Political Quotes

Edmund Burke: “Burke said in substance, That confidence might become a vice, and jealousy a virtue, according to circumstances.”

On the record
Burke said in substance, That confidence might become a vice, and jealousy a virtue, according to circumstances.
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Edmund Burke

Editor's note · Context

Burke reflects on the complexities of trust and suspicion in political contexts, suggesting that both can have their merits depending on the situation.

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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.

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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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I would not exclude alteration neither; but even when I changed, it should be to preserve.

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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.

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