"When it shall be said in any country in the world, my poor are happy; neither ignorance nor distress is to be found among them; my jails are empty of prisoners, my streets of beggars; the aged are not in want, the taxes are not oppressive; the rational world is my friend, because I am a friend of its happiness: When these things can be said, then may the country boast of its constitution and its government."
React to this quote
More by Thomas Paine
See allResonant Thoughts
"In this world laws are written for the lofty aim of "the common good" and then acted out in life on the basis of the common greed. In this world irrationality clings to man like his shadow so that the…"
"Mr. LeFevre and I have engaged in heated, though amiable, controversy, about his attitude to Government. When the students in his Basic course—the one I attended—asked him, what should we do? his repl…"
Explore Further
Related Quotes
"It was fun. It was fun coming to the ballpark and competing with these guys. If we were down, if we were up…"
— Aaron Judge"If laying aside all worldly Greatness and Vain-Glory, I should be ask'd where I thought it was most probabl…"
— Bernard Mandeville"We have to keep everybody happy. This is a house full of big egos."
— Helen Reddy"He who carries self-regard far enough to keep himself in good health and high spirits, in the first place t…"
— Herbert Spencer"Then it is that the height of unhappiness is reached, when men are not only attracted, but even pleased, by…"
— Seneca the Younger"The joy, the tension, the exhilaration and the happiness those Sundays brought into our lives served as a c…"
— Learie Constantine