Political Quotes

Edmund Burke: This sympathetic revenge, which is condemned by clamorous imbecility, is so far from being a vice, that it is the…

On the record
This sympathetic revenge, which is condemned by clamorous imbecility, is so far from being a vice, that it is the greatest of all possible virtues,--a virtue which the uncorrupted judgment of mankind has in all ages exalted to the rank of heroism.
Said by
Edmund Burke

Editor's note · Context

Burke argues that a certain type of revenge, rooted in sympathy, is actually a profound virtue rather than a vice.

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