On the recordJanuary 1, 1791
The argument changes from hereditary rights to hereditary wisdom; and the question is, Who is the wisest man?
Said by
Thomas Paine
Source
gutenberg.orgThomas Paine: “The argument changes from hereditary rights to hereditary wisdom; and the question is, Who is the wisest man?”
Editor's note · Context
Paine critiques the logical flaw in arguments for hereditary rule, pointing out that it implies an impossible inheritance of wisdom.
Share
More from Thomas Paine
Jan 1, 1791
It has nothing to dread from attacks; truth has given it an establishment, and time will record it with a name as lasting as his own.
Jan 1, 1791
Whether robbery shall be banished from courts, and wretchedness from countries?
Jan 1, 1791
The aristocracy has screened itself too much, and this serves to restore a part of the lost equilibrium.
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.