Part Second, Chapter IV 'Of Constitutions'
A constitution is not a thing in name only, but in fact. It has not an ideal, but a real existence; and wherever it cannot be produced in a visible form, there is none.Read in Books4Free →
Constitution as Written Document
From Rights of Man by Thomas Paine
Paine insists a constitution is not merely a tradition or governing practice but a tangible written document antecedent to government, by which government is constituted. England, he argues, has no constitution.
Part First
Challenge to Burke: produce the English constitution. Paine claims England has a government but no constitution.
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