On the record
No circumstance could be more dishonorable to a prince; but happily, like many other great abuses, it gave rise to a great reform, which went much further than its immediate purposes.
Said by
Edmund Burke
Source
gutenberg.orgEdmund Burke: “No circumstance could be more dishonorable to a prince; but happily, like many other great abuses, it gave rise to a…”
Editor's note · Context
Burke reflects on how dishonorable actions can lead to significant reforms, suggesting that abuses can sometimes catalyze positive change.
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Jan 1, 1790
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.
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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.
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Whatever they are, I wish my countrymen rather to recommend to our neighbors the example of the British Constitution than to take models from them for the improvement of our own.
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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…
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