Edmund Burke, speech in the House of Commons on American Taxation (19 April 1774), quoted in The Works of The Right Honourable Edmund Burke, Vol. I (1854), p. 392

The feelings of the colonies were formerly the feelings of Great Britain. Theirs were formerly the feelings of Mr. Hampden when called upon for the payment of twenty shillings. Would twenty shillings have ruined Mr. Hampden's fortune? No! but the payment of half twenty shillings, on the principle it was demanded, would have made him a slave.

— Edmund Burke on John Hampden

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "The feelings of the colonies were formerly the feelings of Great Britain. Theirs were formerly the feelings of Mr. Hampden when called upon for the payment of twenty shillings. Would twenty shillings have ruined Mr. Hampden's fortune? No! but the payment of half twenty shillings, on the principle it was demanded, would have made him a slave." in the context of "Edmund Burke, speech in the House of Commons on American Taxation (19 April 1774), quoted in The Works of The Right Honourable Edmund Burke, Vol. I (1854), p. 392" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

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Source: Wikiquote: "John Hampden" (Quotes about John Hampden) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Edmund Burke

About Edmund Burke

Edmund Burke (12 January 1729 – 9 July 1797) was a British and Irish statesman and philosopher. Born in Dublin, Burke served as a member of parliament (MP) between 1766 and 1794 in the House of Commons of Great Britain with the Whig Party after moving to London in 1750.