One day a month of concern for the king

"You don't have to run so fast, what belongs to you, to your hands will come..."

Machado de Assis

If our destiny has been previously mapped out, as some seers say (1), and we cannot change it, does it make sense for us to know our future in advance and to live our daily lives anxiously?

When the King of France, Louis XVI was still a child, he was warned by an astrologer to be very careful with the twenty-first day of each month. Louis was extremely impressed by that and because of the fear which took over his thoughts, Louis decided never to risk himself or do any business on the 21st, whatever the month would be.

In the year 1791, after the French revolution broke out, the king and queen, Marie Antoinette, tried to escape from France and were discovered and imprisoned. Perhaps because of the nervousness of the situation, Louis XVI did not pay attention to what day it was; it was June 21st. Three months later, on September 21st., the royalty was abolished in France and the republic was proclaimed. And finally, on January 21st. 1793, the king Louis XVI was executed at the guillotine.

If the fate of Louis XVI had in fact already been written, it would have been better if he had lived at least without that permanent tension of every month having to remember what the current day was, to prevent the tragedies.

Notes:

1 - Seer: person who says he predicts the future.

2 - Machado de Assis: Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis was a Brazilian chronicler, storyteller, playwright, journalist, poet, novelist, critic, and essayist born in the city of Rio de Janeiro on exactly June 21st., 1839. Among his famous books are "Memórias Póstumas de Brás Cubas", "Quincas Borba", "Dom Casmurro", "Resurreição".

Test your knowledge:

1 - Who was King Louis VI married to?

             1. To Maria Thereza;

             2. To Marie Antoinette;

             3. With Catherine of Medices;

2 - How did Louis VI die?

             1. Guillotined;

             2. Hanged;

             3. Heart problem;

3 - Who was Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis?

            1. Brazilian chronicler, storyteller, playwright, journalist, poet, novelist, novelist, critic and essayist born in the city of Rio de Janeiro on June 21, 1839. Among the famous books he published are "Memórias Póstumas de Brás Cubas", "Quincas Borba";

            2. Brazilian chronicler, storyteller, playwright, journalist, poet, novelist, novelist, critic and essayist born in Pernambuco on 21 June 1839. Among his famous books are "Memórias Póstumas de Brás Cubas", "Conde de Monte Cristo";

            3. Brazilian chronicler, storyteller, playwright, actor, promoter, poet, novelist, novelist, critic and essayist born in the city of Rio de Janeiro on 21 June 1839. Among the famous books he published are "Memórias de Emília", "Quincas Berro D'Água";

4 - When did the French revolution burst?

            1. 1789;

            2. 1792;

            3. 1881;