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Edmund Burke on Manners
The Imaginative Conservative ^
| Ian Crowe
Posted on 12/29/2012 5:03:02 AM PST by don-o
It took Edmund Burke a very little time to decide that French Revolutionary philosophy posed a massive threat to civilization and social stability throughout Europe. By the end of his life, eight years after the storming of the Bastille, his fears of Jacobin contagion had led him to ask for a secret grave, removed from his family sepulchre and hidden from those-the English Jacobins-who would plunder the lead from tombs for bullets to assassinate the living. In 1796 he wrote: “...out of the tomb of the murdered monarchy in France has arisen a vast, tremendous, unformed spectre, in a far more terrific guise than any which ever yet have overpowered the imagination, and subdued the fortitude of man.” He demanded nothing short of a war of extermination against this “armed doctrine.”
It is somewhat surprising, then, to find that this enormous threat brought out Burke’s most urgent defense of an aspect of civilization as trivial as “manners.” Of course, the very fact that we consider manners “trivial” was all part of the problem from the start, as far as Burke was concerned, and he felt driven to state his case unambiguously in his First Letter on a Regicide Peace (1796):“Manners are of more importance than laws. Upon them, in a great measure, the laws depend.” How can this apparent inversion of common sense be justified?
Manners are clearly not the same as laws. They are generally unwritten (unless we are talking about ritual), and they lack the regular, codified sanctions that support institutes and decrees. However, they have a similar function: in our small social communities and informal relationships they lay down expectations of behavior that facilitate the smooth-running and therefore expedite the purpose of these various bodies from the nuclear family to the shopping mall.
TOPICS: History; Reference; Society
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To: LUV W; don-o
21
posted on
01/08/2013 9:53:17 AM PST
by
Lazamataz
(LAZ'S LAW: As an argument with liberals goes on, the probability of being called racist approaches 1)
To: Lazamataz
Busta move like that and I MIGHT be enigmatic...might.... :)
22
posted on
01/08/2013 10:13:58 AM PST
by
luvie
(All my heroes wear camos!)
To: Lancey Howard
Edumnd Burke shot Alexander Hamilton? Quite a weapon he must have had.
23
posted on
01/08/2013 11:05:40 AM PST
by
don-o
(He will not share His glory and He will NOT be mocked! Blessed be the name of the Lord forever.)
To: LUV W; Lazmataz; onyx; BuckeyeTexan; TheMom; TheOldLady; All
LOL....Lordy mercy! Yep and once he had two of us at the same time...admiring his ‘glistening muscles swimming in the surf’ ,while we waited patiently in the sand for him to return to shore.
Laz never knew what hit him.....lol!!
24
posted on
01/08/2013 4:04:58 PM PST
by
penelopesire
(TIME FOR OBAMA TO ANSWER FOR BENGHAZI UNDER OATH!!)
To: penelopesire; Lazmataz; LUV W; BuckeyeTexan; TheMom; TheOldLady; All
LOL....Lordy mercy! Yep and once he had two of us at the same time...admiring his ‘glistening muscles swimming in the surf’ ,while we waited patiently in the sand for him to return to shore.
Laz never knew what hit him.....lol!!
"We" have pictures of THAT!
Plus, who took Laz swimsuit shopping? ROTFL.
Oh, the stories we could tell from the events of *that* day. Remember? I am almost in tears laughing...LOLOLOLOL.
25
posted on
01/08/2013 4:12:30 PM PST
by
onyx
(FREE REPUBLIC IS HERE TO STAY! DONATE MONTHLY! IF YOU WANT ON SARAH PALIN''S PING LIST, LET ME KNOW)
To: onyx
ROTFLOL!! Too bad we didn’t get a pic of Laz in the surf like the one of Obama in the surf.....lol! That would have been epic!
26
posted on
01/08/2013 6:56:05 PM PST
by
penelopesire
(TIME FOR OBAMA TO ANSWER FOR BENGHAZI UNDER OATH!!)
To: onyx; penelopesire; NYTexan; mylife; Lazamataz; Jim Robinson; BuckeyeTexan; laurenmarlowe
What fun we had! Looking forward to the next chapter!
27
posted on
01/08/2013 7:35:38 PM PST
by
luvie
(All my heroes wear camos!)
To: Lazamataz; onyx; penelopesire; TheMom; LUV W; TheOldLady
Yeah, I was first & last, baby. ;p
28
posted on
01/09/2013 5:36:09 AM PST
by
BuckeyeTexan
(There are those that break and bend. I'm the other kind.)
To: onyx; penelopesire; don-o
That's right! I had you both on the beach! How romantical.... :)
don-o, eat yer heart out!
29
posted on
01/09/2013 5:43:02 AM PST
by
Lazamataz
(LAZ'S LAW: As an argument with liberals goes on, the probability of being called racist approaches 1)
To: BuckeyeTexan; onyx; don-o
Don’t forget, I slept with both of you each day of the 3 day shoot. Boy, I loved sleeping with both of you at the same time. :)
30
posted on
01/09/2013 5:44:17 AM PST
by
Lazamataz
(LAZ'S LAW: As an argument with liberals goes on, the probability of being called racist approaches 1)
To: onyx; penelopesire
Plus, who took Laz swimsuit shopping? ROTFL. Oh, the stories we could tell from the events of *that* day. Remember? I am almost in tears laughing...LOLOLOLOLGreat days!
31
posted on
01/09/2013 5:45:21 AM PST
by
Lazamataz
(LAZ'S LAW: As an argument with liberals goes on, the probability of being called racist approaches 1)
To: BuckeyeTexan; Lazamataz
Color me jealous! *snork*
32
posted on
01/09/2013 6:35:48 AM PST
by
luvie
(All my heroes wear camos!)
To: LUV W
33
posted on
01/09/2013 10:02:22 AM PST
by
penelopesire
(TIME FOR OBAMA TO ANSWER FOR BENGHAZI UNDER OATH!!)
To: penelopesire
34
posted on
01/09/2013 12:06:54 PM PST
by
luvie
(All my heroes wear camos!)
To: Lazamataz; don-o; BuckeyeTexan; onyx; penelopesire; TheMom; LUV W; TheOldLady
I was drunk the entire shoot ~ I don’t remember a darn thing.
35
posted on
01/09/2013 1:11:21 PM PST
by
TheMom
(Stressed spelled backwards is Desserts!)
To: TheMom
Yeah and You Never Even Called Me By My Name.
“Well, I was drunk the day my Mom got outta prison.
And I went to pick her up in the rain.
But, before I could get to the station in my pickup truck
She got runned over by a damned old train!”
36
posted on
01/09/2013 1:45:32 PM PST
by
BuckeyeTexan
(There are those that break and bend. I'm the other kind.)
To: penelopesire
ROTFLOL!! Too bad we didn’t get a pic of Laz in the surf like the one of Obama in the surf.....lol! That would have been epic!I know it!
37
posted on
01/09/2013 2:19:09 PM PST
by
onyx
(FREE REPUBLIC IS HERE TO STAY! DONATE MONTHLY! IF YOU WANT ON SARAH PALIN''S PING LIST, LET ME KNOW)
To: Lazamataz; BuckeyeTexan
Don’t forget, I slept with both of you each day of the 3 day shoot. Boy, I loved sleeping with both of you at the same time. :) Tex, please correct his choice of words. Meanings matter!
LOLOLOL.
38
posted on
01/09/2013 2:23:05 PM PST
by
onyx
(FREE REPUBLIC IS HERE TO STAY! DONATE MONTHLY! IF YOU WANT ON SARAH PALIN''S PING LIST, LET ME KNOW)
To: LUV W
We’re already into January!
Next chapter: June!
:)
39
posted on
01/09/2013 2:24:14 PM PST
by
onyx
(FREE REPUBLIC IS HERE TO STAY! DONATE MONTHLY! IF YOU WANT ON SARAH PALIN''S PING LIST, LET ME KNOW)
To: TheMom
ROTFL. You kidder, you!
Ya sure did some fabulous cookin, sweet The Mom!
40
posted on
01/09/2013 2:25:36 PM PST
by
onyx
(FREE REPUBLIC IS HERE TO STAY! DONATE MONTHLY! IF YOU WANT ON SARAH PALIN''S PING LIST, LET ME KNOW)
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