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Meaning
The quote suggests that when a nearby problem is threatening, it may be reasonable to take precautions for your own safety, even if the danger is not directly aimed at you. It frames self-protection as sensible when trouble is spreading around you. The wording also hints at reacting early rather than waiting until the threat reaches your own home.
When It Was Said
1790
Who It Was Said To
Not documented yet.
Historical Context
Not documented yet.
Source
Not documented yet.
Original Language & Translation
Originally said in English.
Did They Really Say It?
Listed on Edmund Burke's Wikiquote page as attributed, but without a cited source.
Did You Know?
Not documented yet.
About Edmund Burke
Anglo-Irish writer, philosopher, and politician
Edmund Burke was an Anglo-Irish writer, philosopher, and politician. He is widely credited as a founder of conservatism in its cultural and political form, and is regarded as one of the most influential conservative thinkers and political writers of the 18th century. Burke spent most of his career in Great Britain and sat in the House of Commons as a Whig MP from 1766 to 1794. His writings helped shape public opinion in Great Britain and France after the French Revolution in 1789, and he remains a major reference point in modern conservative circles.
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READ THE SOURCE
Books by Edmund Burke
Reflections on the revolution in France
2009
A philosophical enquiry into the origin of our ideas of the sublime and beautiful
1987
Optimal Muscle Performance and Recovery
2003