On the record
The Saxons were extremely imperfect in their ideas of law,--the civil institutions of the Romans, who were the legislators of mankind, having never reached them.
Said by
Edmund Burke
Source
gutenberg.orgEdmund Burke: “The Saxons were extremely imperfect in their ideas of law,--the civil institutions of the Romans, who were the…”
Editor's note · Context
Burke critiques the Saxons' understanding of law, contrasting it with the more advanced civil institutions of the Romans.
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Jan 1, 1790
They will become flatterers instead of legislators,--the instruments, not the guides of the people.
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The improvements of the National Assembly are superficial, their errors fundamental.
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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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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.
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