Political Quotes

Edmund Burke: “Seas roll, and months pass, between the order and the execution; and the want of a speedy explanation of a single point…”

On the record
Seas roll, and months pass, between the order and the execution; and the want of a speedy explanation of a single point is enough to defeat an whole system.
Said by
Edmund Burke

Editor's note · Context

Burke illustrates how delays in communication can disrupt governance and execution of orders.

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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…

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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.

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But when the leaders choose to make themselves bidders at an auction of popularity, their talents, in the construction of the state, will be of no service.

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