August 3, 2011

The Ancien Règime **

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The tumbrils creak and rumble still
Upon the road of State,
Retracing rutted years of sand
Whose Distance storms Debate.

The passengers stand fixed as Stone
While faces jeer from Snow.
The Blade awaits its midday meal,
When Above becomes Below.

Innovations carved from clouds
Give despair and dance New measures.
The blade Reflects its evening meal
When kings slake Lower pleasures.

Arrived at Hope they gaze at mist
Where granite horses roam.
Their schedules as fixed as Dark.
Their Future -- White as bone.

The Head within the Basket sees
Vast Parliaments -- of sky.
Its ears hear only Fading surf
As the past gone years Reply.

** Ancien Régime in France

The Ancien Régime refers primarily to the aristocratic, social and political system established in France from (roughly) the 15th century to the 18th century under the late Valois and Bourbon dynasties. The administrative and social structures of the Ancien Régime were the result of years of state-building, legislative acts, internal conflicts and civil wars, but they remained a confusing patchwork of local privilege and historic differences until the French Revolution brought about a radical suppression of administrative incoherence.

Posted by Vanderleun at August 3, 2011 10:49 AM
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"It is impossible to speak in such a way that you cannot be misunderstood." -- Karl Popper N.B.: Comments are moderated and may not appear immediately. Comments that exceed the obscenity or stupidity limits will be either edited or expunged.

...only to be replaced by the incoherence of dashed hope and violent change. If you look at the European Union, which seems to embrace all that incoherently bureaucratic à la Française - administratively speaking, you see the reality of "plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose."
We seem to be traveling that direction, now.

Posted by: Jewel at August 3, 2011 11:24 AM

The replacement of robber barons, dukes, counts and princes by a government class that does it all For Your Own Good™ is the essence of Progress.

Posted by: Fearless Ferenc at August 4, 2011 4:49 AM