"To give freedom is still more easy. It is not necessary to guide; it only requires to let go the rein. But to form a free government; that is, to temper together these opposite elements of liberty and restraint in one work, requires much thought, deep reflection, a sagacious, powerful, and combining mind."

3 likes

Source: Edmund Burke (1912). “Reflections on the French Revolution”, p.251, CUP Archive

About the author

Edmund Burke

Philosopher, Politician

Edmund Burke was an 18th-century Irish statesman and philosopher, known for his writings on political theory and his critique of the French Revolution.

All quotes by Edmund Burke →

Same author

More quotes by Edmund Burke

See all →
Edmund Burke Philosopher, Politician

"Because half a dozen grasshoppers under a fern make the field ring with their importunate chink, whilst thousands of great cattle, reposed beneath the shadow of the British oak, chew the cud and are silent, pray, to not imagine that those who make the noise are the only inhabitants of the field; that, of course, they are many in number; or that, after all, they are other than the little, shriveled, meagre, hopping, though loud and troublesome insects of the hour."

Read quote