On the recordJanuary 1, 1790
I do not say, (God forbid!) I do not say that the virtues of such men were to be taken as a balance to their crimes; but they were some corrective to their effects.
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Edmund Burke
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gutenberg.orgEdmund Burke: “I do not say, (God forbid!) I do not say that the virtues of such men were to be taken as a balance to their crimes; but…”
Editor's note · Context
Burke offers a nuanced perspective on historical figures, acknowledging their crimes but also their virtues as a corrective influence.
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If any of them should happen to propose a scheme of liberty soberly limited, and defined with proper qualifications, he will be immediately outbid by his competitors, who will produce something more splendidly popular.
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Let us imitate their caution, if we wish to deserve their fortune or to retain their bequests.
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I would not exclude alteration neither; but even when I changed, it should be to preserve.
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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.
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