On the record
Such a republican spirit, we perhaps fondly conceive to have animated the distinguished heroes and patriots of old, who knew no mode of policy but religion and virtue.
Said by
Edmund Burke
Source
gutenberg.orgEdmund Burke: “Such a republican spirit, we perhaps fondly conceive to have animated the distinguished heroes and patriots of old, who…”
Editor's note · Context
Burke romanticizes the ideals of past heroes who prioritized virtue and religion in governance.
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Jan 1, 1790
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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The engagement and pact of society, which generally goes by the name of the Constitution, forbids such invasion and such surrender.
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But the king of Great Britain obeys no other person; all other persons are individually, and collectively too, under him, and owe to him a legal obedience.
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Who could doubt but that, at any expense to the state, of which they understood nothing, they must pursue their private interests, which they understood but too well?
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