On the recordJanuary 1, 1791
It is the living, and not the dead, that are to be accommodated.
Said by
Thomas Paine
Source
gutenberg.orgIt is the living, and not the dead, that are to be accommodated.
In "Rights of Man," Paine argues that government and laws should serve the needs and rights of the current generation, not those of the past.
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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.
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.
It was become evident, that no constitution, worthy of being called by that name, could be established on anything less than a national ground.