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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.

Thomas Paine

Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it.
THOMAS PAINE

Blessing Expectation Freedom Man Support
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

Commitment Cruelty Faith Marriage Murder Rape Teaching Woman
Where knowledge is a duty, ignorance is a crime.
THOMAS PAINE

Crime Ignorance Knowledge Responsibility
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.
THOMAS PAINE

Expectation Justice Madness Mercy Murder Trick Violence War Wolf
If those to whom power is delegated do well, they will be respected; if not, they will be despised.
THOMAS PAINE

Hate Power Respect
Practical religion consists in doing good: and the only way of serving God is that of endeavoring to make His creation happy. All preaching that has not this for its object is nonsense and hypocrisy.
THOMAS PAINE

Creation God Goodness Happiness Hypocrisy Practice Service
I have always strenuously supported the right of every man to his own opinion, however different that opinion might be to mine. He who denies to another this right, makes a slave of himself to his present opinion, because he precludes himself the right of changing it.
THOMAS PAINE

Change Man Myself Opinion Present Right Slave Support
Character is much easier kept than recovered.
THOMAS PAINE

Character Easy Recovery
To take away voting is to reduce a man to slavery.
THOMAS PAINE

Man Slave Vote
Religion is a history of wickedness that has served to corrupt and brutalize humankind; and, for my part, I sincerely detest it as I detest everything that is cruel.
THOMAS PAINE

Corruption Cruelty History Human Kind Religion Service Sincere
All churches, whether Jewish, Christian or Muslim, are simply human inventions. They use fear to enslave us. They are a monopoly for power and profit.
THOMAS PAINE

Fear Human Invention Power Profit Religion
The trade of governing has always been monopolized by the most ignorant and the most rascally individuals of mankind.
THOMAS PAINE

Government Ignorance Kind Man Trade
When extraordinary power and extraordinary pay are allotted to any individual in a government, he becomes the center, round which every kind of corruption generates and forms.
THOMAS PAINE

Extraordinary Generation Government Kind Pay Power
For though the flame of liberty may sometimes cease to shine, the coal can never expire.
THOMAS PAINE

Coal Flame Liberty Shine
Reason and Ignorance, the opposites of each other, influence the great bulk of mankind. If either of these can be rendered sufficiently extensive in a country, the machinery of Government goes easily on. Reason obeys itself; and Ignorance submits to whatever is dictated to it.
THOMAS PAINE

Easy Government Greatness Ignorance Influence Kind Man Reason
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.
THOMAS PAINE

Body Government Man Right Togetherness Trust

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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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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Popular Authors

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