If any gentlemen were able to see how one power could be given up (merely on abstract reasoning) without giving up the rest, I can only say that they saw further than I could.
Edmund Burke: “If any gentlemen were able to see how one power could be given up (merely on abstract reasoning) without giving up the…”
Editor's note · Context
Burke acknowledges the difficulty of relinquishing power based on abstract reasoning, admitting his own limitations in understanding.
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Let us imitate their caution, if we wish to deserve their fortune or to retain their bequests.
Not being illuminated with the light of which the gentlemen of France tell us they have got so abundant a share, they acted under a strong impression of the ignorance and fallibility of mankind.
If any of them should happen to propose a scheme of liberty soberly limited, and defined with proper qualifications, he will be immediately outbid by his competitors, who will produce something more splendidly popular.
I would not exclude alteration neither; but even when I changed, it should be to preserve.





