Though the parts may embarrass each other, the whole has no bounds; and the only right it acknowledges out of itself, is the right of petitioning.
Thomas Paine: “Though the parts may embarrass each other, the whole has no bounds; and the only right it acknowledges out of itself, is…”
Editor's note · Context
In "Rights of Man," Paine argues that a government, despite internal conflicts, can possess unlimited power and grant only the right of petition to the people.
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Many of the facts were in themselves principles; such as the declaration of American Independence, and the treaty of alliance between France and America, which recognised the natural rights of man, and justified resistance to oppression.
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