On the record
This is superstitiously to embalm a carcass not worth an ounce of the gums that are used to preserve it.
Said by
Edmund Burke
Source
gutenberg.orgEdmund Burke: “This is superstitiously to embalm a carcass not worth an ounce of the gums that are used to preserve it.”
Editor's note · Context
Burke uses a metaphor to criticize the preservation of outdated institutions that no longer hold value.
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Jan 1, 1790
Let us add, if we please, but let us preserve what they have left; and standing on the firm ground of the British Constitution, let us be satisfied to admire, rather than attempt to follow in their desperate flights, the aëronauts of…
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Let us imitate their caution, if we wish to deserve their fortune or to retain their bequests.
Jan 1, 1790
They will become flatterers instead of legislators,--the instruments, not the guides of the people.
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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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