The country-gentleman, therefore, the officer by sea and land, the man of liberal views and habits, attached to no profession, will be as completely excluded from the government of his country as if he were legislatively proscribed.
In his critique of the French Revolution, Burke predicts the complete exclusion of traditional country gentlemen and independent individuals from the government of their nation.
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More from Edmund Burke
The improvements of the National Assembly are superficial, their errors fundamental.
Our people will find employment enough for a truly patriotic, free, and independent spirit, in guarding what they possess from violation.
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.
They will become flatterers instead of legislators,--the instruments, not the guides of the people.
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