Political Quotes

Edmund Burke: But calamity is unhappily the usual season of reflection; and the pride of men will not often suffer reason to have any…

On the record
But calamity is unhappily the usual season of reflection; and the pride of men will not often suffer reason to have any scope, until it can be no longer of service.
Said by
Edmund Burke

Editor's note · Context

Burke observes that calamity often prompts reflection, but pride can hinder rational thought until it is too late.

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If all the absurd theories of lawyers and divines were to vitiate the objects in which they are conversant, we should have no law and no religion left in the world.

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