To a person who takes a view of the whole, the strength of Paris, thus formed, will appear a system of general weakness.
Edmund Burke: “To a person who takes a view of the whole, the strength of Paris, thus formed, will appear a system of general weakness.”
Editor's note · Context
From his critique of the French Revolution, Burke argues that the centralized power of Paris, created by the new constitution, ultimately undermines the strength of the nation.
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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.
Let us imitate their caution, if we wish to deserve their fortune or to retain their bequests.
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 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…





