, 2010

The German edition is now available for purchase here: http://tfp.at/2014/08/20/das-buch-der-adel-und-die-vergleichbaren-traditionellen-eliten/ A Night in Vienna At the reception hall of the majestic Coburg Palace, right in the heart of Vienna, a distinguished audience attended the October 30, 2008 launching of the first Austrian edition of the book, Nobility and Analogous Traditional Elites in the Allocutions of […]

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Charlemagnes give rise to Rolands

August 29, 2010

During the Middle Ages, it was usual for French soldiers as they marched to sing the Chanson de Roland (Song of Roland) which exalts the valor of Charlemagne. One day, hearing his troops signing, John II, a weakly king, stated: “It’s been a long time since a Roland appeared among French soldiery.” “There would be […]

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The Marquess of Pontelena checks the absolutism of Joseph I, King of Portugal

August 28, 2010

Being in conversation with some nobles, Joseph I, King of Portugal, commented on a monarch’s authority over his subjects. The Marquis of Pontelena dared to suggest that there are limits to that power. The king, not willing to admit any such checks, retorted: “If I were to order you to throw yourself into the sea, […]

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Additional links of interest

August 28, 2010

Academy of the Sacred Heart (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.) Academy of the Sacred Heart (Grand Coteau, La.) Academy of the Sacred Heart (St. Charles, Mo.) Army and Navy Club Bull Run Hunt Choate Rosemary Hall CILANE Colonial Dames of America Conventus Terra Mariana (English language) Cosmos Club Daughters of the Pioneers of Washington Deep Run Hunt […]

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Preferential Option…What Is It?

August 27, 2010

by Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira Preferential option for the nobility. At first glance this expression may startle readers familiar with the more common phrase often used Pope John Paul II: “preferential option for the poor.” Nevertheless, what inspires this book is precisely a preferential option for the nobility. The objection may be raised that, ex […]

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Property rights denied to all.

August 27, 2010

Why would anyone invest in a country that denies the right to own fruits and vegetables? http://www.foxnews.com/world/2010/08/27/cuba-oks-year-foreign-leases-govt-land-allows-citizens-grow-sell-farm-goods/

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No voting system is flawless. But some are less democratic than others.

August 27, 2010

Win or Lose by Anthony Gottlieb Read more http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/books/2010/07/26/100726crbo_books_gottlieb?printable=true#ixzz0xlceDjpL “…Don’t worry if you blinked: bewildering complexity was part of the point. The election aimed to reassure Venetians that their new ruler could not have been eased into place by backroom deals. Venetians had been coming up with inventive ways to make political decisions for a […]

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Bernardino Cardinal Echeverría Ruiz

August 26, 2010

  A serious and objective study of history shows that all times, all cultures, and all races have had undeniable differences among their constituents. There have always been wise men and ignorant men, classes that rule and classes that obey, rich and poor. Christ Himself taught, “The poor will always be with you.” The variety […]

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Virtue: A Democratic Problem

August 26, 2010

Virtue: A Democratic Problem By Dr. Jeff Mirus http://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/otc.cfm?id=672 “Can any politician be reelected if he tells the truth about the need to live within our means at every level, personal and governmental, and if he proposes policies which match the available resources?”

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America Builds an Aristocracy

August 26, 2010

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/12/opinion/12madoff.html

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August 25 – How do you portray a saint?

August 26, 2010

August 25 is the feast of Saint Louis IX, king, confessor of the Faith, Crusader and model of a Catholic head of state. There are two different ways people picture Saint Louis IX. One is as he truly was, the other is a soft, effeminate distortion of his person. This dichotomy is similar to the […]

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Think nobles are expensive?

August 26, 2010

The Gross National Debt

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A Hymn of Love Rises up to the Throne of the Immortal Pontiff

August 26, 2010
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Catolicismo No. 63 – March 1956 It was not without some apprehension, facing a confused notion of how difficult a task it would turn out to be, that I started to gather impressions and ideas to write for Catolicismo an article on the Holy Father Pius XII to be published on his 80th birthday, the […]

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The Important Mission of Nobility Today – Interview with Professor Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira

August 25, 2010
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Catolicismo magazine, no. 511, July 1993 (www.catolicismo.com.br) CATOLICISMO: Why have you chosen the nobility as the theme for your most recent book? Prof. Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira: It seems to me that at present, the attitude of public opinion toward the nobility is much less marked by the errors of the French Revolution than it […]

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