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Quote#Politics & Power

If the power of government be very extensive, and the subjects of it…

Quote byJoseph Priestley · 1733–1804

Commonly attributed — not confirmed in an authoritative edition. Cited on Wikiquote to: Essay on the First Principles of Government, 2nd Edition (1771), Section III, "Of Civil Liberty".

English (original)

If the power of government be very extensive, and the subjects of it have, consequently, little power over their own actions, that government is tyrannical, and oppressive; whether, with respect to its form, it be a monarchy, an aristocracy, or even a republic.

— Joseph Priestley

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