On the recordJanuary 1, 1791
To suppose that any government can be a party in a compact with the whole people, is to suppose it to have existence before it can have a right to exist.
Said by
Thomas Paine
Source
gutenberg.orgThomas Paine: “To suppose that any government can be a party in a compact with the whole people, is to suppose it to have existence…”
Editor's note · Context
From "Rights of Man," this passage argues against the idea of government as a party to a compact with the people, asserting it would imply pre-existence.
Share
More from Thomas Paine
Jan 1, 1791
He writes neither in the character of a Frenchman nor an Englishman, but in the fawning character of that creature known in all countries, and a friend to none--a courtier.
Jan 1, 1791
Burke's Book is easily accounted for.--When a man in a wrong cause attempts to steer his course by anything else than some polar truth or principle, he is sure to be lost.
Jan 1, 1791
The American constitutions were to liberty what a grammar is to language: they define its parts of speech, and practically construct them into syntax.