The French Revolution and The Rights of Man

In the first paragraph of your response, summarize the arguments of Burke, Paine, and More. (If you are interested in further reading, the selections from Godwin, Wollstonecraft, and Young give further dimension to these debates.) Obviously you will not be able to go into great detail, but I would like you to try to condense the central arguments of these three writers so that I can see that you understand them.

In the remainder of your response, react to and/or comment on one of the following quotations:

1. “In this partnership all have equal rights; but not to equal things” (Burke 106).

2. “Each contract of each particular state is but a clause in the great primaeval contract of eternal society, linking the lower with the higher natures, connecting the visible and invisible world, according to a fixed compact sanctioned by the inviolable oath which holds all physical and all moral natures, each in their appointed place” (Burke 112).

3. “Every office and department has its despotism, founded upon custom and usage. Every place has its Bastille, and every Bastille its despot. [. . .] It strengthens itself by assuming the appearance of duty, and tyrannises under the pretence of obeying” (Paine 124).

4. “They are all so free, that there’s nobody safe” (More 138).