On the record
The sense of a whole people, most gracious sovereign, never ought to be contemned by wise and beneficent rulers,--whatever may be the abstract claims, or even rights, of the supreme power.
Said by
Edmund Burke
Source
gutenberg.orgEdmund Burke: “The sense of a whole people, most gracious sovereign, never ought to be contemned by wise and beneficent…”
Editor's note · Context
Burke argues that the collective sense of the people should not be disregarded by rulers, regardless of their claims to power.
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More from Edmund Burke
Jan 1, 1790
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.
Jan 1, 1790
They will become flatterers instead of legislators,--the instruments, not the guides of the people.
Jan 1, 1790
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.
Jan 1, 1790
Let us imitate their caution, if we wish to deserve their fortune or to retain their bequests.
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