In common affairs and common life, virtuous sentiments are not even the character of virtuous men; we cannot bear these sentiments, but when they are pressed out, as it were, by great exigencies, and a certain contention which is above the general style of comedy....
Edmund Burke: “In common affairs and common life, virtuous sentiments are not even the character of virtuous men; we cannot bear these…”
Editor's note · Context
Burke argues that virtuous sentiments are not typical in everyday life and emerge only under significant pressure.
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