45 Best Edmund Burke Quotes To Inspire You

Check out the best Edmund Burke quotes that reflect his timeless wisdom on liberty, justice, society, and the complexities of human nature.

Edmund Burke was an Irish-born British statesman, political philosopher, and writer who played a vital role in shaping modern conservative thought.

Born in 1729 in Dublin, Ireland, he became a leading figure in British politics, serving in Parliament and influencing major debates on democracy, individual rights, and the role of government.

Often called the father of modern conservatism, Burke is best remembered for his passionate speeches, his critique of the French Revolution, and his strong belief in tradition, moral responsibility, and balanced governance.

His most famous work, Reflections on the Revolution in France, remains a cornerstone of political philosophy, inspiring generations to think critically about power, freedom, justice, and societal change.

Burke believed that true progress must be grounded in lived experience, guided by ethical values, and rooted in a deep respect for history.

Beyond politics, Burke also explored philosophy and aesthetics, offering profound insights into beauty, the sublime, and human nature.

Here are the most famous Edmund Burke quotes that inspire you to think deeply, act wisely, and stand firm in your values.

Top 10 Edmund Burke Quotes

1. “Our patience will achieve more than our force.” — Edmund Burke

   

2. “Liberty does not exist in the absence of morality.” — Edmund Burke

   

3. “Rudeness is the weak man’s imitation of strength.” — Edmund Burke

   

4. “The greater the power, the more dangerous the abuse.” — Edmund Burke

   

5. “Those who don’t know history are destined to repeat it.” — Edmund Burke

   

6. “Silence is golden but when it threatens your freedom it’s yellow.” — Edmund Burke

   

7. “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” — Edmund Burke

   

8. “When bad men combine, the good must associate; else they will fall one by one.” — Edmund Burke

   

9. “All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent.” — Edmund Burke

   

10. “Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little.” — Edmund Burke

    

Best Edmund Burke Quotes

1. “All men have equal rights, but not to equal things.” — Edmund Burke
2. “The essence of tyranny is the enforcement of stupid laws.” — Edmund Burke
3. “People never give up their liberties but under some delusion.” — Edmund Burke
4. “The greatest sin is to do nothing because you can only do a little.” — Edmund Burke
5. “History is a pact between the dead, the living, and the yet unborn.” — Edmund Burke
6. “A very great part of the mischiefs that vex the world arises from words.” — Edmund Burke
7. “We must all obey the great law of change. It is the most powerful law of nature.” — Edmund Burke
8. “When you fear something, learn as much about it as you can. Knowledge conquers fear.” — Edmund Burke
9. “No passion so effectually robs the mind of all its powers of acting and reasoning as fear.” — Edmund Burke
10. “The hottest fires in hell are reserved for those who remain neutral in times of moral crisis.” — Edmund Burke
11. “Whenever a separation is made between liberty and justice, neither, in my opinion, is safe.” — Edmund Burke
12. “It is not what a lawyer tells me I may do; but what humanity, reason, and justice tell me I ought to do.” — Edmund Burke
13. “If we command our wealth, we shall be rich and free; if our wealth commands us, we are poor indeed.” — Edmund Burke
14. “All who have ever written on government are unanimous, among a people generally corrupt, liberty cannot long exist.” — Edmund Burke
15. “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.” — Edmund Burke

Famous Edmund Burke Quotes

1. “We set ourselves to bite the hand that feeds us.” — Edmund Burke
2. “Never despair, but if you do, work on in despair.” — Edmund Burke
3. “Reading without reflecting is like eating without digesting.” — Edmund Burke
4. “Never, no, never did Nature say one thing and Wisdom say another.” — Edmund Burke
5. “A state without the means of some change is without the means of its conservation.” – Edmund Burke
6. “Better to be despised for too anxious apprehensions than ruined by too confident a security.” — Edmund Burke
7. “The Fate of good men who refuse to become involved in politics is to be ruled by evil men.” — Edmund Burke
8. “Religion is essentially the art and the theory of the remaking of man. Man is not a finished creation.” — Edmund Burke
9. “Flattery corrupts both the receiver and the giver, and adulation is not of more service to the people than to kings.” — Edmund Burke
10. “Rage and frenzy will pull down more in half an hour than prudence, deliberation, and foresight can build up in a hundred years.” — Edmund Burke

Edmund Burke Quotes And Sayings

1. “Beauty is the promise of happiness.” — Edmund Burke
2. “A coward’s courage is in his tongue.” — Edmund Burke
3. “The truly sublime is always easy, and always natural.” — Edmund Burke
4. “A nation is not conquered which is perpetually to be conquered.” — Edmund Burke
5. “Example is the school of mankind, and they will learn at no other.” — Edmund Burke
6. “Religion is the basis of civil society, and the source of all good and of all comfort.” — Edmund Burke
7. “Men love to hear of their power, but have an extreme disrelish to be told their duty.” — Edmund Burke
8. “In a democracy, the majority of the citizens is capable of exercising the most cruel oppressions upon the minority.” — Edmund Burke
9. “Liberty, if I understand it at all, is a general principle, and the clear right of all the subjects within the realm, or of none…. the true danger is, when liberty is nibbled away, for expedients, and by parts.” — Edmund Burke
10. “When ancient opinions and rules of life are taken away, the loss cannot possibly be estimated. From that moment, we have no compass to govern us, nor can we know distinctly to what port to steer.” — Edmund Burke

Conclusion

What are your favorite Edmund Burke quotes and sayings (with images) listed above? If there is a quote that we’ve missed then let us know in the comments section below.

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