But whatever the distinguished few may have been, it is the substance and mass of the body which constitutes its character, and must finally determine its direction.
Edmund Burke: “But whatever the distinguished few may have been, it is the substance and mass of the body which constitutes its…”
Editor's note · Context
Burke argues that the overall character and direction of any collective body are determined by the general mass of its members, not just a few prominent individuals.
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More from Edmund Burke
I think our happy situation owing to our Constitution,--but owing to the whole of it, and not to any part singly,--owing in a great measure to what we have left standing in our several reviews and reformations, as well as to what we have…
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.
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.





