Political Quotes

Edmund Burke: The prisoner at your bar, like the hero of the poet, when he attempts to make his escape by one evasion, is stopped by…

On the record
The prisoner at your bar, like the hero of the poet, when he attempts to make his escape by one evasion, is stopped by the appearance of some former contradictory averment.
Said by
Edmund Burke

Editor's note · Context

Burke compares a prisoner to a poetic hero, trapped by their own contradictory statements.

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