A people who are still, as it were, but in the gristle, and not yet hardened into the bone of manhood.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- This describes a people who are still immature and not yet formed into a stable adult nation.
- In plain terms
- A nation in early development lacks the hardness of maturity.
- What can you take from it?
- Recognize when a society is still forming.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How do you know when a nation is ready?
Another view
Maturity can come too late.
More from Edmund Burke
When we speak of the commerce with our colonies, fiction lags after truth, invention is unfruitful, and imagination cold and barren.
Permalink to quote #65 Through a wise and salutary neglect [of the colonies], a generous nature has been suffered to take her own way to perfection; when I reflect upon these effects…
Permalink to quote #67 Young man, there is America - which at this day serves for little more than to amuse you with stories of savage men and uncouth manners; yet shall, before you …
Permalink to quote #64
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