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.
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Thomas Paine
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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.
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