The first was a government of priestcraft, the second of conquerors, and the third of reason.
Thomas Paine: “The first was a government of priestcraft, the second of conquerors, and the third of reason.”
Editor's note · Context
In "Rights of Man," Paine categorizes historical forms of government based on their underlying principles.
Share
More from Thomas Paine
As to what are called national religions, we may, with as much propriety, talk of national Gods.
When men unite in agreeing that a thing is good, could it be obtained, such for instance as relief from a burden of taxes and the extinction of corruption, the object is more than half accomplished.
In those which proceed from the former cause, the temper becomes incensed and soured; and the redress, obtained by danger, is too often sullied by revenge.
I have no idea, considering the reforms which are now passing and spreading throughout Europe, that England will permit herself to be the last; and where the occasion and the opportunity quietly offer, it is better than to wait for a…