On the record
It is not very difficult for well-formed minds to abandon their interest; but the separation of fame and virtue is an harsh divorce.
Said by
Edmund Burke
Source
gutenberg.orgIt is not very difficult for well-formed minds to abandon their interest; but the separation of fame and virtue is an harsh divorce.
Burke reflects on the difficulty of separating personal reputation from virtue in society.
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More from Edmund Burke
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.
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.
The improvements of the National Assembly are superficial, their errors fundamental.
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.