A casual discontinuance of the practice of despotism, is not a discontinuance of its principles: the former depends on the virtue of the individual who is in immediate possession of the power; the latter, on the virtue and fortitude of the nation.
In "Rights of Man," Paine differentiates between a temporary halt in despotic practices and the abolition of despotic principles, attributing the latter to national resolve.
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Discussion and the general will arbitrates the question, and to this, private opinion yields with a good grace, and order is preserved uninterrupted.
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