On the record
The pretended rights of man, which have made this havoc, cannot be the rights of the people.
Said by
Edmund Burke
Source
gutenberg.orgEdmund Burke: “The pretended rights of man, which have made this havoc, cannot be the rights of the people.”
Editor's note · Context
Burke critiques the concept of 'rights of man' as being destructive rather than beneficial.
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More from Edmund Burke
Jan 1, 1790
There are some follies which baffle argument, which go beyond ridicule, and which excite no feeling in us but disgust; and therefore I say no more upon it.
Jan 1, 1790
The body of the people must not find the principles of natural subordination by art rooted out of their minds.
Jan 1, 1790
In some people I see great liberty, indeed; in many, if not in the most, an oppressive, degrading servitude.
Jan 1, 1790
The prattling about the rights of men will not be accepted in payment of a biscuit or a pound of gunpowder.
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