But in England there are no such occasional bodies; and as to those who are now called Representatives, a great part of them are mere machines of the court, placemen, and dependants.
Thomas Paine: “But in England there are no such occasional bodies; and as to those who are now called Representatives, a great part of…”
Editor's note · Context
From "Rights of Man," Paine critiques the English system of representation, asserting that many representatives serve the court rather than the people.
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As to what are called national religions, we may, with as much propriety, talk of national Gods.
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.
I do not believe that any two men, on what are called doctrinal points, think alike who think at all.
I have no idea, considering the reforms which are now passing and spreading throughout Europe, that England will permit herself to be the last; and where the occasion and the opportunity quietly offer, it is better than to wait for a…