Edmund Burke

-career started on Grub Street

-the defining figure for the prevailing conservative notions in English Bohemia – reminiscent of Pope

-“Reflections on the Revolution in France” (1790) – advocated reform over revolution – “respect for the organic principles of an established community.”

-focused on contentment with tradition standards: English constitution support

-set the stage for his less connected, less conservative followers, who edited his philosophy and chose the “reliance on the power of thought and language” for their own development: Bentham, Macaulay, Mill, Gifford.

-more influence: “Sir Walter Scott infused his vast audiences…with a Burkean reverence for the past.”

portrait by Joshua Reynolds