It is a sour, malignant, envious disposition, without taste for the reality, or for any image or representation of virtue, that sees with joy the unmerited fall of what had long nourished in splendor and in honor.
In his reflections on the French Revolution, Burke condemns the malicious pleasure taken in the downfall of traditional institutions and figures.
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Whatever they are, I wish my countrymen rather to recommend to our neighbors the example of the British Constitution than to take models from them for the improvement of our own.
Let us imitate their caution, if we wish to deserve their fortune or to retain their bequests.
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.
Our people will find employment enough for a truly patriotic, free, and independent spirit, in guarding what they possess from violation.
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