You are therefore at this moment in the awkward situation of fighting for a phantom,--a quiddity,--a thing that wants, not only a substance, but even a name,--for a thing which is neither abstract right nor profitable enjoyment.
Burke describes the absurdity of fighting for an intangible concept that lacks substance or clarity.
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They will become flatterers instead of legislators,--the instruments, not the guides of the people.
The improvements of the National Assembly are superficial, their errors fundamental.
Let us add, if we please, but let us preserve what they have left; and standing on the firm ground of the British Constitution, let us be satisfied to admire, rather than attempt to follow in their desperate flights, the aëronauts of…
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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