Either, therefore, government has arrived at its dotage, and requires to be renovated, or all the occasions for exercising its wisdom have occurred.
Thomas Paine: “Either, therefore, government has arrived at its dotage, and requires to be renovated, or all the occasions for…”
Editor's note · Context
In "Rights of Man," this quote presents a dilemma, suggesting that if government is not evolving, it is either stagnant or has exhausted its purpose.
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When men unite in agreeing that a thing is good, could it be obtained, such for instance as relief from a burden of taxes and the extinction of corruption, the object is more than half accomplished.
But as religion is very improperly made a political machine, and the reality of it is thereby destroyed, I will conclude this work with stating in what light religion appears to me.
I have no idea, considering the reforms which are now passing and spreading throughout Europe, that England will permit herself to be the last; and where the occasion and the opportunity quietly offer, it is better than to wait for a…