1579 Stephanus Junius Brutus
From “Vengeance Against Tyrants” a pamphlet written in France under a “pen name.”
For tyranny is not a crime merely, but the chiefest and as it were the epitome of all crimes. The tyrant . . . is as much more vicious as the ordinary bandit, murderer or oath breaker as it is more serious to offend against the many or all than against particular individuals.
