On the record
He cannot declare peace or war without the same sentence of the law: so much is he, more than European sovereigns, a subject of strict law, that he cannot declare war or peace without it.
Said by
Edmund Burke
Source
gutenberg.orgEdmund Burke: “He cannot declare peace or war without the same sentence of the law: so much is he, more than European sovereigns, a…”
Editor's note · Context
Burke states that a ruler's ability to declare war or peace is also bound by law, underscoring the limitations of sovereign power.
Share
More from Edmund Burke
Jan 1, 1790
Let us imitate their caution, if we wish to deserve their fortune or to retain their bequests.
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.
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.
Jan 1, 1790
I would not exclude alteration neither; but even when I changed, it should be to preserve.
Other voices in this conversation
