On the record
In every political proposal we must not leave out of the question the political views and object of the proposer; and these we discover, not by what he says, but by the principles he lays down.
Said by
Edmund Burke
Source
gutenberg.orgEdmund Burke: “In every political proposal we must not leave out of the question the political views and object of the proposer; and…”
Editor's note · Context
Burke argues that understanding a political proposal requires examining the proposer's principles.
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Jan 1, 1790
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…
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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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