Quotation by Edmund Burke

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published in Works, vol. 2 (1899)A Letter to a Member of the National Assembly A Letter to a Noble Lord (1796), repr. in Works, vol. 5 (1899)attributed A Vindication of Natural Society (1756), repr. in Works, vol. 1 (1865)

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courtesy (7) behavior (7) etiquette (5) society (5) character (4) women (3) conversation (3) candor (2) diet (2) dining (2)

Manners are of more importance than laws.... Manners are what vex or soothe, corrupt or purify, exalt or debase, barbarize or refine us, by a constant, steady, uniform, insensible operation, like that of the air we breathe in.

Edmund Burke

Edmund Burke (1729–1797), Irish philosopher, statesman. Letters on a Regicide Peace, letter 1 (1796).

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