Skip to content
quotesby

About this quote

What does it mean?
This is a fragment praising the wisdom of past generations.
In plain terms
Our ancestors were wise.
What can you take from it?
Respect the wisdom of previous generations.

Where it applies

  • debating policy
  • respecting customs
  • historical reflection

Putting it to work

  • study historical precedents
  • honor past knowledge

Questions to consider

  • What wisdom did ancestors leave?
  • Is all tradition valuable?

Another view

Ancestors were not always wise; some traditions were harmful.

More from Edmund Burke

  1. It is a general popular error to suppose the loudest complainers for the publick to be the most anxious for its welfare.

    Permalink to quote #4
  2. Toleration is good for all, or it is good for none.

    Permalink to quote #6
  3. There is, however, a limit at which forbearance ceases to be a virtue.

    Permalink to quote #3

Related quotes

  1. Our ancestors are very good kind of folks; but they are the last people I should choose to have a visiting acquaintance with.

    Richard Brinsley SheridanRichard Brinsley Sheridan quote #14
  2. People will not look forward to posterity, who never look backward to their ancestors.

    Edmund BurkeEdmund Burke quote #99
  3. History is more or less bunk. It's tradition. We don't want tradition. We want to live in the present and the only history that is worth a tinker's damn is the…

    Henry FordHenry Ford quote #1