The Right Honorable Edmund Burke

Reflections on the Revolution in France and on the Proceedings in Certain Socieities in London Relative to that Event

William Porter

1791

"Published in 1790, less than a year after the storming of the Bastille, Edmund Burke’s Reflections on the Revolution in France stands as one of the most influential, and controversial, responses to the early stages of the French Revolution. A British statesman and philosopher, Burke was deeply disturbed by what he saw as the Revolution’s assault on tradition, hierarchy, and inherited rights. His Reflections articulated a conservative critique that would shape political discourse for generations to come.

Framed as an open letter to a young Frenchman, Burke’s text warns against the dangers of radical reform and abstract idealism. While many in Britain initially celebrated the French Revolution as a parallel to their own Glorious Revolution of 1688, Burke rejected the comparison outright. He viewed the events in France not as a path to liberty, but as a descent into anarchy, destined to culminate in violence and despotism."

~ Description by Mady Geiler, 2025

DA506 .B9 A1

English