Never before this time was a set of literary men converted into a gang of robbers and assassins; never before did a den of bravoes and banditti assume the garb and tone of an academy of philosophers.
Edmund Burke: “Never before this time was a set of literary men converted into a gang of robbers and assassins; never before did a den…”
Editor's note · Context
Burke condemns the transformation of intellectuals into violent revolutionaries during the French Revolution.
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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.
The improvements of the National Assembly are superficial, their errors fundamental.
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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.





