reflection on revolution in france burke

I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards to avenge even a look that threatened her with insult.-But the age of chivalry is gone.-That of sophisters, economists, and calculators, has succeeded and the glory of Europe is extinguished forever. Oh! what a revolution! and what a heart must I have, to contemplate without emotion that elevation and that fall! Little did I dream that, when she added titles of veneration to those of enthusiastic, distant, respectful love, that she should ever be obliged to carry the sharp antidote against disgrace concealed in that bosom little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fallen upon her in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honour and of cavaliers. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she just began to move in,-glittering like the morning-star, full of life, and splendor, and joy.

He also supplies an extended note on the text, a biographical guide, and a bibliography, helpfully presented in discursive form.“It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then the dauphiness, at Versailles and surely never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. The editor's notes are also fuller than those of any previous edition, glossing many literary and biblical allusions missed by previous editors. But the Introduction is more than a compendium of information it is a thoughtful, coherent interpretation of Burke and his book. It situates the Reflections in Burke's life and the development of his ideas, the history of English political thought, the debate about the French Revolution, and the debate the book itself inspired. The editor's Introduction is much more extensive than that of any previous edition. It is certain to become the standard edition for scholars and students alike. Alone among recent versions, it reprints the text of the first edition of the Reflections, and shows how Burke amended it as his knowledge of the Revolution deepened. This edition aims to locate Burke once again in his contemporary political and intellectual setting. Reflections on the Revolution in France is a classic work in a range of fields from history through political science to literature, and securely holds its place among the canon of 'great books.' Yet its meaning is still contested and often misunderstood, equally by those who wish to admire or to denigrate Burke for his present-day relevance. The French Revolution is a defining moment in world history, and usually it has been first approached by English-speaking readers through the picture painted of it by Edmund Burke.

Reflection on revolution in france burke