The Public and Domestic Life of the Right Hon. Edmund Burke

Front Cover
N. Cooke, 1854 - Philosophy - 316 pages

From inside the book

Other editions - View all

Common terms and phrases

Popular passages

Page 311 - Who, too deep for his hearers, still went on refining, And thought of convincing, while they thought of dining ; Tho' equal to all things, for all things unfit, Too nice for a statesman, too proud for a wit; For a patriot too cool; for a drudge disobedient ; And too fond of the right to pursue the expedient. In short, 'twas his fate, unemploy'd or in place, Sir, To eat mutton cold, and cut blocks with a razor.
Page 94 - ... to dive into the depths of dungeons ; to plunge into the infection of hospitals; to survey the mansions of sorrow and pain ; to take the gauge and dimensions of misery, depression, and contempt; to remember the forgotten, to attend to the neglected, to visit the forsaken, and compare and collate the distresses of all men in all countries.
Page 83 - But, his unbiassed opinion, his mature judgment, his enlightened conscience, he ought not to sacrifice to you, to any man, or to any set of men living. These he does not derive from your pleasure; no, nor from the law and the constitution. They are a trust from Providence, for the abuse of which he is deeply answerable. Your representative owes you not his industry only, but his judgment; which he betrays, instead of serving you, if he sacrifices it to your opinion.
Page 88 - Is it not the same virtue which does everything for us here in England ? Do you imagine then, that it is the land tax act which raises your revenue ? that it is the annual vote in the committee of supply, which gives you your army ? or that it is the mutiny bill which inspires it with bravery and discipline ? No ! surely no ! It is the love of the people ; it is their attachment to their government, from the sense of the deep stake they have in such a glorious institution...
Page 94 - He has visited all Europe,— not to survey the sumptuousness of palaces, or the stateliness of temples; not to make accurate measurements of the remains of ancient grandeur, nor to form a scale of the curiosity of modern art; not to collect medals, or collate manuscripts:— but to dive into the depths of dungeons; to plunge into the infection of hospitals; to survey the mansions of sorrow and pain; to take the gauge and dimensions of misery, depression, and contempt; to remember the forgotten,...
Page 83 - Certainly, gentlemen, it ought to be the happiness and glory of a representative to live in the strictest union, the closest correspondence, and the most unreserved communication with his constituents.
Page 252 - We know, and what is better, we feel inwardly, that religion is the basis of civil society, and the source of all good and of all comfort.
Page 87 - Young man, there is America, which at this day serves for little more than to amuse you with stories of savage men and uncouth manners, yet shall, before you taste of death, show itself equal to the whole of that commerce which now attracts the envy of the world.
Page 81 - The feelings of the colonies were formerly the feelings of Great Britain. Theirs were formerly the feelings of Mr. Hampden, when called upon for the payment of twenty shillings. Would twenty shillings have ruined Mr. Hampden's fortune ? No ! but the payment of half twenty shillings, on the principle it was demanded, would have made him a slave.
Page 280 - His praise, ye Winds, that from four quarters blow, Breathe soft or loud ; and, wave your tops, ye Pines, With every plant, in sign of worship wave.

Bibliographic information