It cannot be ingrafted on a good one; and wherever the forms in any government are bad, it is a certain indication that the principles are bad also.
Thomas Paine: “It cannot be ingrafted on a good one; and wherever the forms in any government are bad, it is a certain indication that…”
Editor's note · Context
In "Rights of Man," Paine contends that bad governmental forms cannot be built upon good principles, indicating that flawed structures reveal flawed underlying principles.
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