When it is laid down as a maxim, that a King can do no wrong, it places him in a state of similar security with that of idiots and persons insane, and responsibility is out of the question with respect to himself.
Paine critiques the legal principle that a king can do no wrong, arguing it renders the monarch unaccountable, akin to an incapacitated person.
Share
More from Thomas Paine
I do not believe that any two men, on what are called doctrinal points, think alike who think at all.
When men unite in agreeing that a thing is good, could it be obtained, such for instance as relief from a burden of taxes and the extinction of corruption, the object is more than half accomplished.
As to what are called national religions, we may, with as much propriety, talk of national Gods.