Edmund Burke Quotes on Virtue
Edmund Burke was an Irish-born British statesman and political philosopher, often regarded as the founder of modern conservatism. This page collects quotes attributed to Edmund Burke on the topic of virtue, drawn from across the philosopher's works.
Quotes
-
“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”
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 ; it is not enough that in his single person he never did an evil act , but always voted according to his conscience , and even harangued against every design which he a -
Attributed to Edmund Burke:
“All that is necessary for evil to flourish is for the wise to remain silent.”
-
“People must be governed in a manner agreeable to their temper and disposition; and men of free character and spirit must be ruled with, at least, some condescension to this spirit and this character.”
1760s | Observations on a Late Publication on the Present State of the Nation (1769), page 76. -
“Boldness formerly was not the character of Atheists as such. ... But of late they are grown active, designing, turbulent, and seditious.”
1790s | "Thoughts on French Affairs" (December 1791), in Three Memorials on French Affairs (1797), p. 53 -
“But what is liberty without wisdom, and without virtue? It is the greatest of all possible evils; for it is folly, vice, and madness, without tuition or restraint.”
Reflections on the Revolution in France(1790)