On the record
Whoever claims a right by birth to govern there must find in his breast, or must conjure up in it, an energy not to be expected, perhaps not always to be wished for, in well-ordered states.
Said by
Edmund Burke
Source
gutenberg.orgEdmund Burke: “Whoever claims a right by birth to govern there must find in his breast, or must conjure up in it, an energy not to be…”
Editor's note · Context
Burke discusses the expectations of those who claim a right to govern by birth, suggesting a need for extraordinary qualities.
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Jan 1, 1790
The improvements of the National Assembly are superficial, their errors fundamental.
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I would not exclude alteration neither; but even when I changed, it should be to preserve.
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But when the leaders choose to make themselves bidders at an auction of popularity, their talents, in the construction of the state, will be of no service.
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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.
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