Political Quotes

Edmund Burke: These metaphysic rights entering into common life, like rays of light which pierce into a dense medium, are, by the laws…

On the recordJanuary 1, 1790
These metaphysic rights entering into common life, like rays of light which pierce into a dense medium, are, by the laws of Nature, refracted from their straight line.
Said by
Edmund Burke

Editor's note · Context

Burke uses a metaphor to explain how abstract metaphysical rights become distorted and complex when applied to the realities of common life.

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