Political Quotes

On the recordJanuary 1, 1790
But no name, no power, no function, no artificial institution whatsoever, can make the men, of whom any system of authority is composed, any other than God, and Nature, and education, and their habits of life have made them.
Said by
Edmund Burke

Editor's note · Context

In his critique of the French National Assembly, Burke argues that no institutional structure can fundamentally alter the character of the individuals who compose it.

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Jan 1, 1790

They look on the frame of their commonwealth, such as it stands, to be of inestimable value; and they conceive the undisturbed succession of the crown to be a pledge of the stability and perpetuity of all the other members of our…

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Jan 1, 1790

But the course of succession is the healthy habit of the British Constitution.

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Jan 1, 1790

Their objects would be enlarged with their elevation; but their disposition, and habits, and mode of accomplishing their designs must remain the same.

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Jan 1, 1790

But an absurd theory on one side of a question forms no justification for alleging a false fact or promulgating mischievous maxims on the other.

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