On the record
When manners were corrupted, the laws were relaxed; as the latter always follow the former, when they are not able to regulate them or to vanquish them.
Said by
Edmund Burke
Source
gutenberg.orgEditor's note · Context
Burke asserts that societal morals dictate the laws governing marriage and divorce.
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More from Edmund Burke
Jan 1, 1790
By adhering in this manner and on those principles to our forefathers, we are guided, not by the superstition of antiquarians, but by the spirit of philosophic analogy.
Jan 1, 1790
The House of Lords, for instance, is not morally competent to dissolve the House of Commons,--no, nor even to dissolve itself, nor to abdicate, if it would, its portion in the legislature of the kingdom.
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But the course of succession is the healthy habit of the British Constitution.
Jan 1, 1790
They look upon the legal hereditary succession of their crown as among their rights, not as among their wrongs,--as a benefit, not as a grievance,--as a security for their liberty, not as a badge of servitude.
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