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James Burgh Quotes (1714-1775)
Politician
About James Burgh
James Burgh (1714–1775) was a British Whig politician whose book Political Disquisitions set out an early case for free speech and universal suffrage.
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Explore our curated collection of the most famous and impactful James Burgh quotes.
“The modest man is seldom the object of envy.”
“To offer advice to an angry man, is like blowing against a tempest.”
“Be sure of the fact before you lose time in searching for a cause.”
“Insult not another for his want of a talent you possess: He may have others which you want.”
“Never offer advice but where there is some probability of its being followed.”
“Do well, but do not boast of it; for that will lessen the commendation you might otherwise have deserved.”
“He who knows the world will not be too bashful. He who knows himself will not be impudent.”
“Wit without humanity degenerates into bitterness. Learning without prudence into pedantry.”
“Value truth, however you come by it. Who would not pick up a jewel that lay on a dunghill?”
“I considered, that history is the inexhaustible mine, out of which political knowledge is to be brought up.”
“If you give a jest, take one.
Let all your jokes be truly jokes. Jesting sometimes ends in sad earnest.”
Let all your jokes be truly jokes. Jesting sometimes ends in sad earnest.”
“Learning is like bank-notes: prudence and good behaviour are like silver, useful upon all occasions.”
“If a favour is asked of you, grant it if you can. If not, refuse it in such a manner as that one denial may be sufficient.”
“There is no occasion to trample upon the meanest reptile, nor to sneak to the greatest prince. Insolence and baseness are equally unmanly.”
“If you have a friend that will reprove your faults and foibles, consider you enjoy a blessing which the king upon the throne cannot have.”
“Be careful of your word, even in keeping the most trifling appointment. But do not blame another for a failure of that kind till you have heard his excuse.”
James Burgh Quotes by Topic
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James Burgh on Affliction
“If you would not have affliction visit you twice, listen at once, and attentively, to what it teaches.”
James Burgh on Opinion
“Do not think of knocking out another person's brains because he differs in opinion from you. It would be as rational to knock yourself on the head because you differ from yourself ten years ago.”
What James Burgh Said About Others
Discover personal opinions James Burgh shared regarding contemporaries.
James Burgh on Horace Mann 3 quotes
“Be sure of the fact before you lose time in searching for a cause.”
About James Burgh
James Burgh (1714–1775) was a British Whig politician whose book Political Disquisitions set out an early case for free speech and universal suffrage.