The real man smiles in trouble, gathers strength from distress, and grows brave by reflection.
THOMAS PAINEAn army of principles will penetrate where an army of soldiers cannot.
More Thomas Paine Quotes
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What is it the Bible teaches us? – raping, cruelty, and murder. What is it the New Testament teaches us? – to believe that the Almighty committed debauchery with a woman engaged to be married, and the belief of this debauchery is called faith.
THOMAS PAINE -
It is the madness of folly, to expect mercy from those who have refused to do justice; and even mercy, where conquest is the object, is only a trick of war; the cunning of the fox is as murderous as the violence of the wolf.
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You cannot undermine police authority and then complain about rising crime.
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Moderation in temper is always a virtue; but moderation in principle is always a vice.
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For though the flame of liberty may sometimes cease to shine, the coal can never expire.
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The slavery of fear had made men afraid to think.
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Arms discourage and keep the invader and plunderer in awe, and preserve order in the world as well as property… Horrid mischief would ensue were the law-abiding deprived of the use of them.
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Where knowledge is a duty, ignorance is a crime.
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Freedom had been hunted round the globe; reason was considered as rebellion; and the slavery of fear had made men afraid to think. But such is the irresistible nature of truth, that all it asks, and all it wants, is the liberty of appearing.
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It is not in numbers, but in unity, that our great strength lies.
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These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country; but he that stands it NOW, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.
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It has been the political career of this man to begin with hypocrisy, proceed with arrogance, and finish with contempt.
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The trade of governing has always been monopolized by the most ignorant and the most rascally individuals of mankind.
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Our greatest enemies, the ones we must fight most often, are within.
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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 endeavoring to convert an atheist by scripture.
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Reason obeys itself; and ignorance submits to whatever is dictated to it.
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To take away voting is to reduce a man to slavery.
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Government is not a trade which any man or body of men has a right to set up and exercise for his own emolument, but is altogether a trust, in right of those by whom that trust is delegated, and by whom it is always resumable. It has of itself no rights; they are altogether duties.
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The Deist needs none of those tricks and shows called miracles to confirm his faith, for what can be a greater miracle than the creation itself, and his own existence?
THOMAS PAINE -
I believe in one God, and no more; and I hope for happiness beyond this life. I believe in the equality of humans; and I believe that religious duties consist in doing justice, loving mercy, and endeavoring to make our fellow creatures happy.
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If I do not believe as you believe, it proves that you do not believe as I believe, and that is all that it proves.
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I prefer peace. But if trouble must come, let it come in my time, so that my children can live in peace.
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When all other rights are taken away, the right of rebellion is made perfect.
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Character is much easier kept than recovered.
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Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one.
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I consider the war of America against Britain as the country’s war, the public’s war, or the war of the people in their own behalf, for the security of their natural rights, and the protection of their own property.
THOMAS PAINE