A great empire and little minds go ill together.
Edmund BurkeRead
[Slavery] is a weed that grows in every soil.
Interpretation
Slavery can thrive in any environment, suggesting that oppressive systems can emerge anywhere.
Edmund Burke's quote highlights the insidious nature of slavery, indicating that it is not confined to specific social, cultural, or geographical contexts. Instead, slavery is a pervasive issue that can infiltrate any society, represented metaphorically as a 'weed' that grows uncontrollably, emphasizing the need for vigilance and active resistance against such injustices in any soil that may harbor them.
In practice
During a speech on human rights, one might use this quote to emphasize the universal struggle against oppression.
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.
[H]istory assures us that civilizations decay quite leisurely.
Something of vengeance I had tasted for the first time; as aromatic wine it seemed, on swallowing, warm and racy: its after-flavour, metallic and corroding, gave me a sensation as if I had been poisoned.
God, how patient are Thy poor! These corporations and masters of manipulation in finance heaping up great fortunes by a system of legalized extortion, and then exacting from the contributors-to whom a little means so much-a double share to guard the treasure!
I find the Englishman to be him of all men who stands firmest in his shoes. They have in themselves what they value in their horses, mettle and bottom.
God is silent. Now if only man would shut up.
Every human being has an assortment of diverse identities, and it greatly matters which one is triggered by social situations, which hold up different kinds of mirrors. The same is true for nations.
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