We must soften into a credulity below the milkiness of infancy, to think all men virtuous. We must be tainted with a malignity truly diabolical, to believe all the world to be equally wicked and corrupt.

Edmund Burke

More information about this quote

Topic

Human nature Original sin Virtue Perspective

Author

Edmund Burke

Source

Thoughts on the Cause of the Present Discontent

Medium

Pamphlet

Genre

Political literature

Language

English

Time

1770 1770s 18th century

Era

Age of Enlightenment

Occupation

Philosopher Politician Writer

From

Ireland Europe

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Burke, Edmund. Thoughts on the Cause of the Present Discontents. London: J. Dodsley, 1770.

Current Citation

Burke, Edmund. "Thoughts on the Present Discontents." The Portable Edmund Burke, edited by Isaac Kramnick. Penguin, 2009.

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A quote by Edmund Burke about human nature: “We must soften into a credulity below the milkiness of infancy, to think all…”
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A quote by Edmund Burke about human nature: “We must soften into a credulity below the milkiness of infancy, to think all…”
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A quote by Edmund Burke about human nature: “We must soften into a credulity below the milkiness of infancy, to think all…”
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Related Quotes

Below are one or more quotes that share at least one tag with the quote at the top of the page

Another quote by Edmund Burke

A state without some means of change is without the means of its own conservation.

Edmund Burke

Reflections on the Revolution in France

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Read Reflections on the Revolution in France at Project Gutenberg
More information about this quote
Topic
Seeds of revolution Revolution Political gridlock Politics French Revolution

Author

Edmund Burke
Source
Reflections on the Revolution in France
Genre
Political literature
Language
English
Time
1790 1790s 18th century
Era
Age of Enlightenment
Authentication Score 3
Original Citation

Burke, Edmund. Reflections on the Revolution in France. London: James Dodsley, 1790.

Current Citation

Burke, Edmund. "Reflections on the Revolution in France." The Portable Edmund Burke, edited by Isaac Kramnick. Penguin, 2009.

Another quote from the 1770s

I wish to have no connection with any ship that does not sail fast; for I intend to go in harm's way.

John Paul Jones

More information about this quote
Topic
Sailing Taking risks

Author

John Paul Jones
Medium
Letter
Language
English
Time
1778 1770s 18th century
Authentication Score 3
Citation

Jones, John Paul. Letter to Le Ray de Chaumont. 16 Nov. 1778.

Another quote about Human nature

Man with all his noble qualities, with sympathy which feels for the most debased, with benevolence which extends not only to other men but to the humblest living creature, with his god-like intellect which has penetrated into the movements and constitution of the solar system—with all these exalted powers—Man still bears in his bodily frame the indelible stamp of his lowly origin.

Charles Darwin

The Descent of Man

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More information about this quote
Topic
Human origins Human nature Human evolution Evolution

Author

Charles Darwin
Source
The Descent of Man
Genre
Scientific literature
Language
English
Time
1871 1870s 19th century
Authentication Score 3
Original Citation

Darwin, Charles. The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex. London: John Murray, 1871, pt. 3, ch. 21.

Current Citation

Darwin, Charles. The Descent of Man. Penguin Classics, 2004, pt. 3, ch. 21.

Another quote from Age of Enlightenment

And with the guts of the last priest
Let's wring the neck of the last king.

Denis Diderot

More information about this quote
Topic
Anti-clericalism Anti-monarchism Revolution

Author

Denis Diderot
Source
Les Eleutheromanes
Medium
Poem
Genre
Philosophical literature
Language
French
Time
1772 1770s 18th century
Era
Age of Enlightenment
Authentication Score 1
Citation

Diderot, Denis. "Les Eleutheromanes [The Eleutherans]." Correspondance littéraire, 1 Mar. 1772.