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Citizen Paine: Thomas Paine's Thoughts on Man, Government, Society, and Religion

Book by Thomas Paine · 3 quotes · Men, Constitution, Political

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Citizen Paine: Thomas Paine's Thoughts on Man, Government, Society, and Religion Quotes

“A government of our own is our natural right; and when a man seriously reflects on the precariousness of human affairs, he will become convinced, that it is infinitely wiser and safer, to form a constitution of our own in a cool deliberate manner, while we have it in our power, than to trust such an interesting event to time and chance.”

“A constitution defines and limits the powers of the government it creates. It therefore follows, as a natural and also a logical result, that the governmental exercise of any power not authorized by the constitution is an assumed power, and therefore illegal.”