Thoughts and Reflections on Edmund Burke's Reflections on the French Revolution

     Despite the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizens, not all were convinced of the sensibility of the French Revolution. Irish critic Edmund Burke made his displeasure with the revolution known in his famous essay Reflections on the French Revolution. His criticism stemmed partly from his perception of the National Assembly, which he considered deplorable by virtue of being made up of primarily lawyers. Burke did not count lawyers among the wisest of men, instead stating that the assembly should have been comprised of men of the cloth rather than those who had no grasp of the laws of God and nature. He doubted that such men as those who called themselves the National Assembly could ever pursue anything other than their own personal interests. He believed that under the rule of such men, conditions were far worse than under any monarch. Additionally, Burke implies that the inherent rights of men should be guaranteed outside of the government. Due to the esoteric and ever-changing nature of these rights, they cannot be effectively implemented by the government.