There was a time when kings disposed of their crowns by will upon their death-beds, and consigned the people, like beasts of the field, to whatever successor they appointed.
Thomas Paine: “There was a time when kings disposed of their crowns by will upon their death-beds, and consigned the people, like…”
Editor's note · Context
In "Rights of Man," Paine recounts a historical practice to highlight the arbitrary nature of inherited power and the subjugation of the people.
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The man who is in the receipt of a million a year is the last person to promote a spirit of reform, lest, in the event, it should reach to himself.
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.
He writes neither in the character of a Frenchman nor an Englishman, but in the fawning character of that creature known in all countries, and a friend to none--a courtier.
In fine, society performs for itself almost everything which is ascribed to government.