Political Quotes

Edmund Burke: “My Lords, to obtain empire is common; to govern it well has been rare indeed.”

On the record
My Lords, to obtain empire is common; to govern it well has been rare indeed.
Said by
Edmund Burke

Editor's note · Context

Burke reflects on the rarity of good governance in the context of empire.

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Jan 1, 1790

Let us add, if we please, but let us preserve what they have left; and standing on the firm ground of the British Constitution, let us be satisfied to admire, rather than attempt to follow in their desperate flights, the aëronauts of…

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I would not exclude alteration neither; but even when I changed, it should be to preserve.

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Let us imitate their caution, if we wish to deserve their fortune or to retain their bequests.

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But when the leaders choose to make themselves bidders at an auction of popularity, their talents, in the construction of the state, will be of no service.

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