On the record
I am not determining a point of law; I am restoring tranquillity: and the general character and situation of a people must determine what sort of government is fitted for them.
Said by
Edmund Burke
Source
gutenberg.orgEdmund Burke: “I am not determining a point of law; I am restoring tranquillity: and the general character and situation of a people…”
Editor's note · Context
Burke emphasizes the importance of understanding a people's character when determining their form of government.
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More from Edmund Burke
Jan 1, 1790
Those who are servants in name, as well as in effect, do not like to be told of their situation, their duty, and their obligations.
Jan 1, 1790
Who could doubt but that, at any expense to the state, of which they understood nothing, they must pursue their private interests, which they understood but too well?
Jan 1, 1790
The engagement and pact of society, which generally goes by the name of the Constitution, forbids such invasion and such surrender.
Jan 1, 1790
But the course of succession is the healthy habit of the British Constitution.
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