On the recordJanuary 1, 1776
It is dangerous to make men familiar with a crime which they may afterwards practise to much greater advantage against those who first taught them.
Said by
Thomas Paine
Source
gutenberg.orgThomas Paine: “It is dangerous to make men familiar with a crime which they may afterwards practise to much greater advantage against…”
Editor's note · Context
Paine warns against the dangerous precedent of encouraging criminal acts, as such lessons can be turned against their originators.
Share
More from Thomas Paine
Jan 1, 1791
To possess ourselves of a clear idea of what government is, or ought to be, we must trace it to its origin.
Jan 1, 1791
The Aristocracy had hitherto opposed the despotism of the Court, and affected the language of patriotism; but it opposed it as its rival (as the English Barons opposed King John) and it now opposed the nation from the same motives.
Jan 1, 1791
Nothing can be more terrible to a Court or Courtier than the Revolution of France.