--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Every age and generation must be as free…" description: "\"Every age and generation must be as free to act for itself in all cases as the ages and generations which preceded it. The vanity and presumption of go..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e6/thomas-paine-267_age_every-age-and-generation-must-be-as-free_1598486.jpg" --- # Every age and generation must be as free to act for itself… ![“Every age and generation must be as free to act for itself in all cases as the ages and generations which preceded it. The vanity and presumption of governing beyond the grave is the most ridiculous and insolent of all tyrannies.” quote by Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e6/thomas-paine-267_age_every-age-and-generation-must-be-as-free_1598486.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e6/thomas-paine-267_age_every-age-and-generation-must-be-as-free_1598486.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e6/thomas-paine-267_age_every-age-and-generation-must-be-as-free_1598486.jpg) > “Every age and generation must be as free to act for itself in all cases as the ages and generations which preceded it. The vanity and presumption of governing beyond the grave is the most ridiculous and insolent of all tyrannies.” [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Each generation should have the freedom to decide its own path; imposing past rules is an arrogant tyranny. **In simple terms:** Future generations need freedom; past rules are tyrannical. Key Takeaway Respect each generation’s autonomy. Themes freedom generational rights political philosophy Mood thoughtful critical Type political philosophical When to use this quote - Modern policy debates - family traditions - cultural inheritance Key Concepts self-determination intergenerational ethics government limits Questions to Reflect On - How do we honor valuable traditions while allowing change? - What limits should be placed on legacy authority? A Different Perspective Balancing tradition with innovation can be complex. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) [Ages Generations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ages-generations-6073818/) [Cases](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cases/) [Generation Free](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generation-free-488838/) [Generations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generations/) [Generations Preceded](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generations-preceded-5664296/) [Governing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/governing/) [Graves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/graves/) [Insolent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/insolent/) [Insolent Tyrannies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/insolent-tyrannies-3420611/) [Presumption](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/presumption/) [Ridiculous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ridiculous/) [Tyrannies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tyrannies-488016/) [Tyranny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tyranny/) [Vanity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vanity/) ## Related quotes > [“There never did, there never will, and there never can, exist a Parliament, or any description of men, or any generation of men, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/there-never-did-there-never-will-and-there-never-can-exist-a/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [“My generation was born into a world where those with a heart as well as a brain couldn’t find any support. The destructive work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fernando-pessoa/my-generation-was-born-into-a-world-where-those-with-a-heart-as-well/) [Fernando Pessoa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fernando-pessoa/) > [If the present generation, or any other, are disposed to be slaves, it does not lessen the right of the succeeding generation to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/if-the-present-generation-or-any-other-are-disposed-to-be-slaves-it/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [There never did, there never will, and there never can exist a parliament, or any description of men, or any generation of men, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/there-never-did-there-never-will-and-there-never-can-exist-a-2/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [Every age and generation must be as free to act for itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/every-age-and-generation-must-be-as-free-to-act-for-itself/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [“(To the newly graduated) There never did, there never will, and there never can exist a parliament, or any description of men, or any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/to-the-newly-graduated-there-never-did-there-never-will-and-there/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [The greatest tyrannies are always perpetuated in the name of the noblest causes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/the-greatest-tyrannies-are-always-perpetuated-in-the-name-of-the/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [Of all the tyrannies that affect mankind, tyranny in religion is the worst.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/of-all-the-tyrannies-that-affect-mankind-tyranny-in-religion-is-the-2/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [Of all the tyrannies that effect mankind, tyranny in religion is the worst; every other species of tyranny is limited to the world we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/of-all-the-tyrannies-that-effect-mankind-tyranny-in-religion-is-the/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [“Of all the tyrannies that affect mankind, tyranny in religion is the worst; every other species of tyranny is limited to the world we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/of-all-the-tyrannies-that-affect-mankind-tyranny-in-religion-is-the/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [Men who look upon themselves born to reign, and others to obey, soon grow insolent; selected from the rest of mankind their minds are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/men-who-look-upon-themselves-born-to-reign-and-others-to-obey-soon-2/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [There will never be a generation of great men until there has been a generation of free women.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/there-will-never-be-a-generation-of-great-men-until-there-has-been-a-2/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [There will never be a generation of great men until there has been a generation of free women - of free mothers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-green-ingersoll/there-will-never-be-a-generation-of-great-men-until-there-has-been-a/) [Robert Green Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-green-ingersoll/) > [No generation has a free hold on this earth. All we have is a life tenancy-with a full repairing lease.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/no-generation-has-a-free-hold-on-this-earth-all-we-have-is-a-life/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) > [We champion freedom - but Brexit will mean the next generation is less free to live, work and love across Europe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-swinson/we-champion-freedom-but-brexit-will-mean-the-next-generation-is-less/) [Jo Swinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-swinson/) ## More by Thomas Paine > [“No man is prejudiced in favour of a thing, knowing it to be wrong. He is attached to it on the belief of its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/no-man-is-prejudiced-in-favour-of-a-thing-knowing-it-to-be-wrong-he/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [“The laws of every country must be analogous to some common principle.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/the-laws-of-every-country-must-be-analogous-to-some-common-principle/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [The book called the Bible has been voted by men, and decreed by human laws to be the word of God; and the disbelief…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/the-book-called-the-bible-has-been-voted-by-men-and-decreed-by-human/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [To argue with a person who has renounced the use of reason is like administering medicine to the dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/to-argue-with-a-person-who-has-renounced-the-use-of-reason-is-like/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [One would think that a system loaded with such gross and vulgar absurdities as Scripture religion is could never have obtained credit; yet we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/one-would-think-that-a-system-loaded-with-such-gross-and-vulgar/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [Commerce diminishes the spirit, both of patriotism and military defence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/commerce-diminishes-the-spirit-both-of-patriotism-and-military-defence/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [What is it the Bible teaches us? - raping, cruelty, and murder. What is it the New Testament teaches us? - to believe that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/what-is-it-the-bible-teaches-us-raping-cruelty-and-murder-what-is-it/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/those-who-expect-to-reap-the-blessings-of-freedom-must-like-men/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [“It has been the practice of all Christian commentators on the Bible, and of all Christian priests and preachers, to impose the Bible on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/it-has-been-the-practice-of-all-christian-commentators-on-the-bible/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [But there are times when men have serious thoughts, and it is at such times, when they begin to think, that they begin to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/but-there-are-times-when-men-have-serious-thoughts-and-it-is-at-such/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [Wisdom is not the purchase of a day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/wisdom-is-not-the-purchase-of-a-day/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [Our citizenship in the United States is our national character. Our citizenship in any particular state is only our local distinction. By the latter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/our-citizenship-in-the-united-states-is-our-national-character-our/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [Suspicion is the companion of mean souls, and the bane of all good society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/suspicion-is-the-companion-of-mean-souls-and-the-bane-of-all-good/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [“To pass from the extremes of danger to safety-from the tumult of war to the tranquility of peace, though sweet in contemplation, requires a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/to-pass-from-the-extremes-of-danger-to-safety-from-the-tumult-of-war/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [What more does man want to know than that the hand or power that made these things is divine, is omnipotent? Let him believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/what-more-does-man-want-to-know-than-that-the-hand-or-power-that-made/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) [Explore all 772 Thomas Paine quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) ## More Age quotes > [I need a bath." He chuckled. "You smell of smoke, as do I." The duke turned, leaning heavily on his cane. "Jameson, open the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-hawkins/i-need-a-bath-he-chuckled-you-smell-of-smoke-as-do-i-the-duke-turned/) [Karen Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-hawkins/) > [While we've youth in our hearts, we can never grow old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/while-we-ve-youth-in-our-hearts-we-can-never-grow-old/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) > [It's easier to change a law than an age-old mentality. Deep down, many prejudices, many hostilities, many fears persist. But if we take a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dacia-maraini/it-s-easier-to-change-a-law-than-an-age-old-mentality-deep-down-many/) [Dacia Maraini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacia-maraini/) > [When I first started writing, when I was 15, I would go to work with people and they would tell me my lyrics were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sabrina-claudio/when-i-first-started-writing-when-i-was-15-i-would-go-to-work-with/) [Sabrina Claudio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sabrina-claudio/) > [Real people speak in my books about the main events of the age, such as the war, the Chernobyl disaster, and the downfall of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/svetlana-alexievich/real-people-speak-in-my-books-about-the-main-events-of-the-age-such/) [Svetlana Alexievich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/svetlana-alexievich/) > [As a child I was very involved with sports and I knew at age 9 that I wanted to be an Olympic champion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-jones/as-a-child-i-was-very-involved-with-sports-and-i-knew-at-age-9-that-i/) [Marion Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-jones/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [I am just enjoying the dream of being Milan coach at the age of 40.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gennaro-gattuso/i-am-just-enjoying-the-dream-of-being-milan-coach-at-the-age-of-40/) [Gennaro Gattuso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gennaro-gattuso/) > [Age is an accumulation of life and loss. Adulthood is a series of lines crossed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-goodman/age-is-an-accumulation-of-life-and-loss-adulthood-is-a-series-of/) [Ellen Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-goodman/) > [I calculated that if I live up to the age of 80, then I end up using 450 toothbrushes in my life. All that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dia-mirza/i-calculated-that-if-i-live-up-to-the-age-of-80-then-i-end-up-using/) [Dia Mirza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dia-mirza/) > [Why is wisdom so fair? Why is beauty so wise? 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