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Quote by Edmund Burke

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The Works of the Right Honourable Edmund Burke: Charge against Warren Hastings concluded. Political letters

This book compiles a series of political letters written by Edmund Burke and concludes with a charge against Warren Hastings, addressing political and legal matters of the time. more

Author

Edmund Burke
Edmund Burke

Edmund Burke, a British statesman and writer, was born on January 12, 1729, and died on July 9, 1797. He was one of the most prominent political thinkers of the 18th century, known for his profound insights into liberty, democracy, and conservatism. more

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“In towns it is impossible to prevent men from assembling, getting excited together and forming sudden passionate resolves. Towns are like great meeting houses with all the inhabitants as members. In them the people wield immense influence over their magistrates and often carry their desires into execution without intermediaries.”

“It is odd to watch with what feverish ardour Americans pursue prosperity, ever tormented by the shadowy suspicion that they might not have chosen the shortest route to get it. They cleave to the things of this world as if assured they will never die, and yet rush to snatch any that comes within their reach, as if they expected to stop living before relishing them. Death steps in, in the end, and stops them, before they have grown tired of this futile pursuit of that complete felicity which always escapes them.”

“There is, in fact, a manly and lawful passion for equality which excites men to wish all to be powerful and honored. This passion tends to elevate the humble to the rank of the great; but there exists also in the human heart a depraved taste for equality, which impels the weak to attempt to lower the powerful to their own level, and reduces men to prefer equality in slavery to inequality with freedom.”