I compare it to something behind a curtain, about which there is a… — Thomas Paine · Skopia

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Philosophical literature · Political literature

I compare it to something behind a curtain, about which there is a great deal of bustle and fuss, and a wonderful air of seeming solemnity; but when by an accident, the curtain happens to be opened, and the company see what it is, they burst into laughter.

Rights of Man · 1792

★ 5.4

On monarchy.

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Paine, Thomas. "Rights of Man Part the second." Rights of Man, Common Sense, and Other Political Writings, edited by Mark Philp. Oxford University Press, 2009.

Original citation

Paine, Thomas. Rights of man. Part the second. London: J. S. Jordan, 1792.

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