On the record
What is the effect of a power placed nominally at the head of the army, who to that army is no object of gratitude or of fear?
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Edmund Burke
Source
gutenberg.orgWhat is the effect of a power placed nominally at the head of the army, who to that army is no object of gratitude or of fear?
This quote questions the effectiveness of a nominal leader who lacks the respect or fear of their troops.
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More from Edmund Burke
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.
They will become flatterers instead of legislators,--the instruments, not the guides of the people.
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.
Let us imitate their caution, if we wish to deserve their fortune or to retain their bequests.