The Writings and Speeches of Edmund Burke

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Cosimo, Inc., 2008 M01 1 - 572 pages
This 12-volume set contains the complete life works of EDMUND BURKE (1729-1797), Irish political writer and statesman. Educated at a Quaker boarding school and at Trinity College in Dublin, Burke's eloquence gained him a high position in Britain's Whig party, and he was active in public life. He supported limitations on the power of the monarch and believed that the British people should have a greater say in their government. In general, Burke spoke out against the persecutions perpetuated by the British Empire on its colonies, including America, Ireland, and India. Burke's speeches and writings influenced the great thinkers of his day, including America's Founding Fathers. In Volume I, readers will find: . "A Vindication of Natural Society" . "A Philosophical Inquiry into the Origin of our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful" . "A Short Account of a Late Short Administration" . "The Present State of the Nation" . "Thoughts on the Cause of the Present Discontent"

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Contents

A PHILOSOPHICAL INQUIRY INTO THE ORIGIN OF
67
A SHORT ACCOUNT OF A LATE SHORT ADMINISTRATION
263
OBSERVATIONS ON A LATE PUBLICATION INTItuled The
269
THOUGHTS ON THE CAUSE OF THE PRESENT DISCONTENTS
433
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Page 137 - In thoughts from the visions of the night, when deep sleep falleth on men, Fear came upon me, and trembling, which made all my bones to shake. Then a spirit passed before my face; the hair of my flesh stood up: It stood still, but I could not discern the form thereof: an image was before mine eyes, there was silence, and I heard a voice...
Page 81 - I mean by the word Taste no more than that faculty, or those faculties of the mind which are affected with, or which form a judgment of the works of imagination and the elegant arts.
Page 127 - ... whilst, referring to him whatever we find of right or good or fair in ourselves, discovering his strength and wisdom even in our own weakness and imperfection, honouring them where we discover them clearly, and adoring their profundity where we are lost in our search, we may be inquisitive without impertinence, and elevated without pride ; we may be admitted, if I may dare to say so, into the counsels of the Almighty by a consideration of his works. The...
Page 118 - I am convinced that we have a degree of delight, and that no small one, in the real misfortunes and pains of others...
Page 111 - But as pain is stronger in its operation than pleasure, so death is in general a much more affecting idea than pain; because there are very few pains, however exquisite, which are not preferred to death: nay, what generally makes pain itself, if I may say so, more painful, is, that it is considered as an emissary of this king of terrors. When danger or pain press too nearly, they are incapable of giving any delight, and are simply terrible; but at certain distances, and with certain modifications,...
Page 133 - The other Shape — If shape it might be called that shape had none Distinguishable in member, joint, or limb; Or substance might be called that shadow seemed, For each seemed either — black it stood as Night, Fierce as ten Furies, terrible as Hell, And shook a dreadful dart: what seemed his head The likeness of a kingly crown had on.
Page 129 - I measure it by no other standard than itself. The true standard of the arts is in every man's power; and an easy observation of the most common, sometimes of the meanest things in nature, will give the truest lights, where the greatest sagacity and industry that slights such observation must leave us in the dark, or, what is worse, amuse and mislead us by false lights.
Page 135 - Looks through the horizontal misty air Shorn of his beams ; or from behind the moon, In dim eclipse, disastrous twilight sheds On half the nations, and with fear of change Perplexes monarchs.
Page 132 - Almost all the heathen temples were dark. Even in the barbarous temples of the Americans at this day, they keep their idol in a dark part of the hut, which is consecrated to his worship. For this purpose too the druids performed all their ceremonies in the bosom of the darkest woods, and in the shade of the oldest and most spreading oaks.

About the author (2008)

Born in Ireland in 1729, Edmund Burke was an English statesman, author, and orator who is best remembered as a formidable advocate for those who were victims of injustice. He was the son of a Dublin lawyer and had also trained to practice law. In the 1760s, Burke was elected to the House of Commons from the Whig party. Burke spent most of his career in Parliament as a member of the Royal Opposition, who was not afraid of controversy, as shown by his support for the American Revolution and for Irish/Catholic rights. His best-known work is Reflections on the French Revolution (1790). Some other notable works are On Conciliation with the American Colonies (1775) and Impeachment of Warren Hastings (1788). Edmund Burke died in 1797.

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