On the recordJanuary 1, 1790
This policy appears to me to be the result of profound reflection,--or rather the happy effect of following Nature, which is wisdom without reflection, and above it.
Said by
Edmund Burke
Source
gutenberg.orgEdmund Burke: “This policy appears to me to be the result of profound reflection,--or rather the happy effect of following Nature…”
Editor's note · Context
In his critique of revolutionary abstract reason, Burke suggests that sound policy often arises from following natural wisdom rather than pure reflection.
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More from Edmund Burke
Jan 1, 1790
They will become flatterers instead of legislators,--the instruments, not the guides of the people.
Jan 1, 1790
Whatever they are, I wish my countrymen rather to recommend to our neighbors the example of the British Constitution than to take models from them for the improvement of our own.
Jan 1, 1790
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.
Jan 1, 1790
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.
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