Political Quotes

Edmund Burke: “Their effects are only a little earthen-ware, and their houses only a handful of straw, the sale of a thousand of which…”

On the record
Their effects are only a little earthen-ware, and their houses only a handful of straw, the sale of a thousand of which would not perhaps produce twenty shillings.
Said by
Edmund Burke

Editor's note · Context

Burke describes the dire living conditions of the impoverished farmers, emphasizing their lack of resources.

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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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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.

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