Dec 3, 2014

Edmond Burke: British Defender Of American Revolution & Founder Of Conservatism

Common Sense Commentary:  Edmond Burke was, by all accounts, one of the greatest minds in the history of mankind. A rare few people have ever been quoted as often as he ... in the entire world. He is a special favorite of Americans ever since the American Revolution when he served, as an Irishman, in the British House Of Commons. I doubt there is any adult American who has not heard at least one of his quotes. Here is pure wisdom from the mind and heart of a professing Christian, friend of the American Revolution though a high official in Great Britain, and considered to be the founder of political Conservatism. RB



You could not stand five minutes with that man [Edmund 
Burke] beneath a shed while it rained, but you must be 
convinced you had been standing with the greatest man you 
had ever yet seen—  Samuel Johnson  (Anecdotes of Johnson)

Edmund Burke 1729 – 1797) was an Irish statesman born in Dublin; author, orator, political theorist, and philosopher, who, after moving to England, served for many years in the House of Commons of Great Britain as a member of the Whig party.
Mainly, he is remembered for his support of the cause of the American Revolutionaries, and for his later opposition to the French Revolution. The latter led to his becoming the leading figure within the conservative faction of the Whig party, which he dubbed the "Old Whigs", in opposition to the pro–French Revolution "New Whigs".
Burke was praised by both conservatives and liberals in the nineteenth century. Since the twentieth century, he has generally been viewed as the philosophical founder of conservatism.  From Wikipedia Encyclopedia


The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. Edmund Burke

The greater the power, the more dangerous the abuse. Edmund Burke

Those who don't know history are destined to repeat it. Edmund Burke.

Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little. Edmund Burke 

Under the pressure of the cares and sorrows of our mortal condition, men have at all times, and in all countries, called in some physical aid to their moral consolations - wine, beer, opium, brandy, or tobacco. Edmund Burke 

All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent. Edmund Burke

The first and simplest emotion which we discover in the human mind, is curiosity. Edmund Burke

Slavery is a weed that grows on every soil. Edmund Burke

Sin has many tools, but a lie is the handle which fits them all. Edmund Burke

To read without reflecting is like eating without digesting. Edmund Burke

We must all obey the great law of change. It is the most powerful law of nature. Edmund Burke

Our patience will achieve more than our force. Edmund Burke

When bad men combine, the good must associate; else they will fall one by one, an unpitied sacrifice in a contemptible struggle. Edmund Burke

There is but one law for all, namely that law which governs all law, the law of our Creator, the law of humanity, justice, equity - the law of nature and of nations. Edmund Burke

In a democracy, the majority of the citizens is capable of exercising the most cruel oppressions upon the minority. Edmund Burke

But what is liberty without wisdom, and without virtue? It is the greatest of all possible evils; for it is folly, vice, and madness, without tuition or restraint. Edmund Burke

It is not what a lawyer tells me I may do; but what humanity, reason, and justice tell me I ought to do. Edmund Burke

But the age of chivalry is gone. That of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded; and the glory of Europe is extinguished forever. Edmund Burke

Your representative owes you, not his industry only, but his judgment; and he betrays instead of serving you if he sacrifices it to your opinion. Edmund Burke

A spirit of innovation is generally the result of a selfish temper and confined views. People will not look forward to posterity, who never look backward to their ancestors. Edmund Burke

Free trade is not based on utility but on justice. Edmund Burke 

Superstition is the religion of feeble minds. Edmund Burke

People crushed by laws, have no hope but to evade power. If the laws are their enemies, they will be enemies to the law; and those who have most to hope and nothing to lose will always be dangerous. Edmund Burke

If we command our wealth, we shall be rich and free; if our wealth commands us, we are poor indeed. Edmund Burke


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