“ No man, who is not inflamed by vain-glory into enthusiasm, can flatter himself that his single, unsupported, desultory, unsyste-matic endeavours are of power to defeat the subtle designs and united Cabals of ambitious citizens. ”
Edmund Burke, Thoughts on the Cause of the Present Discontents (1770). copy citation
| Author | Edmund Burke |
|---|---|
| Source | Thoughts on the Cause of the Present Discontents |
| Topic | enthusiasm glory |
| Date | 1770 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | |
| Weblink | https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Thoughts_on_the_Cause_of_the_Present_Disc... |
Context
“it is evidently impossible that they can act a public part with uniformity, perseverance, or efficacy. In a connexion, the most in considerable man, by adding to the weight of the whole, has his value, and his use; out of it, the greatest talents are wholly unserviceable to the publick. No man, who is not inflamed by vain-glory into enthusiasm, can flatter himself that his single, unsupported, desultory, unsyste-matic endeavours are of power to defeat the subtle designs and united Cabals of ambitious citizens. When bad men combine, the good must associate; else they will fall, one by one, an unpitied sacrifice in a contemptible struggle.
It is not enough, in a situation of trust in the commonwealth, that a man means well to his country;”
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