On the recordJanuary 1, 1791
Burke might have been in the Bastille his whole life, as well under Louis XVI. as Louis XIV., and neither the one nor the other have known that such a man as Burke existed.
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Thomas Paine
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gutenberg.orgThomas Paine: “Burke might have been in the Bastille his whole life, as well under Louis XVI. as Louis XIV., and neither the one nor…”
Editor's note · Context
Paine uses a hypothetical scenario in "Rights of Man" to illustrate that the arbitrary nature of despotism meant individuals could suffer without the monarch's personal knowledge.
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