"Montesquieu, President of the Parliament of Bordeaux, went as far as a writer under a despotic government could well proceed; and being obliged to divide himself between principle and prudence, his mind often appears under a veil, and we ought to give him credit for more than he has expressed."
— Paine, Thomas (1737-1809)
Author
Place of Publication
London
Publisher
Printed for J. S. Jordan
Date
February 1791
Metaphor
"Montesquieu, President of the Parliament of Bordeaux, went as far as a writer under a despotic government could well proceed; and being obliged to divide himself between principle and prudence, his mind often appears under a veil, and we ought to give him credit for more than he has expressed."
Metaphor in Context
The only signs which appeared of the spirit of Liberty during those periods, are to be found in the writings of the French philosophers. Montesquieu, President of the Parliament of Bordeaux, went as far as a writer under a despotic government could well proceed; and being obliged to divide himself between principle and prudence, his mind often appears under a veil, and we ought to give him credit for more than he has expressed.
(p. 238)
(p. 238)
Categories
Provenance
Reading
Citation
At least 45 entries in the ESTC (1791, 1792, 1793, 1795).
See The Thomas Paine Reader, ed. Michael Foot and Isaac Kramnick (New York: Penguin Books, 1987). <Link to 1791 edition in ECCO><Link to 7th edition in Google Books>
See The Thomas Paine Reader, ed. Michael Foot and Isaac Kramnick (New York: Penguin Books, 1987). <Link to 1791 edition in ECCO><Link to 7th edition in Google Books>
Date of Entry
05/19/2011
