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About Thomas Paine
Thomas Paine was an English-born American Founding Father, political activist, philosopher, political theorist, and revolutionary.
Born: 9 February 1737, Thetford, United Kingdom
Died: 8 June 1809, Greenwich Village, New York, United States
100 Top Quotes by Thomas Paine in English
- These are the times that try men’s souls.”
- “The world is my country, all mankind are my brethren, and to do good is my religion.”
- “We have it in our power to begin the world over again.”
- “It is not in numbers, but in unity, that our great strength lies.”
- “The duty of a true patriot is to protect his country from its government.”
- “The mind once enlightened cannot again become dark.”
- “Character is much easier kept than recovered.”
- “Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom, must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it.”
- “He who dares not offend cannot be honest.”
- “Reputation is what men and women think of us; character is what God and angels know of us.”
- “The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.”
- “The greatest remedy for anger is delay.”
- “Moderation in temper is always a virtue; but moderation in principle is always a vice.”
- “When we are planning for posterity, we ought to remember that virtue is not hereditary.”
- “The world is my country, and to do good is my religion.”
- “It is the duty of every man to render to the Creator such homage, and such only, as he believes to be acceptable to him.”
- “The instant formal government is abolished, society begins to act. A general association takes place, and common interest produces common security.”
- “The mind can only be kept in health by the regular and moderate exercise of its powers.”
- “Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one.”
- “The greatest good we can do our country is to heal its party divisions and make them one people.”
- “We fight not to enslave, but to set a country free, and to make room upon the earth for honest men to live in.”
- “When men yield up the privilege of thinking, the last shadow of liberty quits the horizon.”
- “That which we obtain too easily, we esteem too lightly.”
- “Those who want to reap the benefits of this great nation must bear the fatigue of supporting it.”
- “Society in every state is a blessing, but government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one.”
- “To argue with a man who has renounced the use and authority of reason is like administering medicine to the dead.”
- “I love the man that can smile in trouble, that can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection.”
- “I believe in the equality of man; and I believe that religious duties consist in doing justice, loving mercy, and endeavoring to make our fellow creatures happy.”
- “An army of principles can penetrate where an army of soldiers cannot.”
- “My country is the world, and my religion is to do good.”
- “The cause of America is in a great measure the cause of all mankind.”
- “The harder the battle, the sweeter the victory.”
- “The real man smiles in trouble, gathers strength from distress, and grows brave by reflection.”
- “He who takes nature for his guide is not easily beaten or misled.”
- “We have the power to make the world over again.”
- “A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong gives it a superficial appearance of being right.”
- “The greatest obstacle to progress is not ignorance, but the illusion of knowledge
- “The world is governed more by appearances than realities, so that it is fully as necessary to seem to know something as to know it.”
- “The test of a government is not how popular it is with the powerful, but how it treats the powerless.”
- “Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.”
- “The heart that feels not is dead; the eyes that express not are blind; the tongue that cannot utter is tied; the hands that cannot relieve are palsied; the feet that cannot move are lame; and the man who takes not part in the sufferings of his fellow-creatures is nothing.”
- “To argue with a person who has renounced the use of reason is like administering medicine to the dead.”
- “The world is my country, all mankind are my brethren, and to do good is my religion.”
- “Society is produced by our wants, and government by our wickedness.”
- “The duty of a patriot is to protect his country from its government.”
- “A man who does not think for himself does not think at all.”
- “Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one.”
- “The most formidable weapon against errors of every kind is reason.”
- “I prefer peace. But if trouble must come, let it come in my time, so that my children can live in peace.”
- “He who is the author of a war lets loose the whole contagion of hell and opens a vein that bleeds a nation to death.”
- “Whatever is my right as a man is also the right of another; and it becomes my duty to guarantee as well as to possess.”
- “The right of voting for representatives is the primary right by which other rights are protected.”
- “Every science has for its basis a system of principles as fixed and unalterable as those by which the universe is regulated and governed.”
- “Reputation is what men and women think of us; character is what God and angels know of us.”
- “It is necessary to the happiness of man that he be mentally faithful to himself.”
- “A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong gives it a superficial appearance of being right.”
- “There are two distinct classes of men… those who pay taxes and those who receive and live upon taxes.”
- “The mind once enlightened cannot again become dark.”
- “If we do not hang together, we shall surely hang separately.”
- “What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives everything its value.”
- “Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must undergo the fatigue of supporting it.”
- “The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.”
- “The greatest remedy for anger is delay.”
- “To argue with a man who has renounced the use and authority of reason is like administering medicine to the dead.”
- “It is not in numbers, but in unity, that our great strength lies.”
- “Virtue is not hereditary.”
- “The mind can only be kept in health by the regular and moderate exercise of its powers.”
- “The most formidable weapon against errors of every kind is reason.”
- “A republic, if you can keep it.”
- “The man who dares not offend cannot be honest.”
- “Government, in my humble opinion, should be formed to secure and to enlarge the exercise of the natural rights of its members;
- “It is error only, and not truth, that shrinks from inquiry.”
- “The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.”
- “Suspicion is the companion of mean souls, and the bane of all good society.”
- “The world is my country, all mankind are my brethren, and to do good is my religion.”
- “He who dares not offend cannot be honest.”
- “A constitution defines and limits the powers of the government it creates.”
- “The cause of America is in a great measure the cause of all mankind.”
- “The duty of a true Patriot is to protect his country from its government.”
- “Society in every state is a blessing, but government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one.”
- “The most formidable weapon against errors of every kind is reason.”
- “Moderation in temper is always a virtue; but moderation in principle is always a vice.”
- “I love the man that can smile in trouble, that can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection.”
- “Reputation is what men and women think of us; character is what God and angels know of us.”
- “It is not a God, just and good, but a devil, under the name of God, that the Bible describes.”
- “Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it.”
- “We fight not to enslave, but to set a country free, and to make room upon the earth for honest men to live in.”
- “The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.”
- “To argue with a man who has renounced his reason is like giving medicine to the dead.”
- “The world is my country, all mankind are my brethren, and to do good is my religion.”
- “I believe that religion, generally speaking, has been a curse to mankind – that its modest and greatly overestimated services on the ethical side have been more than overcome by the damage it has done to clear and honest thinking.”
- “The greatest remedy for anger is delay.”
- “It is the duty of the patriot to protect his country from its government.”
- “It is necessary to the happiness of man that he be mentally faithful to himself.”
- “An army of principles can penetrate where an army of soldiers cannot.”
- “Time makes more converts than reason.”
- “The most formidable weapon against errors of every kind is reason.”
- “Character is much easier kept than recovered.”
- “A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong gives it a superficial appearance of being right.”
- “It is not in numbers, but in unity, that our great strength lies.”
FAQs:
Who was Thomas Paine?
Thomas Paine was an English-American writer and political activist. He was born in England in 1737 and became involved in revolutionary politics in both England and the United States.
What is Thomas Paine known for?
Paine is best known for his influential writings, including Common Sense and The Rights of Man, which argued for American independence and democratic government.
When was Common Sense published?
Common Sense was published in 1776, at the beginning of the American Revolution. It argued for the independence of the American colonies from Great Britain.
What is The Rights of Man?
The Rights of Man is a political treatise written by Paine in 1791, in response to the French Revolution. It argues for the principles of democracy and republicanism, and critiques the abuses of the British monarchy and aristocracy.
What is Paine’s view on religion?
Paine was a Deist and a critic of organized religion. He believed in a Creator but rejected traditional religious doctrines and institutions.
What is Paine’s view on government?
Paine believed in a limited government, with power divided among different branches and subject to the will of the people. He also argued for the abolition of monarchy and aristocracy.
What is Agrarian Justice?
Agrarian Justice is a pamphlet written by Paine in 1797, which argues for a system of social welfare based on a tax on landowners. Paine believed that land was a common resource, and that the benefits of its use should be shared by all members of society.
What was Paine’s role in the French Revolution?
Paine was a supporter of the French Revolution, and was elected to the French National Convention in 1792. He was a critic of the radical Jacobins, however, and was imprisoned during the Reign of Terror.
What is Paine’s legacy?
Paine’s writings have had a profound impact on political thought and have inspired movements for democracy, human rights, and social justice. He is widely regarded as one of the most important thinkers of the Enlightenment.
When did Thomas Paine die?
Paine died in New York City in 1809 at the age of 72.
