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TESTIMONIALS
Y
TO THE MERITS OP
1
I
THOMAS PAINE,
AUTHOR OF "COMMON SENSE," "THE CRISIS," "RIGHTS
OF MAN/' "ENGLISH SYSTEM OF FINANCE/'
"AGE OF REASON," &C., AC,
COMPILED BY
JOSEPH K". MOREATL
The World is my Country,
To do Good my Religion." Paints Motto.
BURLINGTON, N. J. :
P. L. TAYLOR, BOX 118, P. O.
1861.
5
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TESTIMONIALS
TO THE MERITS OP
THOMAS PAINE,
AUTHOR OF "COMMON SENSE," " THE CRISIS/' "RIGHTS
OF MAN/' "ENGLISH SYSTEM OF FINANCE,"
COMPILED BY
JOSEPH N. MOREAIF.
" The "World is my Country,
To do Good my Religion." Paine** Motto.
BURLINGTON, N. J.: F. L. TAYLOR.
1861.
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the Year One Thousand Eight
Hundred and Sixty-one, by P. L. TAYLOR, in the Clerk's Office of the District
Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
TO THE
REV. M. D. CONWAY,
OF CINCINNATI, OHIO,
THE FIEST CLERGYMAN
WHO HAS HAD THE MORAL COURAGE TO CHAMPION IN THE PULPIT
THE CAUSE OF ONE WHOSE FAIR NAME, THOUGH NOW
DEFAMED, SHALL ONE DAY DESERVEDLY SHINE
FORTH AS THE BRIGHTEST STAR IN
THE AMERICAN GALAXY,
THIS LITTLE WORK IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED.
BY HIS FRIEND,
THE PUBLISHER.
TO THE READER.
The following little work will, perhaps, give you
a more high conception of the important and merito-
rious services of the " Archimedes of the Eighteenth
Century" to mankind, than could be conceived from
the perusal of any "Life" of him ever issued from
the Press ; for, instead of its being the opinion of
one individual, and that opinion perhaps biased, it
is a collection of the sentiments of some seventy
Historians, Statesmen, Poets, and Divines, many of
whom were opposed to his political, and almost all
to his theological views. If it in the slightest degree
adds to your appreciation of Paine, the object of the
compiler will be accomplished.
JOSEPH F. MOKEAU.
M348033
NOTE BY THE PUBLISHER.
Mr. Moreau, having joined the Pennsylvania
Volunteers, left the work more incomplete than the
publisher desired. In fact, it was exceedingly diffi-
cult, from the mass of testimony of like character to
make selections of that which might be the most
desirable for so small a work. Should Mr. Moreau
return from the campaign, a similar pamphlet, con-
taining the balance of testimonies, will doubtless be
published.
TESTIMONIALS
TO THE MERITS OF
THOMAS IPAHSTE.
GEN. GEORGE WASHINGTON,
First President of this great Republic, in a letter to
Thomas Paine, inviting that author and patriot to par-
take with him, at Rocky-hill, says :
" Your presence may remind Congress of your past
services to this country, and if it is in my power to im-
press them, command my best exertions with freedom,
as they will be rendered cheerfully, by one who enter-
tains a lively sense of the importance of your works."
In his letter to Richard Henry Lee, of Virginia, this
honored hero writes :
" That his Common Sense and many of his Crisis were
were well timed and had a happy effect upon the public
mind, none I believe who will turn to the epoch at which
they were published, will deny. That his services have
hitherto passed off unnoticed is obvious to all."
"Washington to Gen. Joseph Reed, March 1776 :
" By private letters which I have lately received from
Virginia, I find that " Common Sense" is working a pow.
erful change there in the minds of many men."
" A few more such flaming arguments as were exhibit-
ed at Falmouth and Norfolk, added to the sound doc-
8
trine and unanswerable reasoning contained in the
pamphlet " Common Sense/' will not leave numbers at a
loss to decide on the propriety of a separation/' Gen.
Washington, to Joseph Reed, dated Cambridge, Jan. 31,
1776.
JOHN ADAMS,
The Second President of the United States, who spared
no occasion to underrate Thomas Paine's services, and to
assault his opinions and character, the transparent mo-
tive being a jealousy to be considered himself the great-
est mover of the ball of Independence, thus writes to his
wife on the 19th of March, 1776 :
" You ask me what is thought of Common Sense. Sen-
sible men think there are some whims, some sophisms,
some artful addresses to superstitious notions, some
keen attempt upon the passions, in this pamphlet. But
all agree there is a great deal of good sense, delivered in
clear, simple, concise and nervous style. His sentiments
of the abilities of America, and of the difficulty of a re-
conciliation with Great Britain, are generally approved."
THOMAS JEFFERSON,
The third President of the United States, and the writer
of the glorious "Declaration of Independence," thus
speaks of the "Author Hero," who first suggested it,
in a letter to Francis Eppes :
" You ask my opinion of Lord Bolingbroke and Thomas
Paine. They were alike in making bitter enemies of
the priests and pharisees of their day. Both were
9
honest men; both advocates for human liberty. * *
* These two persons differed remarkably in the style
of their writing, each leaving a model of what is most
perfect in both extremes of the simple and the sublime.
]S r o writer has exceeded Paine in ease and familiarity of
style, in perspicuity of expression, happiness of eluci-
dation, and in simple and unassuming language. In
this he may be compared with Dr. Franklin."
In 1801, in a letter to Paine tendering him a passage
to the tJnited States from Prance, in a national vessel,
Jefferson writes :
"I am in hopes you will finc[ us returned generally to
sentiments worthy of former times. In these it will be
your glory to have steadily labored, and wkh as much
effect as any man living. That you may long live to
continue your useful labors and to reap the reward of
the thankfulness of nations, is my sincere prayer."
JAMES MADISON,
The Fourth President of the United States, and ex-
pounder of the Constitution. In 1784, a bill was
brought before the Yirginia Legislature, proposing to
give Mr. Paine a tract of land on the eastern shore of
Chesapeake Bay. It was defeated by a single vote.
Monroe stated that it would have been carried in his
favor, had he not written " Public Good." It was this
that called forth the following from Madison to Wash-
ington :
u Whether a greater disposition to reward patriotic
and distinguished exertions of genius will be found on
any succeeding occasion, is not for me to predetermine.
Should it finally appear that the merits of the man
whose writings have so much contributed to infuse and
10
foster the spirit of Independence in the people of Ame-
rica are unable to inspire them with a just beneficence,
the world, it is to be feared, will give us as little credit
for our policy as for our gratitude in this particular."
"I believe in one God, and no more; and I hope for happiness
beyond this life. I believe in the equality of man ; and I believe
that religious duties consist in doing justice, loving mercy, and en-
deavoring to make our fellow creatures happy." (Thomas Paine.
See "Age of Reason.")
JAMES MONROE,
The fifth President of the United States. The follow-
ing extract is from a letter written by this gentleman
to Paine, previous to the release from the Luxembourg
of "the Apostle of Liberty":
"It is necessary for me to tell you how much all your
countrymen I speak of the great mass of the people
are interested in your welfare. They have not forgotten
the history of their own Eevolution, and the difficult
scenes through which they passed; nor do they review
its several stages without reviving in their bosoms a due
sensibility of the merits of those who served them in
that great and arduous conflict. The crime of ingratitude
has not yet stained, and I hope never will stain our national
character. You are considered by them as not only
having rendered important services in our own Revolu-
tion, but as being, on a more extensive scale, the friend
of human rights, and a distinguished and able advocate
in favor of public liberty. To the welfare of Thomas
Paine the Americans are not, nor can they be, indif-
ferent."
'It is unnatural and impolitic to admit men who would root up
our independence to have any share in oar legislation, either as
electors or representatives, because the support of our independence
rests, in a great measure, on the vigor and purity of our public
bodies. (The Crisis, No. 3.)
11
GEN. ANDREW JACKSON,
The " Hero of New Orleans/' and the seventh President
of the United States, said to the venerable philan-
thropist, Judge Hertell, of New York, upon the latter
proposing the erection of a suitable monument to Thos.
Paine :
"Thomas Paine needs no monument made by hands;
he has erected himself a monument in the hearts of all
lovers of liberty. ' The Bights of 3an,' will be more
enduring than all the piles of marble or granite man
can erect."
THE REPUBLICANS AND REFORMERS
Of England, in 1792, looked upon Paine as the true
" Apostle of Freedom." They circulated a song to his
praise, commencing
" God save great Thomas Paine !
His Eights of Man proclaim
From pole to pole !"
{See Preface, Cheetham's Life of Paine.)
" To argue with a man who has renounced the use and authority
of reason, and whose philosophy consists in holding humanity in
contempt, is like administering medicine to the dead, or endeavor-
ing to convert an Atheist with Scripture." [The Crisis, No. 5.)
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN,
Who first introduced Thomas Paine to the new world,
says, in a letter he gave the English Exciseman recom-
mending him to his son-in-law, Eichard Bache (1774)
" The bearer, Mr. Thomas Paine, is very well recom-
mended to me as an ingenious, worthy young man. He
12
goes to Pennsylvania with a view of settling there. I
request you to give him your best advice and counte-
nance. "
About 13 years after, Dr. Franklin gave him letters
of introduction to several of the most prominent of the
French " men of letters." The following is an extract
from one to the Due de la Rochefoucauld :
" The bearer of this is Mr. Paine, the author of a
famous piece entitled Common Sense, published here with
great effect on the minds of the people at the beginning
of the Revolution. He is an ingenious, honest man ;
and as such I beg leave to recommend him to your
civilities."
TIMOTHY PITKINS,
In his Political and Civil History of the United States,
says : " Common Sense" produced a wonderful effect
in the different Colonies in favor of Independence.
REV. SOLOMON SOUTHWICK,
Printer, politician and lecturer against Infidelity, and,
at one time, the editor and publisher of The Christian
Visiter, 'says:
"No page in history, stained as it is with treachery
and falsehood, or cold-blooded indifference to right or
wrong, exhibits a more disgraceful instance of public
ingratitude than that which Thomas Paine experienced
from an age and country which he had so faithfully
served. As the Tintochus of the Revolution, and it is
no exaggeration to style him such, we owe everlasting
gratitude to his name and memory. Why, then, was
13
he suffered to sink into the most wretched poverty and
obscurity, after having, in both hemispheres, so signally
distinguished himself as the friend of liberty and man-
kind ? Was his religion, or want of religion, the real
or affected cause ? Did not those who feared his talents,
make his religion a pretext not only to treat him
with cold neglect, but to strip him, if possible, of every
laurel he had won in the political field, as the brilliant,
undaunted and successful advocate of freedom ? As to
his religion, or no religion, God alone must be the judge
and arbiter of that. No human being, no human tri-
bunal, can claim a right even to censure him for it,
much less to make it the pretext for defrauding him,
either in life or death, of the reward due to his patriot-
ism, or the legitimate fame of his exertions in the cause
of suffering humanity. Had Thomas Paine been guilty
of any crime, we should be the last to eulogize his me-
mory. But we cannot find he ever was guilty of any
other crime than that of advancing his opinions freely
upon all subjects connected with public liberty and hap-
piness. If he erred in any of his opinions, since we
know that his intentions were pure, we are bound to
cover his errors with the mantle of charity. We can-
not say here all that we would wish to say. A brief
note is insufficient to do justice to so important a sub-
ject. We may, however, safely affirm that Paine'*
conduct in America was that of a real patriot. In the
French Convention he displayed the same pure and
disinterested spirit; there his humanity shone forth in
his exertions to save, at the risk of his own life, the
unfortunate Louis XYI from the scaffold. His life, it
is true, was written by a ministerial hireling, who
strove in vain to blacken his moral character. The
late James Cheetham, likewise, wrote his life; and we
have no hesitation in saying, that we knew perfectly
2
14
well at the time the motives of that author for writing
and publishing a work which, we have every reason to
believe, is a libel almost from beginning to end. In
fact, Cheetham had become tired of this country, and
had formed a plan to return to England and become a
ministerial editor, in opposition to Cobbett, and his
"Life of Paine" was written to pave his way back
again. We, therefore, presume that he acted upon the
principle that the end justified the means. * * * *
Had Thomas Paine been a Grecian or Eoman patriot,
in olden times, and performed the same public services
as he did for this country, he would have had the honor
of an Apotheosis. The Pantheon would have been
opened to him, and we should at this day regard his
memory with the same veneration that we do that of
Socrates and Cicero. But posterity will do him justice-
Time, that destroys envy and establishes truth, will
clothe his character in the habiliments that justly be-
long to it. * * * * We cannot resist the disposi-
tion to say, that in suffering the home of the author of
"Common Sense," "The Crisis," and "The Eights of
Man," to lie neglected, in the first place; and secondly,
in permitting it to be violated, and his bones shipped
off to a foreign country, contrary to all the laws of de-
cency and civilization, we have added nothing to the
justice or dignity of our national character; and we
shall rejoice if impartial history tax us not with a gross
departure from both."
"The key of heaven is not in the keeping of any sect, nor ought
the road to it to be obstructed by any. Our relation to each other in
this world is as men, and the man who is a friend to man and to
his rights, let his religious opinions be what they may, is a good
citizen, to whom I can give, as I ought to do, and as every other
ought, the right hand of fellowship." (Pttine's Letter to Samuel
Adams, Jan. 1, 1808.)
15
DR. BENJAMIN RUSH,
A member from Philadelphia of the Continental Con-
gress, and Signer of the Declaration of Independence,
gives the following account of the first appearance of
"Common Sense":
"At that time there was a certain Robert Bell, an in-
telligent Scotch printer and bookseller of Philadelphia,
whom I knew to be as high-toned as Mr. Paine upon the
subject of Independence. I mentioned the pamphlet to
him, and he at once consented to run the risk of pub-
lishing it. The author and the printer were immedi-
ately brought together, and 'Common Sense ; bursted
from the press of the latter, in a few days, with an effect
which. has rarely been produced by types and paper in
any age or country/'
"Mr. Paine's manner of life was desultory. He often
visited in the families of Dr. Franklin, Mr. Rittenhouse,
and Mr. George Clymer, where he made himself accept-
able by a turn he discovered for philosophical as well as
political subjects."
"He (Paine) contributed much in aid of the Revolution
by publishing a pamphlet entitled 'Common Sense.'"
(Duganne's Comprehensive Summary.)
RICHARD HENRY LEE,
A distinguished patriot of the Revolution, and who, as
member of Congress from Virginia, in 1776, first pro-
posed to that body the Declaration of Independence, in
returning thanks to General Washington for a copy of
the Rights of Man, remarked :
"It is a performance of which any man might be
proud; and I most sincerely regret that our country
16
could not have offered sufficient inducements to have
retained, as a permanent citizen, a man so thoroughly
republican in sentiment, and fearless in the expression
of his opinion."
In a letter of Lee to Washington, dated Chantilly,
22d July, 1784, he says :
" The very great respect that I shall ever pay to your
recommendations, would have been very sufficient to
have procured my exertions in favor of Mr. Paine, inde-
pendent of his great public merits in our Revolution.
I have a perfect knowledge of the extraordinary effects
produced by that gentleman's writings; effects of such
an important nature as would render it very unworthy
of these States to let him suffer anywhere; but it. would
be culpable indeed to permit it under their own eye, and
within their own limits. I had not the good fortune to
be present when Mr. Paine's business was considered in
tho House of Delegates (of Virginia) or, most certainly,
I should have exerted myself in his behalf. I have been
told that a proposition in his favor has miscarried, from
its being observed that he had shown enmity to the
State by having written a pamphlet (The Public Good)
injurious to our claim of Western territory. It has
ever appeared to me that this pamphlet was the conse-
quence of Mr. Paine's being himself imposed upon; and
that it was rather the fault of the place than of the
man. This, however, was but a trifle, when compared
with the great and essential services that his other wri-
tings have done for the United States."
"It is the duty of every man, as far as his ability extends, to
detect and expose delusion and error. But nature has not given to
every one a talent for the purpose ; and among those to whom such
talent is given, there is often a want of disposition or of courage
f -e do it." (Pa hie s Examination of Testament.)
17
NAPOLEON BONAPARTE.
The following is related by Clio Eickman, the Poet,
who was with Paine in France :
" When Bonaparte returned (to Paris) from Italy, he
called on Mr. Paine and invited him to dinner. In the
course of his rapturous address to him, he declared thai
a statue of gold ought to be erected to him in every city
of the universe, assuring him that he always slept with
his book " Eights of Man" under his pillow, and conjured
him to honor him with his correspondence and advice."
Eickman then remarks on the above :
"This anecdote is only related as a fact; of the sincerity
of the compliment those must judge who know Bona-
parte's principles best."
It might be here added, that when Napoleon meditated
his invasion of England, by means of gunboats, he se-
cured the services of Paine to organize a government if
it proved successful.
(t Paine was in Washington's camp in December,
1776, and the first number of the ' Crisis' was published.
It was read to every Corporal's guard, and its strong
and truthful language had a powerful effect in the army
and among the people at large." Betij. F. Lossing, in
his Meld Book of the Revolution, vol. 2, p. 275, Note.
MAJOR-GENERAL CHARLES LEE,
Fourteen days after the publication of " Common
Sense," thus wrote to General Washington :
" Have you seen the pamphlet ' Common Sense V I
never saw such a masterly, irresistible performance. It
will, if I mistake not, in concurrence with the transcend-
ent folly and wickedness of the ministry, give the coup
18
de grace to Great Britain. In short, I own myself con-
vinced by the arguments of the necessity of separation."
General Lee, speaking of the wonderful effects of
Paine's writings, said, that " He burst forth on the
world like Jove in thunder l" John Adams says that
Lee used to speak of Paine as " the man with genius in
his eyes."
WILLIAM MASSET,
In his History of England, says: "Thomas Paine's
pamphlet, Common Sense, in which the new doctrines of
liberty and equality were broadly taught, was published
in .America, in January, 1776, and had an immense
circulation. "
Extract from a letter from a gentleman in Charleston,
S. C, dated February 14, 1776:
" Who is the author of Common Sense ? I can hardly
refrain from adoring him. He deserves a statue of
gold." Pennsylvania Journal, March 27, 1776.
CHARLES WILSON PEALE,
In a letter to Silas Deane, dated Philadelphia, July 28,
1779, says:
"Believing Mr. Paine to be a firm friend to America,
and by personal acquaintance with him, gives me an
opportunity of knowing that he had done more for our
common cause than the world, who had only seen his
publications, could know, I thought it my duty to sup-
port him."
19
AARON BURR,
In his compendium of the "Life of Paine," (New York,
1837) Gilbert Yale says:
"In reply to a query which we recently put to Col.
Burr, as to Mr. Paine's alleged vulgarity, intemperance
and want of cleanliness, as disseminated by those who
wished it true, he remarked with dignity, * Sir, he dined
at my table.' Then, am I to understand he was a gen-
tleman? ' Certainly, sir,' replied Col. Burr, <I always
considered Mr. Paine a gentleman, a pleasant compa-
nion, and a good-natured and intelligent man, decidedly
temperate, with a proper regard to his personal appear-
ance, whenever I saw him.'"
JUDGE COOPER,
Who was, according to Thomas Jefferson, " One of the
ablest men in America, and that in several branches of
science," thus wrote :
" I was at Paris at this time (1792,) but previous to
my going there, Mr. Paine, whom I had met at Mr.
Johnson's, my bookseller, in St Paul's Churchyard,
gave me letters of introduction to M. DcCondorcet, and
his wife, Madame DeCondorcet, who read and spoke
the English language with considerable facility. These
letters introduced me to the interesting society of that
very talented writer and his family. I found the letters
of introduction of Mr. Paine honored with that attention
which might be expected towards an estimable and dis-
tinguished man. * * * * I have dined with Mr.
Paine in literary society, at Mr. Tiffins', a merchant in
London, at least a dozen times, when his dress, man-
ners, and conversation were such as became the charac-
20
ter of an unobtrusive, intelligent gentleman, accustomed
to good society. * * * Paine's opinions on theologi-
cal topics underwent no change before his death. "
HENRY C. WRIGHT
Says : " Thomas Paine had a clear idea of God. This
Being embodied his highest conception of truth, love,
wisdom, mercy, liberty and power."
REV. M. D. CONWAY,
In a Sermon preached in Cincinnati, Ohio, on the 29th
of January, 1860, said :
"All efforts to stain the good name of Thomas Paine
have recoiled on those who made them, like poisoned
arrows shot against a strong wind. * * * In his
life, in his justice, in his truth, in his adherence to high
principles, in his disinterestedness, I look in vain for his
parallel in those times, and in these times. I am select-
ing my words; I know I am to be held accountable for
them. So disinterested was he, that when his works
were printed by the ten thousand, and as fast as one
edition was out another was demanded, he, a poor and
pinched author, who might very easily have grown rich,
would not accept one cent for them, declared that he
would not coin his principles, and made to the States a
present of the copyrights. His brain was his fortune
nay, his living; he gave it all to American Inde-
pendence."
"I trouble not myself about the maimer of future existence. 1
content myself with believing, even to positive conviction, that the
power that gave me existence is able to continue it in any form and
21
manner he pleases, either with or without this^ body ; and it appears
more probable to me that I shall continue to exist hereafter, than
that I should have had existence as I now have before that exist-
ence began." (Paine 1 s Age of Reason, page 57, Philada. ed.)
THOMAS CAMPBELL,
The Poet, whose lyrics and didactic writings have
secured him a niche in the Temple of Fame, says:
" Those %vho remember the impression that was made
by Burke's writings on the then living generation, will
recollect that in the better educated classes of society
there was a general proneness to go with Burke, and it
is my sincere opinion that that proneness would have
become universal, if such a mind as Mackintosh's had
not presented itself, like a break-water to the general
spring-tide of Burkeism. I maybe reminded there was
such a man as Thomas Paine, and that he strongl}-
answered at the bar of public opinion all the arguments
of Burke. I do not deny this fact; and I should be
sorr if I could be blind, even with tears for Mackin-
tosh in my eyes, to the services that have been rendered
to the cause of truth by the shrewdness and courage of
Thomas Paine. But without disparagement to Paine,
in a great and essential view, it must be admitted that,
though radically sound in sense, he was deficient in the
strategetics of philosophy ; whilst Mackintosh met
Burke perfectly his equal in the tactics of moral science
and in beauty of style and illustration. Hence Mackin-
tosh went as the apostle of liberalism among a class,
perhaps too influential in society, to whom the manners
of Paine was repulsive. "
22
EDMUND BURKE,
The celebrated Statesman and Orator, whose "Reflec-
tions on the French Revolution" called forth the " Rights
of Man," speaks of' 4 Common Sense" as " that celebrated
pamphlet which prepared the minds of the people for
Independence."
RAMSAY,
"Who, like Gordon, was cotemporary with Paine, says,
in his " History of the Revolution," alluding to " Com-
mon Sense" (see vol. 1, pp. 336-7, London 1793.)
" In union Avith the feelings and sentiments of the
people, it produced surprising effects. Many thousands
were convinced, and were led to approve and long for a
separation from the Mother Country; though that
measure, a few months before, was not only foreign to
their wishes, but the object of their abhorrence, the cur-
rent suddenly became so strong in its favor, that it bore
down all before it."
M Let each of us hold out to his neighbor the hearty hand of
friendship, and unite in drawing a line, which, like an act of ob-
livion, shall bury in forgetfulness every former dissension? Let
the names of Whig and Tory be extinct, and let none other be
heard among us than those of a virtuous supporter of the Eights
op Mankind, and of the Free and Independent States op
America." {Conclusion of Common Sense.)
LORD EDWARD FITZGERALD,
The noble, but unfortunate, Irish patriot, thus wrote to
his mother, from Paris, in 1792, of the abused Thomas
Paine, showing clearly that the more closely the habits
23
of that great man were studied, the more great and re-
splendent did they shine forth :
"I lodge with my friend Paine; we breakfast, dine
and sup together. The more I see of his interior, the
more I like and respect him. I cannot express how
kind he has been to me; there is a simplicity of man-
ner, a goodness of heart, and a strength of mind in him
that I NEVER KNEW A MAN BEFORE POSSESS."
. WILLIAM GRIMSHAW,
In his "History of the United States/' after acknow-
ledging the merits of Dickinson, Bland, Franklin,
Nicholas, Lee, Jefferson, and others, who supported the
cause of the colonists with their pens, says :
"But the most powerful writer was the celebrated
Thomas Paine, of London, who resided for some time in
America, and, in a work entitled Common Sense, roused
the public feeling to a degree unequaled by any previous
appeal."
MARCtTJIS DE CHASTELLEUX,
Author of a work on " Public Happiness" and a cherished
friend of General Washington, thus speaks of Paine, in
his " Travels in America :"
" I know not how it happened that since my arrival
in America, 1 had not yet seen Mr. Paine, that author
so celebrated in America and throughout Europe, by his
excellent work entitled, ' Common Sense,' and several
other political pamphlets. M. I)e Lafayette and my-
self had asked the permission of an interview for the
14th, in the morning, and we waited on him accordingly
with Col. Laurens. I discovered at his apartments all
24
the attributes of a man of letters, a room pretty much
in disorder, dusty furniture, and a large table covered
with books, lying open, and manuscripts begun. * *
Having formerly held a post in Government, he has now
no connection with it; and as his patriotism and his
talents are unquestionable, it is natural to conclude that
the vivacity of his imagination, and the independence of
his character, render him more calculated for reasoning
on affairs, than for conducting them."
u The ' Rights of Man' had much been read in this
country. Even the ' Age of Reason' had obtained an
immense circulation from the great reputation of the
author." (Atlantic Monthly, vol. 4, p. 9.)
LORD ERSKINE,
f 'The greatest forensic advocate since the days of Cicero/'
speaking of the American Revolution, said :
'In that great and calamitous conflict, Edmund Burke
and Thomas Paine fought in the same field together, but
with very different success. Mr. Burke spoke to a
Parliament in England, such as Sir George Saville de-
scribes it, having no ears but for sounds that nattered
its corruptions. Mr. Paine, on the other hand, spoke
to the people, reasoned with them, told them they were
bound by no subjection to any sovereignty, further than
their own benefit connected them ; and by these power-
ful arguments prepared the minds of the American
people for that glorious, just, and happy Revolution."
JUDGE HERTELL,
Of New York, says:
"No man in modern ages has done more to benefit
mankind, or distinguished himself more for the immense
25
moral good he has effected for his species than Thomas
Paine; who in truth merits eternal life, and, doubtless
will be immortalized in the memory and gratitude of
future generations of happy beings, who will continue to
hymn his praises and make his merits known to remo-
test posterity."
" It was the cause of America that made mo an author." (Thos.
Paine. )
SIR FRANCIS BURDETT
Thus alluded to Thomas Paine, in a speech in London,
in 1797, as Chairman of a meeting of the " Friends of
Parliamentary Reform" :
" Union ! It is union among the people that ministers
dread. They are aware that when once the people
unite in demanding their rights, then there must be an
end to illegitimate power; I mean all power not derived
from the people. Ministers know that a united people
are not to be resisted ; and it is this that we must un-
derstand by what is written in the works of an horxest
man too long calumniated, I mean Thomas Paine."
MADAME DE STAEL,
In her " Considerations on the French Revolution,"
says :
" Thomas Paine was the most violent of the American
Democrats ; and yet, there was neither calculation
nor hypocrisy in his political exaggerations. When the
sentence of Louis XYI came under discussion, he alone
advised what would have done honor to Franco if it had
3
been adopted, the offer to the King of an asylum in
America. ' The Americans are grateful to him/ said
Paine, ' for having promoted their Independence.' "
MADAME ROLAND,
In her "Appeal," says: (See vol. i, part 2, page 45, ed.
1798.)
"Among the persons I was in the habit of receiving,
and of whom I have already described the most remark-
able, Paine deserves to be mentioned. Declared a
French citizen, as one of those celebrated foreigners
whom the nation ought with eagerness to adopt, he was
known by writings which had been useful in the Ame-
rican Kevolution, and might have contributed to pro-
duce one in England. I shall not take upon me to de-
cide decisively on his character, because he understood
French without speaking it, and I was nearly in the
same situation with respect to English; I was, there-
fore, less able to converse with him myself than to listen
to his discourses with those whose political talents were
greater than my own. The boldness of his conceptions,
the originality of his style, the striking truths which he
boldly throws out in the midst of those whom they
offend, must necessarily have produced great effects;
but I should think him better qualified to scatter, if I
may be allowed the expression, the flames of conflagra-
tion, than to discuss primary principles or prepare the
formation of Government."
General Washington's Allowance of Grog to his Gar-
dener. G. W. P. Custis, in his " Recollections of "Washington,"
gives a copy of a contract, written in Washington's own hand, be-
tween George Washington and Philip Barton, his gardener.
After the usual clauses, it provides that the said Barton " will not,
27
at any time, suffer himself to be disguised with liquor, except on
terms hereafter mentioned." After enumerating the clothing, etc-,
to be furnished, it further says, he was to be allowed "four dollars
at Christmas, with which he may be drunk four days and four
nights. Also, two dollars at "Whitsuntide to be drunk two days ;
also a dram in the morning, and a drink of grog at dinner at
REV. GEORGE CROLY,
In his "Life of George IV," thus speaks of Thomas
Paine :
a An impartial estimate of this remarkable person has
been rarely formed, and still more rarely expressed. He
was, assuredly, one of the original men of the age in
which he lived. It has been said that he owed success
to vulgarity. No one competent to judge, could read a
page of his i Eights of Man/ without seeing that this is
a clumsy misrepresentation. There is a peculiar origi-
nality in his style of thought and expression, his diction
is not vulgar or illiterate, but nervous,' simple, and
scientific. Others have said of him, with more truth,
that he owed his popularity to the hardihood with which
he proclaimed and vindicated his errors. Paine, like
the young Spartan warrior, went into the field stripped
bare to the last thread of prudent conventional disguise;
and thus not only fixed the gaze of men upon his intre-
pid singularity, but exhibited the vigor of his faculties
in full play. His ambition seems to have been that of
an eccentric, well-intentioned desperado."
" I consider myself in the hands of my Creator, and that he will
dispose of me after this life consistently with his justice and good-
ness. I leave all these matters to Him as my Creator and friend,
and I hold it to be presumption in man to make an article of faith
as to what the Creator will do with us hereafter." [Thos. Paine s
" Thoughts on a Future State.'')
'Though Nature is gay, polite, and generous abroad, she is sul-
len, rude and niggardly at home : return the visit and she admits
you with all the suspicion of a miser, and all the reluctance of an
antiquated beauty retired to replenish her charms. Bred up in
antediluvian notions, she has not yet acquired the European taste
of receiving visitants in her dressing-room ; she locks and bolts up
her private recesses with extraordinary care, as if not only re-
solved to preserve her hoards but to conceal her age, and hide the
remains of a face that was young and lovely in the days of Adam.
He that would view Nature in her undress, and partake of her in-
ternal treasures, must proceed with the resolution of a robber, if
not a ravisher. She gives no invitation to follow her to the cavern.
The external earth makes no proclamation of the interior stores,
but leaves to chance and industry the discovery of the whole. In
such gifts as nature can annually re-create, she is noble and pro-
fuse, and entertains the whole world with the interests of her for-
tunes, but watches over the capital with the care of a miser. Her
gold and jewels lie concealed in the earth, in caves of utter dark-
ness ; the hoards of wealth, heaps upon heaps, mould in the chests,
like the riches of a necromancer's cell. It must be very pleasant
to an adventurous speculist to make excursions into these Gothic
regions; and in his travels he may possibly come to a cabinet
locked up in some rocky vault, whose treasures shall reward hi3
toil, and enable him to shine, on his return, as splendidly as nature
herself." ( Written by Paine for the "Pennsylvania Magazine.")
JOEL BARLOW,
The poet, patriot and statesman, an intimate friend of
Paine, says:
"He was one of the most benevolent and disinterested
of mankind, endowed with the clearest perception, an
uncommon share of original genius, and the greatest
depth of thought. * * * *
"He ought to be ranked among the brightest and un-
deviating luminaries of the age in which he lived.
"As a visiting acquaintance and a literary friend, he
was one of the most instructive men I ever have known.
29
He had a surprising memory and a brilliant fancy. His
mind was a storehouse of facts and useful observations.
He was full of lively anecdote, and ingenious, original,
pertinent remark upon almost every subject. * * *
"He was always charitable to the poor beyond his
means, a sure protector and a friend to all Americans in
distress that he found in foreign countries; and he had
frequent occasion to exert his influence in protecting
them during the Revolution in France. * * *
"His writings will answer for his patriotism." * *
"In a great affair, where the good of man is at stake, I love to
work for nothing; and so fully am I under the influence of this
principle, that I should lose the spirit, the pleasure, and the pride
of it, were I conscious that 1 looked for reward. [Thomas Paine.)
R. SHELTON MACKENZIE, D. C. L.,
An author, critic and literary editor of great ability, in
an article on Muir, the Scotch Reformer, published in
the Philadelphia Press, said:
"Holding the belief that Paine's theological works
had much better never have been written, we cannot
ignore the fact that he w T as one of the ablest politicians
of his time, and that liberal minds, all over the world,
recognized him as such. The publication of his 'Rights
of Man/ while the French Revolution was proceeding,
had so greatly alarmed Pitt, and the other members of
the British Government, that a state prosecution was
commenced to crush himself and his book."
REV. JEDEDIAH MORSE,
In his "Annals of the American Revolution," says:
"A pamphlet, under the signature of ' Common Sense/
written by Thomas Paine, produced a great effect.
30
While it demonstrates the necessity, the advantages,
and the practicability of Independence, it treats kingly
government with opprobrium, and hereditary succession
with ridicule. The change of the public mind on this
occasion is without a parallel."
" Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom, must, like
men, undergo the fatigues of supporting it. "We fight not to en-
slave, but to set a country free." (The Crisis, iVo. 4.)
WILLIAM COBBETT,
Author of a "History of the Keformation," and several
other works, and at one time a violent opponent of Thos.
Paine, says, in his "Paper against Gold":
"In principles of finance, Mr. Paine was deeply
skilled; and to his very great and rare talents as a
writer, he added an uncommon degree of experience in
the concerns of paper money. * * * Events have
proved the truths of his principles on this subject, and
to point out the fact is no more than an act of justice
due to his talents, and an act more particularly due at
my hands, I having been one of his most violent assailants."
In his "Political Begister," he confessed that,
" Old ago having laid his hand upon this truly great
man, this truly philosophical politician, at his expiring
flambeau I lighted my taper."
He also says:
"I saw Paine first pointing the way, and then leading
a nation through perils and difficulties of all sorts to
Independence, and to lasting liberty, prosperity, and
greatness."
"The word of God is the creation we behold: and it is in this
word, which no human invention can counterfeit or alter, that God
(gpeakcth universally toman." (Thos. Paine' s Age of Reason, p. 25,
Ph Hade Iphia edition . )
31
ABBE SIEYES,
The distinguished French statesman, in 1791, upon the
appearance of Paine's "Eights of Man" in France, thus
wrote :
"Mr. Thomas Paine is one of those men who most
contributed to the establishment of a Republic in
America. In England, his ardent love of humanity, and
his hatred of every form of tyranny, prompted him to
defend the French Revolution against the rhapsodical
declamation of Mr. Burke. His ' Rights of Man/ trans-
lated into our language, is universally known, and
where is the patriotic Frenchman who has not already,
from the depths of his soul, thanked him for having for-
tified our cause with all the power of his reason and
his reputation. It is with great pleasure that I embrace
this occasion to offer him a tribute of my thankfulness
and profound esteem, for the truly philanthropise use
he makes of his distinguished talents."
SAMUEL ADAMS,
One of the most bold and sturdy patriots of the revolu-
tion, and a signer of the Declaration of Independence
in 1802, in a letter to Paine, lamenting the publication
of the " Age of Reason," says :
" I have frequently, with pleasure, reflected on your
services to my native and your adopted country. Your
'Common Sense/ and your * Crisis' unquestionably
awakened the public mind, and led the people loudly to
call for a Declaration of our National Independence."
32
ARTHUR O'CONNER
Wrote the following lines, had them printed, and dis-
tributed them himself, on his way to imprisonment at
Fort George, in 1798 :
I.
" The pomp of courts and pride of kings,
I prize beyond all earthly things;
I love my country, but the king,
Above all men, his praise I sing;
The royal banners are displayed
And may success the standard aid.
II.
" I fain would banish far from hence
The Rights of Man and Common Sense,
Confusion to his odious reign,
That foe to princes Thomas Paine!
Defeat and Ruin seize the cause
Of France, her liberties and laws."
(Read the first line of the second verse immediately
after the first line of the first verse the second line of
the second verse, after the second line of the first, and
thus continue throughout to connect the corresponding
linos of each verse having previously read them in the
usual manner. The two modes of reading will be found
ingeniously to convey distinct and opposite meanings.)
An American girl once observed of Mr Paine, that,
"His head was like an orange it had a separate apart-
ment for everything it contained."
33
WILLIAM HOWITT,
In Cassell's Illustrated History of England/' says :
" There was no man in the Colonies, nevertheless, who
contributed so much to bring the open Declaration of
Independence to a crisis, as Thomas Paine, the cele-
brated author of l The Eights of Man/ and the ' Age
ofKeason.'" ***
" This Pamphlet (Common Sense) was the spark which
was all that was needed to fire the train of Independence.
It at once seized on the imagination of the public ; cast
all other writers into the shade, and flew in thousands
and tens of thousands all over the Colonies. * * * During
the winter and spring, this lucid and admirably reasoned
pamphlet was read and discussed everywhere, and by
all classes, bringing the conviction that immediate in-
dependence was necessary. The common fire blazed
up in the Congress, and the thing was done. * * * * He
(Paine) became the great oracle on subjects of govern-
ments and constitutions, and contrived, both by personal
exertions and through the press, to urge on the utter
separation of the Colonies from the mother country."
" Ship Building is America's greatest pride, in which, she will,
in time, excel the whole world." (Paine's " Common Sense.'")
MARY HOWITT,
In her "History of the United States/' says:
"Early in this year (1776) Thomas Paine, a recent
emigrant to America, and editor of the Pennsylvania
Magazine, published a pamphlet, called ' Common Sense/
which spoke at once the secret sentiment of the people.
It went direct to the point, showing, in the simplest but
strongest language, the folly of keeping up the British
34
connection, and the absolute necessity which existed for
separation. The cause of Independence took, as it
were, a definite form from this moment."
HON. SALMA HALE,
In his "History of the United States," says:
"A pamphlet, entitled 'Common Sense,' written by
Mr. Thomas Paine, an Englishman, was universally
read, and most highly admired. In language plain,
forcible, and singularly well fitted to operate on the
public mind, he portrayed the excellencies of Eepubli-
can institutions, and attacked, with happy and success-
ful ridicule, the principles of hereditary government.
The effect of the pamphlet in making converts was
astonishing, and is probably without precedent in the
annals of literature."
CHARLES JAMES FOX,
The English statesman, said of Paine's ' Eights of Man:'
"It seems as clear and as simple as the first rule of
arithmetic."
MARY L. BOOTH,
In her excellent "History of New York," alluding to
the opposition to Independence manifested by the
masses in the early part of the struggle, says :
"At this juncture 'Common Sense' was published in
Philadelphia, by Thomas Paine, and electrified the whole
nation with the spirit of Independence and Liberty.
This eloquent production severed the last link that bound
35
the Colonies to the mother country; it boldly gave
speech to the arguments which had long been trembling
on the lips of many, but which none before had found
courage to utter; and, accepting its conclusions, several
of the Colonies instructed their delegates, in the Conti-
nental Congress, to close their eyes against the ignis
fatuus of loyalty, and fearlessly to throw off their alle-
giance to the Crown."
REV. WILLIAM GORDON,
In his "History of the Bevolution," says: (vol. 2, p. 78,
New York, 1794.)
" The publications which have appeared have greatly
promoted the spirit of Independency, but no one so
much as the pamphlet under the signature of ' Common
Sense/ written by Mr. Thomas Paine, an Englishman.
Nothing could have been better timed than this per-
formance. It has produced most astonishing effects."
GEN. WM. A. STOKES,
A distinguished member of the Bar of Pennsylvania,
and by no means an admirer of Paine, is obliged, like
Cheetham, to confess that the author of " Common
Sense" and the u Crisis"
" Eagerly embraced the cause of the Colonies, and
was soon to act an important and meritorious part.
When ' Common Sense' was published a great blow was
struck it was felt from New England to the Carolinas,
it resounded throughout the world. * * * * He not only
reasoned, he flattered ; he availed himself of prejudice,
he dealt freely in invective. For this I do not censure
him; for the tribune of the people, whose words
36
were to dismember an empire, might well resort to all
the aids of art in accomplishing his stupendous task. *
* * * Paine's brawny arm applied the torch which set
the country in a flame, to be extinguished only by the
relinquishment of British supremacy, and for this,
irrespective of his motives and character, he merits
THE GRATITUDE OF EVERY AMERICAN."
SAMUEL BRYAN,
Secretary to Council of Censors on Pennsylvania Con-
stitution, 1776, said :
" This book, ' Common Sense/ may be called the book
of Genesis, for it was the beginning. From this book
sprang the Declaration of Independence, that not only
laid the foundation of liberty in our own country, but
the good of mankind throughout the world."
CHARLES PHILLIPS,
The eloquent Irish barrister, w r rote the following beau-
tiful tribute to Paine. It may be found in his " Loves
of Celestine and St. Hubert:"
"Among these, there was one whom I could not help
viewing with peculiar admiration, because, by the sole
power of surprising genius, he had surmounted the dis-
advantages of birth and the difficulties of fortune. It
was the celebrated Thomas Paine, a man who, no mat-
ter what may be the difference of opinion as to his prin-
ciples, must ever remain a proud example of mind, un-
patronized and unsupported, eclipsing the factitious
beams of rank, and wealth, and pedigree! I never saw
him in his captivity, or heard the revilings by which he
has since been assailed, without cursing in my heart
37
that ungenerous feeling which, cold to the necessities
of genius, is clamorous in the publication of its defects.
* * * * i Ye great ones of his nation! ye pretended
moralists, so forward now to cast your interested indig-
nation upon the memory of Paine, where were you in
the day of his adversity? which of you, to assist his in-
fant merit, would diminish even the surplus of your
debaucheries ? where the mitred charity the practical
religion? Consistent declaimers, rail on! What, though
his genius was the gift of heaven, his heart the altar of
friendship! What, though wit and eloquence, and an-
ecdote flowed freely from his tongue, while conviction
made her voice his messenger! What, though thrones
trembled, and prejudice fled, and freedom came at his
command ! He dared to question the creed which you,
believing, contradicted, and to despise the rank which
you, boasting of, debased.' "
PAUL ALLEN,
In his "History of the American Kevolution," says:
"Among the numerous writers on this momentous
question, the most luminous, the most eloquent, and the
most forcible, was Thomas Paine. His pamphlet, enti-
tled ' Common Sense/ was not only read, but understood,
by everybody. It contained plain and simple truths,
told in a style and language that came home to the
heart of every man; and those who regard the inde-
pendence of the United States as a blessing, will never
cease to cherish the remembrance of Thomas Paine.
Whatever may have been his subsequent career in
whatever light his moral or religious principles may be
regarded, it should never be forgotten that to him, more
than to any single individual, was owing the rapid dif-
fusion of those sentiments and feelings which produced
the act of separation from Groat Britain."
4
ROBERT BISSET, LL.D.,
In his "Life of Edmund Burke," says:
"A pamphlet, entitled ( Common Sense/ published by
Thomas Paine, afterwards so famous in Europe, contri-
buted very much to the ratification of the independ-
ence of America/' * * *
In his "History of the Eeign of George III," Bisset
" Thomas Paine was represented (in England) as the
minister of God, diffusing light to a darkened world."
RICHARD HILDRETH,
In his " History of the United States," says :
u No little excitement was produced by the publica-
tion, in Philadelphia, about this time, (1776) of ' Com-
mon Sense/ a pamphlet by Thomas Paine. * * * *
It argued in that plain and convincing style, for which
Paine was so distinguished, the folly of any longer
attempting to keep up the British connection, and the
absolute necessity of a final and formal separation.
Pitched exactly to the popular tone, it had a wide cir-
culation throughout the Colonies, and gave a powerful
impulse to the cause of independence."
THOMAS CLIO RICKMAN,
Author of a number of poems, tales and political
pamphlets, says :
" Why seek occasions, surly critics and detractors, to
maltreat and misrepresent Mr. Paine ? He was mild,
unoffending, sincere, gentle, humble, and unassuming ;
his talents were soaring, acute, profound, extensive and
original; and he possessed that charity which covers
a multitude of sins/'
" I ever feel myself hurt when I hear the Union, that great
palladium of our liberty and safety, the least irreverently spoken
of. Our citizenship in the United States is our national character,
our citizenship in any particular Suite is only our local distinction.
Our great title is Americans, our inferior one varies with the place."
{Thomas Paine, the Crisis, No. XV.)
W. H. BARTLETT,
In his "History of the United States of America/
says:
"It was at this critical period, while this feeling,
though inoperative, yet lingered in the minds of the
people, and when, although the thing itself had become
familiarized to most minds as equally necessary and de-
sirable, every one held back from boldly pronouncing the
word Independence, that there appeared a pamphlet
called ' Common Sense/ written by Thomas Paine, the
celebrated author of the 'Eights of Man/ who had re-
cently emigrated from England, and ardently embraced
the American cause. Perceiving the hesitation in the
public mind, he set himself to the work of dissipating it
by a clear and convincing statement of the actual position
of affairs. He plainly exposed the impossibility of a last-
ing reconciliation with England, and showed that inde-
pendence had not only become the only safe or honor-
able course, but that it was as practicable as it was
desirable. * * * * This pamphlet, written in a
popular and convincing style, and expressly adapted to
the state of public feeling, produced an indescribable
sensation. The ice was now broken; those who,
40
although convinced, had hitherto held back, came boldly
forward, while many who had halted between two opi-
nions now yielded to the force of necessity and em-
braced the popular side."
"It is only by acting in union that the usurpations of foreign
nations on the freedom of trade can be counteracted, and security
extended to the commerce of America. And when we view a flag,
which, to the eye, is beautiful, and to contemplate its rise and
origin, inspires a sensation of sublime delight, our national honor
must unite with our interest to prevent injury to the one, or insult
to the other." (Thomas Paine, " The Crisis," No. XVI.)
DR. JOHN W. FRANCIS,
Of New York, said :
" No work had the demand for readers comparable to
that of Paine. i The Age of Reason' on its first appear-
ance in New York was printed as an orthodox book, by
orthodox publishers, doubtless deceived by the vast re-
nown which the author of ' Common Sense' had ob-
tained."
" Hiu (Paine's) career was wonderful, even for the
age of miraculous events he lived in. In America he
was a revolutionary hero of the first rank, who carried
letters in his pocket from George Washington thanking
him for his services ; and he managed besides to write
his name in large letters in the history of England and
France." (Atlantic Monthly, vol. iv, p. 16.)
" The Democratic movement of the last eighty years,
be it a f finality' or only a phase of progress towards a
more perfect state, is the grand historical fact of modern
times, and Paine's name is intimately connected with
it."-iibid, P .n.)
41
BENJ. F. LOSSING
Says : " It (Common Sense) was the earliest and most
powerful appeal in behalf of independence, and probably
did more to fix that idea firmly in the public mind than
any other instrumentality." (Field Book of Revolution,
vol ii, p. 274.)
" The flame of desire for absolute independence glow-
ed in every patriot bosom at the beginning of 1776,
and the vigorous paragraphs of ' Common Sense/ and kin-
dred publications, laboring with the voice of impas-
sioned oratory at every public gathering of the people,
uncapped the volcano." (Ibid, p. 277.)
" It is only in the creation that all our ideas and conceptions of a
word of God can unite. The creation speaketh a universal lan-
guage, independently of human speech, or human language, multi-
plied and various as they he. It is an ever existing original which
every man can read. It cannot be forged ; it cannot be counter-
feited ; it cannot he lost ; it cannot be altered ; it cannot be sup-
pressed. It does not depend upon the will of man whether it shall
be published or not ; it publishes itself from one end of the earth
to the other. It preaches to all nations and to all worlds, and this
word of God reveals to man all that is necessary for man to know
of God. Do we want to contemplate his power ? "We see it in the
immensity of the creation. Do we want to contemplate his wis-
dom ? "We see it in the unchangeable order by which the incom-
prehensible whole is governed. Do we want to contemplate his
munificence ? We see it in the abundance with which he fills the
earth. Do we want to contemplate his mercy ? We see it in his
not withholding that abundance even from the unthankful."
[Paine 's "Age of Reason," page 26.)
DR. LADD,
A prominent poet of the Revolution, and, of course, like
Ramsay, Allen, Botta, Gordon, and others, cited in this
4*
42
little work, a co temporary of Thomas Paine, pays the
following eloquent and glowing tribute to that remark-
able man :
" Long live the man, in early contest found,
Who spoke his heart when dastards trembled round;
Who, fired with more than Greek or Eoman rage,
Flashed truth on tyrants from his manly page
Immortal Paine ! whose pen surprised we saw,
Could fashion Empires while it kindled awe.
When first with awful front to crush her foes,
All bright in glittering arms, Columbia rose,
Prom thee our sons the generous mandate took,
As if from Heaven some oracle had spoke ;
And when thy pen revealed the grand design,
'Twas done Columbia's liberty was thine."
"It is certain that, in one point, all nations of the earth and all
religions agree ; all believe in a God ; the things in which they dis-
agree are the redundancies annexed to that belief; and, therefore,
if ever an universal religion should prevail, it will not be believing
anything new, but getting rid of redundancies, and believing as
man first believed. Adam, if ever there was such a man, was
created a Deist ; but in the meantime let every man follow, as he
has a right to do, the religion and worship he prefers." [Age of
Reason, p. 58.)
JAMES CHEETHAM,
The notorious apostate, speaking of whose "Life of
Paine," a Christian cotemporary* of his remarked, "we
have every reason to believe it is a libel almost from
beginning to end," is compelled to admit, speaking of
Paine'a l Common Sense/ that: (See "Life of Paine," pp.
45-6.)
* Soloir.nn Southwick.
43
* This pamphlet, of 40 octavo pages, holding out re-
lief by proposing Independence to an oppressed and
despairing people, was published in January, 1776.
Speaking a language which the Colonists had felt but
not thought, its popularity, terrible in its consequences
to the parent country, was unexampled in the history
of the press. At first, involving the Colonists, it was
thought, in the crime of rebellion, and pointing to a
road leading inevitably to ruin, it was read with indig-
nation and alarm, but when the reader, (and everybody
read it) recovering from the first shock, reperused it, its
arguments, nourishing his feelings and appealing to his
pride, re-animated his hopes and satisfied his under-
standing, that 'Common Sense/ backed by the resources
and forces of the Colonies, poor and feeble as they were,
could alone rescue them from the unqualified oppression
with which they were threatened." "His pen was an
appendage to the army of Independence as necessary
and as formidable as its cannon. Having no property
he fared as the army fared. * * * When the Colo-
nists drooped, he revived them with a < Crisis/ The
object of it was good, the method excellent, and the
language suited to the depressed spirits of the army."
(Life of Paine, page 55.)
JAMES THOMPSON CALLENDER,
In his " Sketches of the History of America," says:
(1798.)
"On titles Thomas Paine has written with great suc-
cess; and this is one reason why the friends of order
hate him. Abuse of this author is now as naturally
expected in a federal newspaper as tea and chocolate in
a grocer's store. To such things compare two resolu-
44
tions of Congress of the 26th August, and 3d October,
1785. In consequence of his 'early, unsolicited, and
continued labors in explaining and enforcing the prin-
ciples of the late Revolution, by ingenious and timely
publications, upon the nature of liberty and civil govern-
ment/ they direct the board of treasury to pay him
three thousand dollars. This attestation outweighs the
clamor of the six per cent, orators. They dread, they
revile, and, if able, they would persecute Thomas
Paine, because he possesses talents and courage suffi-
cient to rend assunder the mantle of speculation, and to
delineate the rickety growth of our public debt."
* # * * "Wishing ye may always fully and uninterruptedly
enjoy every civil and religious right; and be in your turn the
means of securing it to others, but that the example which ye have
unwisely set, of mingling religion with politics, may be disavowed
and reprobated by every inhabitant of America " [Paine' 's ' 'Address
to Quakers.")
CHARLES BOTTA,
An Italian patriot, historian, and physician, who fought
for American Independence, and who must have been
a good judge of the influence and merits of Paine's
writings, says :
" At this epoch appeared a writing entitled l Common
Sense ; it was the production of Thomas Paine, born in
England, and arrived not long before in America. No
writer, perhaps, ever possessed, in a higher degree, the
art of moving and guiding the multitude at his will. It
may be affirmed, in effect, that this work was one of the
most powerful instruments of American Independence.
The author endeavored, with very plausible arguments,
to demonstrate that the opposition of parties, the diver-
45
sity of interests, the arrogance of the British Govern-
ment, and its ardent thirst of vengeance, rendered all
reconciliation impossible. On the other hand, he en-
larged upon the necessity, utility, and possibility of In-
dependence. * * * The success of this writing of
Paine cannot be described."
"O! ye that love mankind ! ye that dare oppose, not only the
tyranny, hut the tyrant, stand forth ! Every spot in the old world
is overrun with oppression. Freedom hath been hunted round the
Globe, Asia and Africa have long expelled her. Europe regards
her like a stranger, and England hath given her warning to depart.
O ! receive the fugitive, and prepare in time an asylum for man-
kind." (Fame's " Common Sense")
THOMAS GASPEY,
In his "History of England," says:
"At this period the celebrated Thomas Paine had
entered upon his career as a public writer. In January,
1776, his pamphlet, entitled l Common Sense/ appeared.
That able production has been said to have been the
joint composition of Paine, Dr. Franklin, Mr. Samuel
and John Adams. Paine, however, denies that they in
any way directly assisted him ; to the two latter gentle-
men he was not known at the time. He had been in-
troduced to Franklin in England. *****
Paine was originally a member of the Society of Friends,
and brought up as a stay maker at Thetford. Subse-
quently he obtained a situation in the excise, but left it
to become an assistant in a school; he became an ex-
ciseman again, and a pamphlet which he wrote caused
him to be noticed by Franklin, who advised him to visit
America. 'Common Sense' opened with reflections on
the origin and design of government, and it then pro-
ceeded with a vigorous hand to expose the abuses which
had crept into the English system. * * * * The
clear and powerful style of Paine made a prodigious
impression on the American people. *****
He was treated with great consideration by the mem-
bers of the Revolutionary Government, who took no step
of importance ivithout consulting him."
" The world may know, that as far as we approve of
monarchy, in America the law is king." (Common Sense,
p. 46.)
STEPHEN SIMPSON,
Author of a "Life of Stephen Girard," &c, says, in his
"Lives of Washington and Jefferson with a Parallel:"
"To these followed pamphlets and essays; among
which stood in bold and prominent relief, distinguished
for its eloquence, patriotism, and energy, the 'Common
Sense' of Thomas Paine ; which, combining great force
of language, and power of argument with an irresistible
array of facts and principles, too obvious to be denied
and too reasonable to be confuted, carried conviction to
every mind at the same time that they enlisted the
most ardent feelings in the cause of liberty and inde-
pendence ; agitating the calm and temperate with a
glowing love of country, and infusing irresistible enthu-
siasm into the bosoms of the ardent champions of the
'Rights of Man.' * * * LueidJuJiis style, forcible
in his diction, and happy in his illustrations, he threw
the charms of poetry over the statue of reason, and
made converts to liberty as if a power of fascination pre-
sided over his pen. * * * The writings of Thomas
Paine have been admitted to have had more influence
47
in the accomplishment of the separation of the Colonies
from the Mother Country than any other cause. * *
To the genius of Thomas Paine, as a popular writer, and
to that of George Washington, as a prudent, skillful, and
consummate general, are the American people indebted
for their rights, liberties and independence. The high
opinion of Paine, entertained by Washington, and pub-
licly expressed by the latter, sheds fresh lustre on the
incomparable merits of the great leader of the Army of
the Revolution."
BAINES, THE HISTORIAN,
In his "Wars of the Kevolution," says, speaking of the
influence of Paine's political writings in England:
" As the current of popular opinion did not flow in the
same direction as the favor of the Court, a pamphlet,
entitled the ( Rights of Man,' in which sentiments of an
opposite kind were maintained with peculiar asperity
and animadversion, was read and circulated in such a
manner as to alarm the administration. Editions were
multiplied in every form and size; it was alike seen in
the hands of the noble and of the plebeian, and became,
at length, translated into the various languages of Eu-
rope. Tho cabinet council soon after issued a proclama-
tion against 'wicked and seditious libels/ prosecutions
were commenced with a zeal unknown under the go-
vernment of the reigning family; and it was reserved
for the singular fortune of an unlettered man, after
contributing by one publication to the establishment of
a transatlantic republic in North America, to introduce,
with astonishing effect, the doctrines of democratic go-
vernment into the first states of Europe."
48
HENRY G. WATSON,
In his "History of the United States/ 7 says:
"A pamphlet, entitled 'Common Sense/ written by
Thomas Paine, arguing, in plain language, the advan-
tage and necessity of Independence, effected a complete
revolution in the feelings and sentiments of the great
mass of the people/'
"The Almighty Lecturer, by displaying the principles of science
in the structure of the universe, has invited man to study and to
imitation. It is as if He had said to the inhabitants of this globe,
that we call ours, 'I have made an earth for man to dwell upon,
and I have rendered the starry heavens visible to teach him science
and the arts. He can now provide for his own comfort, and
LEARN FROM MY MUNIFICENCE TO ALL TO BE KIND TO EACH
other.' " [Paints "Age of Reason, 1 ' p. 33.)
FRANCIS OLDYS, (George Chalmers,)
In his " Life of Paine," says :
" Notwithstanding the reviews of criticism, our author
received the applause of party. Nay, Philology came,
in the person of Home Tooke, who found out his retreat
after some enquiry, to mingle her cordial congratula-
tions with the thanks of greater powers. ' You are/
said he, ' like Jove, coming down upon us in a shower of
gold.'"
" If there is a sin superior to every other, it is that of wilful and
offensive war. Most othej sins are circumscribed within various
limits, that is, the power of one man cannot give them a very
general extension, but he who is the author of war, lets loose the
whole contagion of hell, and opens a vein that bleeds a nation to
death." ( The Crisis," No. 5.)
49
CAPEL LOFFT,
An English barrister, poet and miscellaneous writer,
made use of the following language, in a letter to T. C.
Eickman, in 1795, after strongly criticising the "Age of
Reason:"
"I am glad Paine is living: he cannot be even wrong
without enlightening mankind; such is the vigor of his
intellect, such the acuteness of his research, and such
the force and vivid perspicuity of his expression/'
ALEXANDER ANDREWS,
In his "History of British Journalism," says:
"Soon after this Thomas Paine's pamphlet, published
at irregular periods, but all numbered and paged like
newspapers, and named the ' American Crisis/ appeared,
and first pronounced the words which had been falter-
ing upon so many blanched lips, and trembling tongues
of men who shuddered as they saw the only alternative
more plainly Independence and Separation."
* # * * j n my religious publications my endeavors have
been directed to bring man to a right use of the reason that God
has given him ; to impress on him the great principles of divine
morality, justice, mercy, and a benevolent disposition to all men,
and to all creatures, and to inspire in him a spirit of trust, confi-
dence, and consolation in his Creator, unshackled by the fables of
books pretending to be the word of God." (Thomas Paine.)
MR. BOND,
An English Surgeon, who was confined in the Luxem-
bourg prison in Paris at the same time Paine was, and
5
50
who disagreed with him in both political and theologi-
cal matters, asserts that :
" Mr Paine, while hourly expecting to die, read to me
parts of his 'Age of Eeason/ and every night when I
left him to be separately locked up, and expected not to
see him alive in the morning, he always expressed his firm
belief in the principles of that book, and begged I would
tell the world such were his dying opinions. He often
said that if he lived he should prosecute further that
work and print it."
Mr. Bond has frequently observed, says Eickman, the
poet, that Paine was
" The most conscientious man he ever knew."
"My path is a right line, as straight and clear to me as a ray of
light. The boldness (if they will have it so) with which I speak
on any subject, is a compliment to the person I address; it is like
saying to him, I treat you as a man, and not as a child. "With re-
spect to any worldly object, as it is impossible to discover any in me,
therefore what I do, and my manner of doing it, ought to be ascribed
to a good motive." -{Thomas Paine )
WILLIAM SMYTHE,
In his "Lectures on Modern History," speaking of the
"American Eevolution," says:
"You will now observe the arguments that were used;
you will see them in the very celebrated pamphlet of
Paine his * Common Sense' a pamphlet whose effect
was such that it was quite a feature in this memorable
contest. You may now read it, and wonder how a per-
formance not marked, as you may at first sight suppose,
with any particular powers of eloquence could possibly
produce effects so striking. * * * * The pamphlet
of Paine was universally read and admired in America,
and is said to have contributed most materially to the
vote of Independence, passed by Congress in 1776."
51
REV. ABIEL HOLMES,
In his "Annals of America/ 7 says:
"A pamphlet, under the signature of l Common
Sense/ written by Thomas Paine, produced great effect.
While it demonstrated the necessity, the advantages,
and the practicability of Independence, it treated kingly
government with opprobrium, and hereditary succession
with ridicule. The change of the public mind on this
occasion is without a parallel."
GUILLAUME TELL POTJSSIN,
In his work entitled "The United States; its Power and
Progress," says of the influence of Paine's writings :
" The condition of affairs day by day assumed a graver
aspect. The unequal struggle between England and
the still growing Colonies gave a decided preponder-
ance to ideas of Independence. Several remarkable
productions seemed to favor this enthusiasm. That of
Thomas Paine, entitled \ Common Sense/ exerted an
overpowering influence. It rendered the sentiment of
Independence national; and Congress, being the organ
of public opinion, soon prepared to adopt this sentiment.
By the resolution of the 8th of May, 1776, each Colony
was requested to reject all authority emanating from
the British Crown, and to establish a form of govern-
ment that would accord with the particular interest of
each State, and with that of the whole Confederation."
"Paine also wrote a series of political pamphlets
called ' The Crisis/ which were admirably adapted to
the state of the times, and which did much toward
52
keeping alive the spirit of determined rebellion against
the unjust government of Great Britain." Benjamin F.
Lossing, in his Field Book of the Revolution, Vol. II, page
274, Note.
APPLETON'S CYCLOPAEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
Says:
"He (Paine) then published his celebrated pamphlet,
'Common Sense/ which, being written with great vigor
and addressed to a highly excited population, had a
prodigious sale, and undoubtedly accelerated the famous
Declaration of Independence. * * * * He arrived
in Calais, in September, 1792. The garrison at Calais
were under arms to receive this l friend of liberty/ the
tri-colored cockade was presented to him by the mayor,
and the handsomest woman in the town was selected to
place it in his hat. Meantime Paine had been declared
in Paris worthy of the honors of citizenship, and he
proceeded thither, where he was received with every
demonstration of extravagant joy."
" Washington's retreat to Trenton was a compulsive
one. * * * I do not believe that even a number of
1 The Crisis ' could have saved the American army and
cause from annihilation, if Howe had been an active
and persevering, an enlightened and energetic com-
mander." (Cheetham's Life of Paine, p. 57.)
" The last ' Crisis ' was published in Philadelphia April
19th, 1783. Peace was now substantially concluded,
and the Independence of the United States acknow-
ledged. He who, if not the suggester, was the ablest
literary advocate of independence, could do no less, when
independence was acquired, than salute the nation on
the great event." (Ibid, p. 92.)
JOHN FROST, LL. D.,
In his History of the United States, says :
"During the winter of 1775-6, many of the most able
writers in America were employed in demonstrating the
necessity and propriety of a total separation from the
mother country, and the establishment of constitutional
governments in the Colonies. One of the most conspicu-
ous of these writers was Thomas Paine, who published
a pamphlet under the signature of 'Common Sense/
which produced great effect. It demonstrated the
necessity, advantages and practicability of indepen-
dence, and heaped reproach and disgrace on monarchial
governments, and ridicule on hereditary succession. *
* * * * Paine had shrewdness and cunning mixed
with boldness in his manner of writing, and to this,
perhaps, may be ascribed the uncommon effect of his
essays on the inflamed minds of the Americans.
{History U. S., vol. I, pp. 192-3, Simeon Collins, Phila-
delphia, 1844.)
"Let men learn to feel that the true greatness of a nation is
founded on the principles of humanity ; and that to avoid a war when
her own existence is not endangered, and wherein the happiness of
man must be wantonly sacrificed, is a higher principle of true
honor than madly to engage in it." {Paine in " Prospects on the
Rubicon.'") PtTlfTA
The author of "The Eeligion of Science," in his intro-
duction to his Life of Paine, published by Calvin Blan-
chard, of New York, says:
" There needs but to have the light of truth shine fully
upon the real character of Thomas Paine, to prove him
to have been a far greater man than his most ardent
admirers have hitherto given him credit for being."
5*
54
HENRY S. RANDALL,
In his a Life of Jefferson," says:
" We confess we have no sympathy with Mr. Paine's
religious views. If his personal character was what it
is commonly alleged to have been, (though it is now
said there has been a good deal of exaggeration, and
even out and out invention on this head,) there was much
in it no man can admire. But concede all the allega-
tions against him, and it still leaves him the author
of 'Common Sense/ and certain other papers, which
rung like clarions in the darkest hour of the Eevolu-
tionary struggle, inspiring the bleeding, and starving,
and pestilence-stricken, as the pen of no other man
ever inspired them. Whatever Paine's faults or vices,
however dark and crapulous the close of his stormy
career, when he is spoken of as the patriot, and espe-
cially as the Kevolutionary and pre-Revolutionary writer,
shame rest on the pen which dares not do him justice ! and
shame, also, ought to rest on the most cursory narrator
of the events which heralded the Declaration of Indepen-
dence, who should omit to enumerate the publication of
'Common Sense' among them."
THE NEW YORK ADVERTISER,
Of June 9th, 1809, has the following notice :
" Mr. Thomas Paine.
" 'Thy spirit, Independence, let me share.' Smollett.
"With heartfelt sorrow and poignant regret we are
compelled to announce to the world that Mr. Thomas
Paine is no more. This distinguished philanthropist,
whose life was devoted to the cause of humanity, de-
parted this life yesterday morning, and if any man's
55
memory deserved a plaee in the breast of a freeman, it
is that of the deceased, for
" * Take him, for all in all,
We ne'er shall look upon his like again.'
" The friends of the deceased are invited to attend his
funeral by 9 o'clock in the morning, from his late resi-
dence at Greenwich, from whence his corpse will be
conveyed to New Eochelle, for interment.
" 'His ashes there,
His fame every where.' "
"Every government that does not act on the principle of a re-
public, or, in other words, does not make the res-publica its whole
and sole object, is not a good government. Kepublican govern-
ment is no other than government established and conducted
for the interest of the public, as well individually as collectively.
It is not necessarily connected with any particular form, but it
most naturally associates with the representative form as being the
best calculated to secure the end for which a nation is at the expense
of supporting it." (" Rights of Man," Mendum's Complete Ed.,
Vol. II, page 172.)
The UNIVERSAL MAGAZINE and REVIEW
For April, 1793, concludes a review of " The Eights of
Man" with these words :
"And now, courteous reader, we leave Mr. Paine
entirely to thy mercy ; what wilt thou say of him ?
Wilt thou address him ? ' Thou art a troubler of privi-
leged orders we will tar and feather thee; nobles
abhor thee, and kings think thee mad !' Or wilt thou
rather put on thy spectacles, study Mr. Paine's physi-
ognomy, purchase his print, hang it over thy chimney
piece and, pointing to it, say : ' this is no common man ;
this is the poor man's friend V"
56
WATSON,
In his " Annals of Philadelphia," says :
" In June, 1785, John Fitch called on the ingenious
William Henry, Esq., of Lancaster, to take his opinion
of his draughts, who informed him that he (Fitch) was
not the the first person who had thought of applying
steam to vessels, for that Thomas Paine, author of
' Common Sense' had suggested the same to him,
(Henry) in the winter of 1778."
" There is a single idea, which, if it strikes rightly on the mind,
either in a legal or a religious sense, will prevent any man, or any
body of men, or any government, from going wrong on the subject
of religion ; which is, that before anj T human institutions of
government were known in the world, there existed, if I may so
express it, a compact between God and man, from the beginning
of time : and that as the relation and condition which man in his
individual person stands in towards his Maker cannot be changed
by any human laws or human authority, that religious devotion,
which is a part of this compact, cannot so much as be made a sub-
ject of human laws; and that all laws must conform themselves to
this prior existing compact, and not assume to make the compact
conform to the laws, which, besides being human, are subsequent
thereunto. The first act of man, when he looked around and saw
himself a creature which he did not make, and a world furnished
for his reception, must have been devotion ; and devotion must
ever continue sacred to every individual man, as it appears right to
him ; and governments do mischief by interfering." Thos. Paine.
(See works vol. 2, page 114, Boston Edition, 1856.)
THE AUTHOR OF "THE ANALYST,"
Published by Wiley & Putnam, ISTew York, 1840, says
of Paine :
"It is allowed by all liberal judges, that, in his ' Com-
mon Sense' and ' The Crisis/ he strengthened in the
American mind its aspirations after liberty; gave them
57
the right direction, manfully exhorted them in their waver-
ing hour ; and acted the part of a freeman and an active
friend to humanity."
WALTER MORTON,
In a short narrative of Paine, says:
"In his religious opinions he continued to the last as
steadfast and tenacious as any sectarian to the definition
of his own creed. He never, indeed, broached the sub-
ject first, but to intrusive and inquisitive visitors, who
came to try him on that point, his general answer was
to this effect: 'My opinions are now before the world,
and all have an opportunity to refute them if they can.
I believe them unanswerable truths, and that I have
done great service to mankind by boldly putting them
forth. I do not wish to argue upon the subject now. I
have labored disinterestedly in the cause of truth.' I
shook his hand after his use of speech was gone ; but,
while the other organs told me sufficiently that h*e knew
me and appreciated my affection, his eye glistened with
genius under the pangs of death."
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENN'A,
In 1785, passed the following:
" Whereas, During the late Eevolution, and particularly
in the most trying and perilous times thereof, many
very eminent services were rendered to the people of
the United States by Thomas Paine, Esq., accompanied
with sundry distinguished instances of fidelity, patriot-
ism and disinterestedness ;
" And whereas, That the said Thomas Paine did, du-
ring the whole progress of the Eevolution, voluntarily
devote himself to the service of the public, without accept-
ing recompense therefor, and, moreover did decline tak-
58
ing or receiving the profits which authors are entitled
to on the sale of their literary works, but relinquished
them for the better accommodation of the country, and
for the honor of the public cause;
" And whereas, Besides the knowledge which this
House has of the services of the said Thomas Paine, the
same having been recommended to us by his Excellency,
the President, and the Supreme Executive Council of
the State, of the 16th of December last past, and by the
friendly offices of the late patriotic Commander-in-chief,
General Washington ;
" Be it enacted, And it is hereby enacted, by the Eep-
resentatives of the freemen of the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania, in General Assembly met, and by the
authority of the same, that, as a temporary recompense
the said Thomas Paine, and until a suitable provision
shall be further made, either federally by Congress, or
otherwise, the Supreme Executive Council be authorized
and empowered to draw on the Treasurer of this State
for the sum of 500 in favor of and payable to the said
Thomas Paine.
" Signed by order of the House,
"JOHN BAYAKD, Speaker:'
The following song, though the same metre as the
"Star Spangled Banner," was written by Mr. Paine,
many years before the production of our national song
by Mr. Key, and was originally published under the
title of
"THE BOSTON PATEIOTIC SONG."
Ye sons of Columbia who bravely have fought
For those rights which unstain'd from your sires have descended,
May you long taste the blessings your valor has bought,
And your sons reap the soil which your fathers defended ;
Mid the reign of mild peace
May your nation increase
With the glory of Rome, and the wisdom of Greece ;
And ne'er may the sons of Columbia be slaves
While the earth bears a plant or the sea rolls its waves.
The fame of our arms, of our laws the mild sway,
Had justly ennobled our nation in story,
'Till the dark clouds of faction obscured our bright day
And envelop'd the sun of American glory ;
But let traitors be told, ' ' :..
Who their country have sold,
And bartered their God for his image in gold,
That ne'er shall the sons, &c.
While France her huge limbs bathes recumbent in blood,
And society's base, threats with wide dissolution ;
May peace like the dove, who returned from the flood,
Find an ark of abode in our mild constitution ;
But though peace is our aim,
Yet the boon we disclaim
If bought by our sovereignty, justice or fame.
For ne'er shall the sons, &c.
'Tis the fire of the flint each American warms,
Let Bome's haughty victors beware of collision !
Let them bring all the vassals of Europe in arms,
We 're a world by ourselves, and disdain a division ;
While with patriot pride
To our laws we 're allied,
No foe can subdue us, no faction divide ;
For ne'er shall the sons, &c.
Let our patriots destroy vile anarchy's worm,
Lest our liberty's growth should be check'd by corrosion,
Then let clouds thicken round us, we heed not the storm,
Our earth fears no shock, but the earth's own explosion.
Foes assail us in vain,
Tho' their fleets bridge the main,
For our altars and claims, with o^ur lives we'll mantain.
For ne'er shall the sons, &c.
Let Fame, to the world, sound America's voice,
No intrigue can her sons from their government sever ;
Its wise regulations and laws, are their choice,
And shall flourish till Liberty slumber forever.
Then unite heart and hand,
Like Leonidas' band ;
And swear by the God of the ocean and land,
That ne'er shall the sons of Columbia be slaves,
While the earth bears a plant, or the sea rolls its waves.
GEORGE JACOB HOLYOAKE,
Author of "The Trial of Theism," &c, and editor of
" The I^ondon Keasoner," says :
"Paine, like Defoe, was the personation of English
common sense. * * * * Paine was the Prophet of
American Destiny the great Pamphleteer of its Inde-
pendence. * * * He was the Thinker for the People.
He found out the obvious thoughts of the period and
showed them to the nation, and created those which
were wanting. * * * * Paine's merits and de-
merits were all popular. His errors were broad and
his virtues hearty. There was nothing small or mean
about him. He was a strong man all through. The
man who was the confidant of Burke, (before the un-
happy days when Burke's reason failed him,) the coun-
sellor of Franklin, and the friend and colleague of
Washington, must have had great qualities. * * * *
If Paine was coarse, he had capacity and integrity; if
the oak was gnarled, it had strength if the ore was
rough, there was gold in it. * * * * Let us do
justice to him."
EKKATA.
Page 7, Washington, line 13, read epocha for epoch.
Page 8, Adams, line 10, read attempts for attempt.
Page 12, South wick, dele Rev.
Page 12, " line 3, read Visitant for Visiter.
Page 12, " line 9, read Tyrtceus for Tintochus.
THOMAS PAINE'S WRITINGS,
Political, Religious and Miscellaneous, are Published
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Three volumes: consisting of his POLITICAL, THEOLOGICAL and
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THEOLOGICAL WORKS OF THOMAS PAINE, to
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and Fabulous Theology Price, 30
COMMON SENSE, a Revolutionary Pamphlet, addressed
to the Inhabitants of America, 1776, by Thomas Paine to which is
added a Brief Sketch of the Author's Life Price 18
RIGHTS OF MAN; being an Answer to Mr. Burke's
Attack on the French Revolution, by Thomas Paine Price, 50
PAINE'S SELECT WORKS, consisting of his Theologi-
cal and Political WriMngs, in two volumes, in cloth ; a new edition,
just issued Price, per vol. 1 00
THE CRISIS ; being a Series of Pamphlets, in sixteen
numbers, by Thomas Paine, written during the American Revolution,
and, by the orders of General Washington, read to each regiment of
the armv as they were published Cloth, price, 40
THE LIFE OF THOMAS PAINE, Author of "Common
Sense," "Rights of Man," "Age of Reason," Ac. &c , with Critical and
Explanatory Observations on his Writings, by Gilbert Vale. Price, bd. 75
TESTIMONIALS TO THE MERITS OF THOMAS
PAINE, 15
PAINE AND HIS CALUMNIATORS, by Jos. Barker, 10
THOMAS PAINE ; a Sermon by the Rev. M. D. Conway, 10
AGE OF REASON, by Thomas Paine. Paper, 20
PAINE'S POLITICAL WORKS, 1 vol., bound, $1 00
PAINE'S THEOLOGICAL " 1 " " 1 00
Sent free of postage, by
F. L. TAYLOR,
Box 118, P. O., Burlington, N. J.
.
m
CALVIN BLANCHARD,
No. 76 Nassau Street, New York,
PUBLISHES AND HAS FOR SALE
THE LIFE OF THOMAS PAINE; Mover of the Decla-
A2ri V^ pendenC ^ : " k t ecreta 7 of Foreign Atfairs under the first
ww a "f Egress; Member of the National Convention of France;
Author of "Common Sense," "The Crisis," "Rights of Man " A<re of
Reason," &c : THE MA* whose motto ww-^tB wSSffft* CtaS^?
' jwS, GoofrrnyRduiian. "Embracing iVoctforf Considerations on Human
fn?h^v i t m T S r r / lt ^ g , that ^ /an /e '^ s> ir reprcssiblr, to Actual Freedom;
and showing ALibertu-Aim Connection in the action of the World's Three
n?u fc Author-Heroes Rousseau, Paine and Comte. By the Author of
eau^nf Z fr^T^o WW J ^'^^ly engraved Portraits of Rous-
seau, Paine, and Comte. 12mo cloth, m
PAINE'S THEOLOGICAL AND POLITICAL WORKS*"
(with Life) 2 vols., 12mo ' * 9 ftn
PAINE'S POLITICAL WORKS, 1 vol" Itoo 1 00
PAINE'S THEOLOGICAL WORKS, (with LifeTf vol"
12mo v ; '' 1ft n
PAINE'S AGE OF REASON, in ppr:'cover725e.';*'in'cloTh,' 37
*~A11 the above Works have just been published on large, new type, on verv
fine paper, and in substantial binding, and sent by mail Free of Postage. Y
MOSS, BROTHER & CO.,
Booksellers aad Ef&tlo&ers,
MANUFACTURERS OF
BLANK, ACCOUNT & MEMORANDUM BOOKS,
JVo. 430 Jflarhet Street, Phitadetphia,
Publish, and will send to any address, free of postage, on receipt
of price:
THOMAS PAINE'S POLITICAL AND THEO-
LOGICAL WORKS. New and improved edition,
complete in 2 vols , 12mo, cloth, with Steel Portrait and
View of his Monument at New Rochelle Price, $2 50
Either Volume separately << \ 2fo 1
PAINE'S AGE OP REASON. Paper 25
14 DAY USE
RETURN TO DESK FROM WHICH BORROWED
LOAN DEPT.
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L p2lA-40m-ll,'63
(El602slO)476B
. General Library
University of California
Berkeley
LP
1
YB 2708'