War is the matter which fills ...

War is the matter which fills all history; and consequently the only, or almost the only, view in which we can see the external of political society is in a hostile shape: and the only actions to which we have always seen, and still see, all of them intent, are such as tend to the destruction of one another.
War is the matter which fills all history; and consequently the only, or almost the only, view in which we can see the external of political society is in a hostile shape: and the only actions to which we have always seen, and still see, all of them intent, are such as tend to the destruction of one another.
 Edmund Burke

Quotes from the same author

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.
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 Edmund Burke
Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little.
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 Edmund Burke
The people never give up their liberties but under some delusion.
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 Edmund Burke
But the age of chivalry is gone. That of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded; and the glory of Europe is extinguished forever.
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 Edmund Burke
Early and provident fear is the mother of safety.
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 Edmund Burke