On the recordJanuary 1, 1791
The meaning, then, good people, of all this, is: That government is governed by no principle whatever; that it can make evil good, or good evil, just as it pleases.
Said by
Thomas Paine
Source
gutenberg.orgThomas Paine: “The meaning, then, good people, of all this, is: That government is governed by no principle whatever; that it can make…”
Editor's note · Context
From "Rights of Man," this passage critiques governments that operate without principle, asserting their power to define good and evil arbitrarily.
Share
More from Thomas Paine
Jan 1, 1791
Reason and discussion, persuasion and conviction, become the weapons in the contest, and it is only when those are attempted to be suppressed that recourse is had to violence.
Jan 1, 1791
But as religion is very improperly made a political machine, and the reality of it is thereby destroyed, I will conclude this work with stating in what light religion appears to me.
Jan 1, 1791
Why may we not suppose, that the great Father of all is pleased with variety of devotion; and that the greatest offence we can act, is that by which we seek to torment and render each other miserable?