But a good patriot, and a true politician, always considers how he shall make the most of the existing materials of his country. A disposition, to preserve, and an ability to improve, taken together, would be my standard of a statesman. Everything else is vulgar in the conception, perilous in the execution.

More quotes by Edmund Burke

Reflections on the Revolution in France (1790)

Thoughts on the Cause of the Present Discontents (1770)

Speech at a County Meeting of Buckinghamshire (1784)

A Letter to a Member of the National Assembly (1791)

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