As soon as he had so secured them against receiving bribes, he was resolved to make them inefficient,--a good way to secure them against bribes, by taking from them the power of bribe-worthy service.
Burke critiques the inefficacy of a committee that is bound by oaths against bribery while simultaneously stripped of their power to act.
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Not being illuminated with the light of which the gentlemen of France tell us they have got so abundant a share, they acted under a strong impression of the ignorance and fallibility of mankind.
Let us imitate their caution, if we wish to deserve their fortune or to retain their bequests.
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.
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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