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Edmund Burke Quotes

All Quotes Abuse Adversity Affection Age Aids Ambition Anarchy Army Art Atheism Beauty Business Change Character Charity Church Community Confusion Corruption Country Creation Crime Curiosity Democracy Design Desire Duty Economy Encouragement Energy Enthusiasm Evil Exercise Failing Fear Feelings Flattery Freedom Giving Greatness Hate Healing Heart History House Human Nature Humanity Hypocrisy Imagination Injustice Inspiration Inspirational Judging Judgment Justice Language Liberty Life Losing Love Lying Mankind Military Morality Motivational Nature Oppression Pain Passion Past Peace Perfection Perseverance Planning Pleasure Politics Power Prejudice Pride Property Prosperity Purpose Quality Reality Religion Revolution Sacrifice Society Solitude Soul Struggle Style Success Suffering Talent Teaching Time Trade Treason Tyranny Understanding Virtue War Weakness Wealth Wisdom

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

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

Inspirational, Wisdom, Witty

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

Wisdom, Historical, Conservative

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

Life, Courage, Time

The Fate of good men who refuse to become involved in politics is to be ruled by evil men.

Fate, Men, Evil

The hottest fires in hell are reserved for those who remain neutral in times of moral crisis.

Motivational, Peace, Fire

The essence of tyranny is the enforcement of stupid laws.

Stupid, Law, Essence

Liberty does not exist in the absence of morality.

Liberty, Doe, Morality

When you fear something, learn as much about it as you can. Knowledge conquers fear.

Conquer, Conquering Fear

Men are qualified for civil liberty in exact proportion to their disposition to put moral chains upon their own appetites…in proportion as they are more disposed to listen to the counsels of the wise and good, in preference to the flattery of knaves. Society cannot exist, unless a controlling power upon will and appetite be placed somewhere; and the less of it there is within, the more there must be without. It is ordained in the eternal constitution of things, that men of intemperate minds cannot be free. Their passions forge their fetters.

Wise, Passion, Men

Letter to a Member of the National Assembly, 1791.

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

Freedom, Exercise, Democracy

Edmund Burke (1790). “Reflections on the Revolution in France: And on the Proceedings in Certain Societies in London Relative to that Event. In a Letter Intended to Have Been Sent to a Gentleman in Paris”, p.186

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

Honesty, Integrity, War

Thoughts on the Cause of the Present Discontents (1770) See Edmund Burke 28; Mill 18

Rage and frenzy will pull down more in half an hour than prudence, deliberation, and foresight can build up in a hundred years.

Years, Evil, Half

Edmund Burke, Christian ENGLISH (pseud.) (1861). “Liberation tested by Philosophy and Experience. In “Reflections on the French Revolution,” etc. [The dedication signed: Christian English.]”, p.14

All men have equal rights, but not to equal things.

Equality, Men, Rights

Edmund Burke (1834). “The Works of the Right Hon. Edmund Burke: With a Biographical and Critical Introduction, and Portrait After Sir Joshua Reynolds”, p.403

All that is necessary for evil to succeed is for good men to do nothing as they must if they believe they can do nothing. There is nothing worse because the council of despair is declaration of irresponsibility; it is Pilate washing his hands.

Believe, Men, Hands

History is a pact between the dead, the living, and the yet unborn.

Carpe Diem, Pact, Carpe

Those who have been once intoxicated with power, and have derived any kind of emolument from it, even though but for one year, never can willingly abandon it. They may be distressed in the midst of all their power; but they will never look to anything but power for their relief.

Power, Years, Relief

'Letter to a Member of the National Assembly' (1791) p. 12

Silence is golden but when it threatens your freedom it's yellow.

Yellow, Silence, Golden

When ancient opinions and rules of life are taken away, the loss cannot possibly be estimated. From that moment, we have no compass to govern us, nor can we know distinctly to what port to steer.

Taken, Loss, Opinion

Edmund Burke (1868). “Reflections on the Revolution in France and on the Proceedings in Certain Societies in London Relative to that Event: 1790”, p.92

To read without reflecting is like eating without digesting.

Reading, Book, Thinking

By gnawing through a dike, even a rat may drown a nation.

Inspirational, Perseverance, May

A coward's courage is in his tongue.

Coward, Tongue, Cowardice

Men love to hear of their power, but have an extreme disrelish to be told their duty.

Men, Duty, Extremes

Edmund Burke (1999). “The Portable Edmund Burke”, p.457, Penguin

Bad laws are the worst sort of tyranny.

Freedom, Carpe Diem, Law

Speech at the Guildhall, Bristol, England, 6 Sept. 1780

The greatest sin is to do nothing because you can only do a little.

Making A Difference, Charity, Littles

The people never give up their liberties but under some delusion.

Wisdom, Freedom, Giving Up

Speech at County Meeting of Buckinghamshire, 1784

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