A constitution is a thing antecedent to a government, and a government is only the creature of a constitution.
Thomas Paine: “A constitution is a thing antecedent to a government, and a government is only the creature of a constitution.”
Editor's note · Context
From "Rights of Man," Paine defines the fundamental relationship between a constitution and the government it creates.
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They form a common policy throughout Europe, detached and separate from the interest of Nations: and while they appear to quarrel, they agree to plunder.
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