On the record
That point being fixed, and laying fast hold of a strong bottom, our speculations may swing in all directions without public detriment, because they will ride with sure anchorage.
Said by
Edmund Burke
Source
gutenberg.orgEdmund Burke: “That point being fixed, and laying fast hold of a strong bottom, our speculations may swing in all directions without…”
Editor's note · Context
Burke uses a metaphor of anchorage to describe the stability of well-founded speculations in governance.
Share
More from Edmund Burke
Jan 1, 1790
Not being illuminated with the light of which the gentlemen of France tell us they have got so abundant a share, they acted under a strong impression of the ignorance and fallibility of mankind.
Jan 1, 1790
I would not exclude alteration neither; but even when I changed, it should be to preserve.
Jan 1, 1790
They will become flatterers instead of legislators,--the instruments, not the guides of the people.
Jan 1, 1790
Let us add, if we please, but let us preserve what they have left; and standing on the firm ground of the British Constitution, let us be satisfied to admire, rather than attempt to follow in their desperate flights, the aëronauts of…
Other voices in this conversation
