On the record
Men justify their acts in two ways,--by law and by precedent; the former asserts the right, the latter presumes it from the example of others.
Said by
Edmund Burke
Source
gutenberg.orgEdmund Burke: “Men justify their acts in two ways,--by law and by precedent; the former asserts the right, the latter presumes it from…”
Editor's note · Context
Burke distinguishes between justifying actions by law versus by precedent, emphasizing the importance of legal justification.
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We procure reverence to our civil institutions on the principle upon which Nature teaches us to revere individual men: on account of their age, and on account of those from whom they are descended.
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They look on the frame of their commonwealth, such as it stands, to be of inestimable value; and they conceive the undisturbed succession of the crown to be a pledge of the stability and perpetuity of all the other members of our…
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Those who are servants in name, as well as in effect, do not like to be told of their situation, their duty, and their obligations.
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They look upon the legal hereditary succession of their crown as among their rights, not as among their wrongs,--as a benefit, not as a grievance,--as a security for their liberty, not as a badge of servitude.
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