I should be truly ashamed of finding in myself that superficial, theatric sense of painted distress, whilst I could exult over it in real life.
Edmund Burke: “I should be truly ashamed of finding in myself that superficial, theatric sense of painted distress, whilst I could…”
Editor's note · Context
Burke expresses his moral revulsion at the idea of being moved by fictional tragedy while celebrating real-life suffering, particularly in the context of the French Revolution.
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