Edmund Burke: “And yet, my Lords, the prisoner, by the plan of his defence, demands not only an escape, but a triumph.”

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.

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.

The improvements of the National Assembly are superficial, their errors fundamental.

Let us imitate their caution, if we wish to deserve their fortune or to retain their bequests.