This is the true touchstone of all theories which regard man and the affairs of men,--Does it suit his nature in general?--does it suit his nature as modified by his habits?
Edmund Burke: “This is the true touchstone of all theories which regard man and the affairs of men,--Does it suit his nature in…”
Editor's note · Context
Burke presents a criterion for evaluating theories about human affairs based on their compatibility with human nature and habits.
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I think our happy situation owing to our Constitution,--but owing to the whole of it, and not to any part singly,--owing in a great measure to what we have left standing in our several reviews and reformations, as well as to what we have…
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.
Our people will find employment enough for a truly patriotic, free, and independent spirit, in guarding what they possess from violation.
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…





