The design is wicked, immoral, impious, oppressive: but it is spirited and daring; it is systematic; it is simple in its principle; it has unity and consistency in perfection.
Edmund Burke: “The design is wicked, immoral, impious, oppressive: but it is spirited and daring; it is systematic; it is simple in its…”
Editor's note · Context
Burke critiques a particular design of government as wicked yet acknowledges its systematic and daring nature.
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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.
I would not exclude alteration neither; but even when I changed, it should be to preserve.
Our people will find employment enough for a truly patriotic, free, and independent spirit, in guarding what they possess from violation.
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