On the recordJanuary 1, 1790
However, to be subject to the pleasure of that Assembly is not to be subject to law, either for protection or for constraint.
Said by
Edmund Burke
Source
gutenberg.orgEdmund Burke: “However, to be subject to the pleasure of that Assembly is not to be subject to law, either for protection or for…”
Editor's note · Context
Critiquing the accountability mechanisms of the French National Assembly, Burke argues that being subject to the Assembly's will is not equivalent to being subject to the rule of law, which provides both protection and constraint.
Share
More from Edmund Burke
Jan 1, 1790
Who could flatter himself that these men, suddenly, and as it were by enchantment, snatched from the humblest rank of subordination, would not be intoxicated with their unprepared greatness?
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
By adhering in this manner and on those principles to our forefathers, we are guided, not by the superstition of antiquarians, but by the spirit of philosophic analogy.
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?
Other voices in this conversation
