But if we weaken it not only by arbitrary limitations of our own, but preserve such persons in it as are disposed to disturb its future peace, as they have its past, I do not know how a more direct declaration can be made of a disposition to perpetual hostility against a government.
Edmund Burke: “But if we weaken it not only by arbitrary limitations of our own, but preserve such persons in it as are disposed to…”
Editor's note · Context
Burke warns that preserving disruptive individuals within a government signals a commitment to ongoing conflict.
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