The Ultimate Answer to Kings: Feh. My house is TWICE as big as his!

They say that Louis XIV had the inscription Ultima Ratio Regum cast into all the cannon of the French Army. It means "The Ultimate Argument of Kings," and that always struck me as one of the most honest and up-front things any ruler or would-be ruler ever said. "We can dress it up prettier than this, but when it comes down to the unvarnished truth this is what it's about: You'll do as I say or I'll send my goons to kill you."

I thought about that for a long time. If there's an ultimate argument, it seems only logical that there must be an ultimate answer. For years I thought the ultimate answer must be the bullets in my rifle, but it never seemed quite right. I've got bullets - he's got frigging Cannon Balls. I mean, if there were three hundred million rifles throwing bullets at him, then maybe. But we all know that's not going to happen. So if there's an ultimate answer to his ultimate argument, it sure as hell ain't bullets.

It finally came to me - and that's when I left the city, abandoned a goodly percentage of my goods, and gave all that was behind me a good, stiff Randian Shrug.

The ultimate answer to kings is not a bullet, but a belly laugh.

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Feh. My house is TWICE as big as his!

Not as cute, though...

4 comments:

MamaLiberty said...: Must have a hell of a basement if he's going to stock any supplies for hard times.

Cute, but seems pretty silly to me. Definitely not a house for a woman who sews, cans, shoots, etc. I'd go nuts in such a small space, especially in winter.; December 2, 2010 at 8:43 AM
Anonymous said...: Hope it doesn't get too windy there-it's just a little wooden trailer,and God hates trailers. My workbench/tools would take up most of the place, not counting my parts bins/jars/cans. The rest would be books. I suppose you could have a shed out back, or dig a root cellar. I agree-I'd go nuts in the during winter..; December 2, 2010 at 10:10 AM
The Grey Lady said...: Aren't cells bigger then that?; December 3, 2010 at 5:03 AM
Ken said...: Wasn't it Herreshoff (one of 'em, anyhow) that said a house is just a badly made boat that doesn't go anywhere? (Not by itself, at any rate.)

By those lights, I'd call this "proof of concept."

I suppose some sort of reaction to the 3,500-square-foot faux-palazzo that manages to make inefficient use of the footprint whilst being built of cardboard, staples, and frozen snot* was inevitable, but I don't think this is it.

*The views expressed are strictly my own; I subscribe to the view that "marginal utility is in the eye of the beholder."; December 6, 2010 at 6:17 AM