tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28615995.post6046564181101415936..comments2023-09-30T04:41:24.558-07:00Comments on Ephemeral Isle: Au revoir, mademoiselle? Non!Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28615995.post-91946642308695327122012-01-13T16:04:51.740-08:002012-01-13T16:04:51.740-08:00I've always like David Mitchell's take on ...I've always like David Mitchell's take on Canute: That his courtiers flattered him so much that he started thinking, "You know, maybe I <i>could</i> stop the tide from coming in", so they all trotted down to the seaside and when the water started lapping around his ankles Canute realised what an ass he was making of himself and said, "See? I hope you've learned a lesson now and watch what you say next time" and then hoped nobody brought up the incident again.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04574453357460196584noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28615995.post-65902996358014492962012-01-13T05:15:44.279-08:002012-01-13T05:15:44.279-08:00King Canute (c.995-1035) has long taken a bad rap ...King Canute (c.995-1035) has long taken a bad rap on that one. He was actually trying to show some of his more extremist courtiers that even a king's powers had their limits. As in "OK, I've sat here at the water's edge for twelve freaking hours, commanding the tide to go out, and it hasn't happened. Any of you have a clue why? Anybody?"<br /><br /> No, most of them never did figure it out. As it turned out, Canute did accomplish something anyway. That exercise told him which of his advisors were sensible enough to recognize that there were limits to what a king could, or should, do, and which ones thought that absolute power = the absolute ability to not just "do good", but to define what constituted "good".<br /><br /> After that, he listened to the former, and ignored the latter. Or else did just the opposite of what they wanted. It drove them nuts, but kept him on the throne for almost two decades. Not a bad record by the standards of the day.<br /><br />cheers<br /><br />eoneonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08580152241525427599noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28615995.post-84730637905708326262012-01-13T01:45:52.564-08:002012-01-13T01:45:52.564-08:00Aux armes, citoyens! Formez vos bataillons!Aux armes, <i>citoyens</i>! Formez vos bataillons!Ironmistresshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06980947020126620086noreply@blogger.com