Canada's Governor General (or her speechwriter) seems to have some Classical knowledge ... check out a speech wherein Michaelle Jean (current gg) unveiled the official portrait of Adrienne Clarkson (erstwhile gg):

The portrait being unveiled today is on a par with a country that knows no bounds, a country–as Vigneault sang–whose spirit has been strengthened more by winter than by any other season.

Look at the portraits in the foyer. Each of the faces of those who served as governor general before me reflects a moment in time, and each of these works of art is an original piece of this institution's history.

Pliny the Elder said that the art of creating portraits was born of the need to conquer absence.

One night, so the story goes, a young soldier went to visit his fiancée one last time before joining his regiment. A lamp cast a shadow of the young man on the wall and the young woman decided to trace his shadow so that she would always have an image of her love, who would soon be so far away.

That may just be a romantic story, but it does convey the meaning and importance of portraits in our society. They are a means of remembering a presence, of reflecting a life, of celebrating a journey.

So what story will this particular portrait tell us?

Adrienne Clarkson knew, and herself said, that "the parameters of our society are fixed by climate and geography," which may be why she was drawn to winter like the needle of a compass points to the North.

This choice was in fact a commitment to the Arctic that guided her throughout her mandate as 26th governor general of Canada.

She herself said that she was "rather pleased that (hers) is the only official portrait of all the governors general from 1867 on that has snow as its setting."

In her journal, Mary Pratt, who painted the portrait, described one of her watercolours in which, all bundled up, hands in her pockets, with one booted foot forward, Adrienne Clarkson looked a little "like a Tibetan warrior somehow."

I know, dear Adrienne, that, although surprising, this comparison pleases you.

It refers to the strength of character of an exceptional woman who will remain, for my generation and generations to come, a model of determination and daring.

In your travels across the sixtieth parallel, you reminded us how vast Canada's true dimensions are, but I would also like to honour the tremendous effort you and John Ralston Saul made in bringing the historic polish back to this institution and its relevance to Canadians.

My husband, Jean-Daniel Lafond, and I share your unfailing commitment to culture. Culture as a means of shaping and inhabiting the world.

We would also like to add another dimension by using new technologies, while continuing to make Rideau Hall a place for reflection, where everyone has the opportunity to consider the very best Canada has to offer.

Of all the powerful moments of your mandate, this is one that many of us will remember.

How can anyone forget the faces of the veterans you accompanied to Normandy on June 6, 2004, as commander in chief of the Canadian Forces?

Sixty years earlier, as young soldiers, they sacrificed their youth–and many of them their lives–to liberate women and men they did not know from the chains of oppression and tyranny.

Those faces are forever etched in the memories and hearts of the entire world.

Finally, Adrienne and John, I would never forgive myself if I did not mention your passion for nature, thanks to which the gardens at Rideau Hall truly came into full bloom.

Please also know that Canadians–and especially the women of Canada–join me in applauding the creation of the Cup that bears your name to celebrate excellence in women's hockey.

The Clarkson Cup was presented for the first time in July 2006; it was given to the members of the Canadian women's Olympic team, with whom I was foolhardy enough to join in a little game in Turin.

You have left a rich legacy and– as Pliny the Elder would say–your portrait, which we are about to unveil, will serve as a reminder of your presence in this institution and among your predecessors.

I don't see any Classical studies in MJ's official biography ...