Quotessence
Home / Quotes / Quote by Thomas Paine

Quote by Thomas Paine

“The error of those who reason by precedents drawn from antiquity, respecting the rights of man, is that they do not go far enough into antiquity.”

Quote by Thomas Paine

Book:Rights of Man
Create image

Work

Rights of Man

Written by Thomas Paine, this influential work delves into the concepts of natural rights, social contracts, and the role of government, offering a critique of the British monarchy and a call for democratic reforms. more

Author

Thomas Paine
Thomas Paine

Thomas Paine, born on February 9, 1737, and died on June 8, 1809, was a prominent American writer, political figure, and philosopher during the American Revolutionary War. He is renowned for his radical democratic ideas and his contributions to the American independence movement. more

You May Also Like

“If any generation of men ever possessed the right of dictating the mode by which the world should be governed for ever, it was the first generation that existed; and if that generation did it not, no succeeding generation can show any authority for doing it, nor can set any up.”

IfsMenWorldShouldFirstsShowsGenerationsSucceedAuthorityPossessedDictating
Book:The Rights of Man: With a Brief Historical Preface
Create image

“Civil rights are those which appertain to man in right of his being a member of society. Every civil right has for its foundation some natural right pre-existing in the individual, but to the enjoyment of which his individual power is not, in all cases, sufficiently competent. Of this kind are all those which relate to security and protection.”

MenKindIndividualNaturalCasesRightsSecurityMembersFoundationProtectionCivil RightsRelateEnjoymentCompetentIndividual Power
Book:The Rights of Man
Create image

“A constitution, therefore, is to a government what the laws made afterwards by that government are to a court of judicature. The court of judicature does not make the laws, neither can it alter them; it only acts in conformity to the laws made: and the government is in like manner governed by the constitution.”

DoeMadeGovernmentLawConstitutionCourtConformity
Book:Common Sense, The Rights of Man and Other Essential Writings of ThomasPaine
Create image

“On this question of war, three things are to be considered. First, the right of declaring it: secondly, the expense of supporting it: thirdly, the mode of conducting it after it is declared.”

FirstsWarThreeExpensesThree ThingsConductingDeclaring
Book:THOMAS PAINE Ultimate Collection: Political Works, Philosophical Writings, Speeches, Letters & Biography (Including Common Sense, The Rights of Man & The Age of Reason): The American Crisis, The Constitution of 1795, Declaration of Rights, Agrarian Justice, The Republican Proclamation, Anti-Monarchal Essay, Letters to Thomas Jefferson and George Washington…
Create image

“It is a grand old name, that of gentleman, and has been recognized as a rank and power in all stages of society. To possess this character is a dignity of itself, commanding the instinctive homage of every generous mind, and those who will not bow to titular rank will yet do homage to the gentleman. His qualities depend not upon fashion or manners, but upon moral worth; not on personal possessions, but on personal qualities.”

MindHas BeensCharacterNamesQualityMoralStageFashionDependsDignityPossessionMannersGenerousGentlemanBowsHomagePersonal Qualities
Author:Samuel Smiles
Create image