So that, after all, it is a moral and virtuous discretion, and not any abstract theory of right, which keeps governments faithful to their ends.
Edmund Burke: “So that, after all, it is a moral and virtuous discretion, and not any abstract theory of right, which keeps governments…”
Editor's note · Context
Burke argues that moral discretion, rather than abstract theories, is essential for governments to fulfill their purposes.
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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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