On the recordJanuary 1, 1791
The enormous expense of governments has provoked people to think, by making them feel; and when once the veil begins to rend, it admits not of repair.
Said by
Thomas Paine
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gutenberg.orgThe enormous expense of governments has provoked people to think, by making them feel; and when once the veil begins to rend, it admits not of repair.
From "Rights of Man," this passage argues that excessive government spending compels people to think, leading to an irreversible unveiling of truth.
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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.
As to what are called national religions, we may, with as much propriety, talk of national Gods.
Discussion and the general will arbitrates the question, and to this, private opinion yields with a good grace, and order is preserved uninterrupted.