Man cannot, properly speaking, make circumstances for his purpose, but he always has it in his power to improve them when they occur, and this was the case in France.
Thomas Paine: “Man cannot, properly speaking, make circumstances for his purpose, but he always has it in his power to improve them…”
Editor's note · Context
From his work "Rights of Man," this passage reflects on human agency in shaping historical events, particularly in the context of the French Revolution.
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