The weight of that duty, I confess, makes me tremble; and whoever well considers what it is, of all things in the world, will fly from what has the least likeness to a positive and precipitate engagement.
Edmund Burke: “The weight of that duty, I confess, makes me tremble; and whoever well considers what it is, of all things in the world…”
Editor's note · Context
Burke acknowledges the heavy responsibility of his duties and the importance of cautious engagement.
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Our people will find employment enough for a truly patriotic, free, and independent spirit, in guarding what they possess from violation.
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.
Let us imitate their caution, if we wish to deserve their fortune or to retain their bequests.
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…





