Toleration is good for all, or it is good for none.

The line asserts that toleration cannot be a selective privilege dispensed to favored groups; it must operate as a general principle or it collapses into mere expediency. Burke’s point is that once a society justifies intolerance toward any minority, it establishes a precedent that can be turned against anyone when political winds shift. In that sense, toleration is a safeguard for the whole community, not a concession to the weak. The aphorism also implies a moral consistency: toleration that depends on who holds power is not toleration at all, but a temporary truce. Its significance lies in framing toleration as a universal rule necessary for stable civil life.