Political Quotes

Edmund Burke: This maxim is not made for a middle sort of beings, who, because they cannot be angels, ought to thwart their ambition…

On the record
This maxim is not made for a middle sort of beings, who, because they cannot be angels, ought to thwart their ambition, and not endeavor to become infernal spirits.
Said by
Edmund Burke

Editor's note · Context

Burke argues against the ambition of those who cannot achieve greatness.

Share

More from Edmund Burke

Jan 1, 1790

Governments must be abused and deranged indeed, before it can be thought of; and the prospect of the future must be as bad as the experience of the past.

gutenberg.org
Jan 1, 1790

The ceremony of cashiering kings, of which these gentlemen talk so much at their ease, can rarely, if ever, be performed without force.

gutenberg.org
Jan 1, 1790

But the course of succession is the healthy habit of the British Constitution.

gutenberg.org
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.

gutenberg.org

Other voices in this conversation