If so, very ill would the purchase of Magna Charta have merited the deluge of blood which was shed in order to have the body of English privileges defined by a positive written law.
Edmund Burke: “If so, very ill would the purchase of Magna Charta have merited the deluge of blood which was shed in order to have the…”
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Edmund Burke
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gutenberg.orgEditor's note · Context
Burke reflects on the historical significance of the Magna Carta and the bloodshed it entailed for defining English rights.
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