On the recordJanuary 1, 1791
I know not whether Homer or Euclid had sons; but I will venture an opinion that if they had, and had left their works unfinished, those sons could not have completed them.
Said by
Thomas Paine
Source
gutenberg.orgThomas Paine: “I know not whether Homer or Euclid had sons; but I will venture an opinion that if they had, and had left their works…”
Editor's note · Context
Paine uses the example of great historical figures to demonstrate that genius and ability are not inherited, in his "Rights of Man."
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