Political Quotes

Edmund Burke: “The debater obtained credit, but the statesman was disgraced forever.”

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The debater obtained credit, but the statesman was disgraced forever.
Said by
Edmund Burke

Editor's note · Context

Burke contrasts the fleeting success of a debater with the lasting disgrace of a statesman.

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More from Edmund Burke

Jan 1, 1790

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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Jan 1, 1790

Whatever they are, I wish my countrymen rather to recommend to our neighbors the example of the British Constitution than to take models from them for the improvement of our own.

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Jan 1, 1790

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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Jan 1, 1790

Not being illuminated with the light of which the gentlemen of France tell us they have got so abundant a share, they acted under a strong impression of the ignorance and fallibility of mankind.

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