“ People will not look forward to posterity, who never look backward to their ancestors. ”
Edmund Burke, Reflections on the Revolution in France (1790). copy citation
| Author | Edmund Burke |
|---|---|
| Source | Reflections on the Revolution in France |
| Topic | posterity ancestors |
| Date | 1790 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | |
| Weblink | https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Reflections_on_the_Revolution_in_France |
Context
“This policy appears to me to be the result of profound reflection, or
rather the happy effect of following nature, which is wisdom without
reflection, and above it. 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. Besides, the people
of England well know that the idea of inheritance furnishes a sure
principle of conservation and a sure principle of transmission, without at
all excluding a principle of improvement.”
source
