A great empire and little minds go ill together.
Edmund BurkeRead
History is a pact between the dead, the living, and the yet unborn.
Interpretation
History connects past, present, and future generations through shared experiences and lessons.
Edmund Burke's quote emphasizes the interconnectedness of all generations through history. It suggests that the actions and sacrifices of those who came before us influence our current lives, while also laying the groundwork for future generations. This perspective invites a deeper understanding of our responsibilities to honor and learn from the past, as well as to consider the impact of our choices on the lives that have yet to unfold.
In practice
In a lecture about the importance of historical events in shaping modern society.
A great empire and little minds go ill together.
To read without reflecting is like eating without digesting.
Flattery corrupts both the receiver and the giver.
The hottest fires in hell are reserved for those who remain neutral in times of moral crisis.
Society can overlook murder, adultery or swindling; it never forgives preaching of a new gospel.
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.
The world says: "You have needs - satisfy them. You have as much right as the rich and the mighty. Don't hesitate to satisfy your needs; indeed, expand your needs and demand more." This is the worldly doctrine of today. And they believe that this is freedom. The result for the rich is isolation and suicide, for the poor, envy and murder.
Everything the Power of the World does is done in a circle.
Yet if there's no reason to live without a child, how could there be with one? To answer one life with a successive life is simply to transfer the onus of purpose to the next generation; the displacements amounts to a cowardly and potentially infinite delay. Your children's answer, presumably, will be to procreate as well, and in doing so to distract themselves, to foist their own aimlessness onto their offspring.
The question of souls is oldβwe demand our bodies, now. We are tired of promises, god is deaf, and his church is our worst enemy.
A building or a town will only be alive to the extent that it is governed in a timeless way. It is a process which brings order out of nothing but ourselves; it cannot be attained, but it will happen of its own accord, if we will only let it.
A man of active and resilient mind outwears his friendships just as certainly as he outwears his love affairs, his politics and his epistemology.
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