It was a machine of wise and elaborate contrivance, and as well fitted for the oppression, impoverishment, and degradation of a people, and the debasement, in them, of human nature itself, as ever proceeded from the perverted ingenuity of man.
Edmund Burke: “It was a machine of wise and elaborate contrivance, and as well fitted for the oppression, impoverishment, and…”
Editor's note · Context
Burke critiques a system he views as expertly designed for oppression and degradation.
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Our people will find employment enough for a truly patriotic, free, and independent spirit, in guarding what they possess from violation.
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