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What is it we all seek for in an election? To answer its real purposes, you must first possess the means of knowing the fitness of your man and then you must retain some hold upon him by personal obligation or dependence.

Edmund Burke

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Edmund Burke
Age: 68 †
Born: 1729
Born: January 12
Died: 1797
Died: July 9
Philosopher
Politician
Statesman
Writer
Dublin city
Upon
Election
Means
Seek
Firsts
Answer
Retain
First
Hold
Fitness
Must
Personal
Dependence
Real
Answers
Purposes
Mean
Knowing
Possess
Men
Purpose
Obligation

More quotes by Edmund Burke

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I venture to say no war can be long carried on against the will of the people.
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You had that action and counteraction which, in the natural and in the political world, from the reciprocal struggle of discordant powers draws out the harmony of the universe.
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No men can act with effect who do not act in concert no men can act in concert who do not act with confidence no men can act with confidence who are not bound together with common opinions, common affections, and common interests.
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As the rose-tree is composed of the sweetest flowers and the sharpest thorns, as the heavens are sometimes overcast—alternately tempestuous and serene—so is the life of man intermingled with hopes and fears, with joys and sorrows, with pleasure and pain.
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It is better to cherish virtue and humanity, by leaving much to free will, even with some loss of the object , than to attempt to make men mere machines and instruments of political benevolence. The world on the whole will gain by a liberty, without which virtue cannot exist.
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The parties are the gamesters but government keeps the table, and is sure to be the winner in the end.
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No man can mortgage his injustice as a pawn for his fidelity.
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True humility-the basis of the Christian system-is the low but deep and firm foundation of all virtues.
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The marketplace obliges men, whether they will or not, in pursuing their own selfish interests, to connect the general good with their own individual success.
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God has sometimes converted wickedness into madness and it is to the credit of human reason that men who are not in some degree mad are never capable of being in the highest degree wicked.
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Evil prevails when good men fail to act.
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It is, generally, in the season of prosperity that men discover their real temper, principles, and designs.
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Among a people generally corrupt liberty cannot long exist.
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All the forces of darkness need to succeed ... is for the people to do nothing.
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It is known that the taste--whatever it is--is improved exactly as we improve our judgment, by extending our knowledge, by a steady attention to our object, and by frequent exercise.
Edmund Burke
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The question is not whether you have a right to render people miserable, but whether it is not in your best interest to make them happy.
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It is undoubtedly true, though it may seem paradoxical,--but, in general, those who are habitually employed in finding and displaying faults are unqualified for the work of reformation.
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When you fear something, learn as much about it as you can. Knowledge conquers fear.
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There is nothing in the world really beneficial that does not lie within the reach of an informed understanding and a well-protected pursuit.
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Religious persecution may shield itself under the guise of a mistaken and over-zealous piety.
Edmund Burke