The above
picture shows one of many “details” on a somewhat surprising monument to be
found at the Champs-de-Mars. This is a partial copy of the preamble of "The
Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen” from 1789. The monument,
referred to as the “Monument des Droits de l’Homme” (Human Rights), was ordered
by the City of Paris for the bicentenary of the 1789 Revolution and consequently has been standing here since 1989.
In front of
one side of the monument you can find some bronze sculptures – a man wearing a toga,
a woman with a child with a newspaper hat -, and two obelisks, all covered with
a multitude of signs, symbols, texts…
The creator
of the monument, Ivan Theimer, has made a
number of references to Freemasonry and “Novus Ordo Seculorum” (New order of
the ages), a text which also appears on the Great Seal of the United States as
well as on the one-dollar bill. There may be some obvious reasons for these Freemasonry
references. The Human Rights as they were established in a rather contemporary
way through “The Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen” in France in
1789, “The Virginia Declaration of Rights” and “The Declaration of Independence”
were of course heavily influenced by what is referred to as “The Enlightenment”,
inspired by 17th and 18th century philosophers and
thinkers, often active as freemasons. Thomas Jefferson, who spent the pre-Revolutionary
years 1784-89 in Paris is of course an obvious link between the French and the
American declarations. Was he a freemason?
Through the
triangle I could take a photo of the inner side of the door, which you can find
on the opposite side of the monument. The round opening is the entrance to what
has become the home of pigeons. Some tennis players have tried to aim the
opening (and the pigeons?), not always successfully.
On the
sides you can find the names of some European capitals. It seems to correspond
to member states of the European Union in 1989.
The Champs-de-Mars may give the impression of being just a large field, however don’t
forget to visit the calmer and much greener sidewalks.
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4 comments:
If it were not for you, telling us about this monument standing there since 1989, I would've thought, judging from its style to have been built at the least one hundred and fifty years before.
According to some historians, that entire epic clique of signers of the Declaration of Independence were freemasons....
According to some historians too, Ambassador Jefferson overstepped the bounds of propriety and even worse, of diplomatic protocol in advising M. de la Fayette et Cie...about "certain" rights...........
Thank you so much, M. Peter for this fantastic tour!
Maria
Très intéressant de voir tous ces détails de près. Je suis étonnement surprise par tous ces détails sur ce genre de petit temple ??
Fascinating, Peter! Though quite a few of America's Founding Fathers (among them my great(X8)-grandfather) were Freemasons, Jefferson was not. However, he did agree with many of their beliefs.
Please check your email.
Just love this fascinating post!
Merci.
lajeunecaptive
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