There was once a chest in an old estate,
Half-filled with gold, half-lost to fate;
Heirs stood ’round with guarded eyes,
Inheriting less than they’d idealised.i
Still they saw “fortune,” deemed it sure,
Though coin by coin, it wore obscure;
Through idle whims and trifling greed,
Its brilliance waned in weak misdeed.ii
But few, gifted with cunning grace,
Established bonds in government and place;iii
Lighter of purse, but with power in voice,iv
A cultivated road, multi-century choice.
This wealth measured not in sums,
But family lore on public drums;
Investing in survival, you might say,
Alcheming worth the ancient way.
Two paths present before such estates:
To hoard bright gold or leverage fate;
In forging ties, true wealth foreseen,
How else to enshrine this glittering sheen?
- But more than they’d realised! ↩
- Yes, weak misdeeds include but are not limited to shopping as a “hobby.” Ask Jack! ↩
- Bella gerant alii, tu felix Austria nube (“Let others wage war; you, fortunate Austria, marry”) ~Habsburg Family motto, because seriously, marrying well is massively underrated! And not just “marrying well” in the sense of your husband will happily stay home with the kids while you go on a girls trip to Vancouver for the weekend, but rather marrying well in the sense of marrying for wealth, power, and prestige. Of course such arrangements aren’t some kind of one-sided gravy train for you, my dear unwed readers, you have to have something to offer as well, whether that’s brains, brawn, beauty, your own inherited nobility, or ideally a combination of all of the above. It takes two to tango!
Now if you’re past that stage already and into parenthood, and you very understandably want the best for your sweet young children, disabuse them as early as possible of the notion that their key to happiness (and yours by extension) comes from their pursuit of a passionate career. Au contraire, mes amis! It’s soooo much more likely to come from a successful
life partnershipmaster-slave relationship. To quote the late great MP:if you’re going to be a slave, make sure you’re the slave of a person rather than the slave of a thing. Some people arguably are worth it, but no thing ever is.
So y’know, start playing matchmaker? ↩
- Oh, to become a Faustian-Fabian frog-boiler of factoryworkers forcing their way into power: left, right, and centre! ↩