Political Quotes

Edmund Burke: They have not more notes in their song than the cuckoo; though, far from the softness of that harbinger of summer and…

On the recordJanuary 1, 1790
They have not more notes in their song than the cuckoo; though, far from the softness of that harbinger of summer and plenty, their voice is as harsh and as ominous as that of the raven.
Said by
Edmund Burke

Editor's note · Context

Burke uses a vivid metaphor to describe the French revolutionaries' repetitive and foreboding rhetoric, contrasting it with the pleasantness of nature.

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