There is a courageous wisdom; there is also a false, reptile prudence, the result not of caution but of fear.
Edmund BurkeThe writers against religion, whilst they oppose every system, are wisely careful never to set up any of their own.
Edmund BurkeThough ugliness be the opposite of beauty, it is not the opposite to proportion and fitness; for it is possible that a thing may be very ugly with any proportions, and with a perfect fitness for any use.
Edmund BurkeThe science of constructing a commonwealth, or renovating it, or reforming it, is, like every other experimental science, not to be taught a priori. Nor is it a short experience that can instruct us in that practical science, because the real effects of moral causes are not always immediate.
Edmund Burke