Edmund Burke
Edmund Burke
Edmund Burkewas an Irish statesman born in Dublin, as well as an author, orator, political theorist, and philosopher who, after moving to London, served as a member of parliamentfor many years in the House of Commons with the Whig Party...
NationalityIrish
ProfessionPolitician
Date of Birth12 January 1729
CountryIreland
direct discretion finest individual itself ought problems state
It is one of the finest problems in legislation, what the state ought to take upon itself to direct and what it ought to leave, with as little interference as possible, to individual discretion
advances business divinity doctors greater hard law lucrative whether
It is hard to say whether the doctors of law or divinity have made the greater advances in the lucrative business of mystery.
commercial everywhere found interest wealth
It is in the interest of the commercial world that wealth should be found everywhere
evil good man necessary
It is necessary only for the good man to do nothing for evil to triumph.
fills grain mountain national proportion separated truly useless valuable works
If the grain were separated from the chaff, which fills the works of our national poets, what is truly valuable would be to what is useless in the proportion of a molehill to a mountain
evil good men needed prosper
The only thing needed for evil to prosper is for good men to do nothing.
god man whatever
Whatever disunites man from God disunites man from man
ceases limit virtue
There is, however, a limit at which forbearance ceases to be a virtue
becomes cannot ends indeed obtained society
Society is indeed a contract. It is a partnership in all science; a partnership in all art; a partnership in every virtue, and in all perfection. As the ends of such a partnership cannot be obtained in many generations, it becomes a partnership not only between those who are living, but between those who are living, those who are dead, and those who are to be born.
government human men provide provided wants wisdom
Government is a contrivance of human wisdom to provide for human wants. Men have a right that these wants should be provided for by this wisdom.
antagonist compels conflict consider difficulty helps intimate suffer
He that wrestles with us strengthens our nerves, and sharpens our skill. Our antagonist is our helper. This amicable conflict with difficulty helps us to an intimate acquaintance with our object, and compels us to consider it in all its relations. It will not suffer us to be superficial.
foundation good order
Good order is the foundation of all good things
case sort taught treason
I know that many have been taught to think that moderation, in a case like this, is a sort of treason
multitude tyranny
The tyranny of the multitude is a multiplied tyranny