Edmund Burke and the Perennial Battle

When we read texts from a bygone era that relate to the present, we often think things like, “It seems like the author was reading the news today,” or, “How did the author know this was coming?” We marvel at the author’s foresight, and we are surprised that a text so old could be so relevant.

Marveling at the foresight of a long-departed mind reflects a disbelief in that thing which people allege from time to time called “human nature.”