On the record
But we are upon a subject which, like some of a higher nature, refuses ornament, and is contented with conveying instruction.
Said by
Edmund Burke
Source
gutenberg.orgEdmund Burke: “But we are upon a subject which, like some of a higher nature, refuses ornament, and is contented with conveying…”
Editor's note · Context
Burke emphasizes the importance of straightforward communication over embellishment when discussing serious subjects.
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More from Edmund Burke
Jan 1, 1790
They look upon the legal hereditary succession of their crown as among their rights, not as among their wrongs,--as a benefit, not as a grievance,--as a security for their liberty, not as a badge of servitude.
Jan 1, 1790
This idea of a liberal descent inspires us with a sense of habitual native dignity, which prevents that upstart insolence almost inevitably adhering to and disgracing those who are the first acquirers of any distinction.
Jan 1, 1790
Ill would our ancestors at the Revolution have deserved their fame for wisdom, if they had found no security for their freedom, but in rendering their government feeble in its operations and precarious in its tenure,--if they had been able…
Jan 1, 1790
The House of Lords, for instance, is not morally competent to dissolve the House of Commons,--no, nor even to dissolve itself, nor to abdicate, if it would, its portion in the legislature of the kingdom.
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