Present Discontents Author:Edmund Burke Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: Thoughts On The Cause Op The Pkesent Discontents. INTRODUCTION. 1. Discontent in General. -- It is an undertaking of some degree of delicacy to ex... more »amine into the cause of public disorders. If a man happens not to succeed in such an inquiry, he will be thought weak and visionary; if he touches the true grievance, there is a danger that he may come near to persons 5 of weight and consequence, who will rather be exasperated at the discovery of their errors than thankful for the occasion of correcting them. If he should be obliged to blame the favorites of the people, he will be considered as the tool of power ; if he censures those in power, he will be looked on as an in-10 strument of faction. But in all exertions of duty something is to be hazarded. In cases of tumult and disorder, our law has invested every man, in some sort, with the authority of a magistrate. "When the affairs of the nation are distracted, private people T5 are, by the spirit of that law, justified in stepping a little out 13. May be summoned by the officer to assist him. 15. Burke, though an M. F., writes as a private citizen. The framework, consisting of chief points, divisions, and subdivisions, marked with Roman and Arabic notation and with letters, is the work of the editor, though the material for it, including even the wording, is in the speech itself. We place the pamphlet in this setting in order to nid the pupil. of their ordinary sphere. They enjoy a privilege of somewhat more dignity and effect than that of idle lamentation over the calamities of their country. They may look into them narrowly ; they may reason upon them liberally ; and, if they should 5 be so fortunate as to discover the true source of the mischief and to suggest any probable method of removing it, thou...« less