Were we not accustomed to the daily practice, and did we only hear of it as the law of some distant part of the world, we should conclude that the legislators of such countries had not arrived at a state of civilisation.
Thomas Paine: “Were we not accustomed to the daily practice, and did we only hear of it as the law of some distant part of the world…”
Editor's note · Context
Paine argues in "Rights of Man" that many accepted laws would be deemed uncivilized if not for the familiarity of daily practice.
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