In November, 1790, British statesman, Edmund Burke published a political pamphlet as an intellectual attack against the excesses of the French Revolution.   This work is called Reflections On the Revolution In France.  It remains as a defining tract of modern conservativism.  It is also a seminal work in modern international political theory.   In this work, Burke transformed traditionalism into the full conception of modern conservatism.

This tract is renown for its thorough rhetorical skill displayed along with having a panache that stands alone as a literary classic.  Through its interesting duality of being both realist and idealist as well as both rationalist and revolutionary, this pamphlet continues to hold great sway with conservatives and classical liberals.  There is a lot to be said for its utility in criticizing revolutionary socialism in all of its excesses.

Beyond the excesses were his eloquent considerations pertinent to the overly heavy reliance on abstract concepts such as freedom and equality and that liberty was a legal construct not the imperative that each was fee to do as they please.    In the words and actions of the revolutionaries, Burke saw an abject failure to understand that “there are no rights without corresponding duties, or without some strict qualifications”.  His pamphlet set out that “(W)hen men play God, presently they behave like devils”.  The guillotine and other horrors that followed evidenced the astuteness of his observations and concerns.

This work may be read in its part that pertains to Bastille Day here:

http://www.bartleby.com/24/3/10.html#229

Or, alternatively heard as an audiobook in its entirety here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atw8YA1BO-g