On the recordJanuary 1, 1791
What at first was plunder, assumed the softer name of revenue; and the power originally usurped, they affected to inherit.
Said by
Thomas Paine
Source
gutenberg.orgWhat at first was plunder, assumed the softer name of revenue; and the power originally usurped, they affected to inherit.
In "Rights of Man," Paine critiques how illegitimate gains and usurped power were later disguised with more respectable terms like "revenue" and "inheritance."
Share
More from Thomas Paine
I know the value of moral instruction, and I have seen the danger of the contrary.
The American constitutions were to liberty what a grammar is to language: they define its parts of speech, and practically construct them into syntax.
To account for this sudden transition, it is proper to observe that there are two distinct species of popularity; the one excited by merit, and the other by resentment.