Political Quotes

Thomas Paine: Whether they mean strength or weakness, wisdom or folly, a child or a man, or the rider or the horse, is all equivocal.

On the recordJanuary 1, 1791
Whether they mean strength or weakness, wisdom or folly, a child or a man, or the rider or the horse, is all equivocal.
Said by
Thomas Paine

Editor's note · Context

Paine highlights the inherent ambiguity and lack of substantive meaning in aristocratic titles, rendering them equivocal.

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