As the republic of letters brings forward the best literary productions, by giving to genius a fair and universal chance; so the representative system of government is calculated to produce the wisest laws, by collecting wisdom from where it can be found.
In "Rights of Man," Paine draws a parallel between the meritocratic nature of literature and the ideal of representative government.
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A knowledge of the practice was then joined to the theory; and all that was wanting to give it real existence was opportunity.
It was Government dethroning Government; and the old one, by attempting to make a new one, made a chasm.
To possess ourselves of a clear idea of what government is, or ought to be, we must trace it to its origin.