On the recordJanuary 1, 1791
Every age and generation must be as free to act for itself in all cases as the age and generations which preceded it.
Said by
Thomas Paine
Source
gutenberg.orgThomas Paine: “Every age and generation must be as free to act for itself in all cases as the age and generations which preceded it.”
Editor's note · Context
From his work "Rights of Man," Paine argues for the sovereignty of each generation to govern itself.
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
The Parliaments on their part insisted that they had not only a right to remonstrate, but to reject; and on this ground they were always supported by the nation.
Jan 1, 1791
But the spirit of the nation was not to be overcome, and it was so fully sensible of the strong ground it had taken--that of withholding taxes--that it contented itself with keeping up a sort of quiet resistance, which effectually…
Jan 1, 1791
It was become evident, that no constitution, worthy of being called by that name, could be established on anything less than a national ground.