On the record
His is the entertainment of Tantalus; it is an entertainment from which the sun hid his light.
Said by
Edmund Burke
Source
gutenberg.orgHis is the entertainment of Tantalus; it is an entertainment from which the sun hid his light.
Burke compares a certain type of entertainment to the myth of Tantalus, suggesting its unattainable nature.
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They come from one who has been no tool of power, no flatterer of greatness, and who in his last acts does not wish to belie the tenor of his life.
I would not exclude alteration neither; but even when I changed, it should be to preserve.
If any of them should happen to propose a scheme of liberty soberly limited, and defined with proper qualifications, he will be immediately outbid by his competitors, who will produce something more splendidly popular.
Let us imitate their caution, if we wish to deserve their fortune or to retain their bequests.