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Thomas Paine Quotes

Total quotes: 12
“I love the man that can smile in trouble, that can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection. 'Tis the business of little minds to shrink; but he whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves his conduct, will pursue his principles unto death.”
— Thomas Paine, Citizen Paine: Thomas Paine's Thoughts on Man, Government, Society, and Religion
Tagged: Principles, Adversity, Reflection, Ethics
“An army of principles can penetrate where an army of soldiers cannot.”
— Thomas Paine, The Rights of Man
Tagged: army, Principle, Soldier, Power
“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.”
— Thomas Paine, The American Crisis
Tagged: argument, Reason, Close-mindedness, Philosophy
“Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.”
— Thomas Paine, The American Crisis
Tagged: tyranny, Conquering, Conflict, Battle, Triumph
“Independence is my happiness, and I view things as they are, without regard to place or person; my country is the world, and my religion is to do good.”
— Thomas Paine, Rights of Man
Tagged: Independence, Happiness, Doing Good, kindness
“From the errors of other nations, let us learn wisdom.”
— Thomas Paine, Common Sense
Tagged: Error, Mistakes, nation, Wisdom, Learning from mistakes
“He who dares not offend cannot be honest.”
— Thomas Paine, The Forester’s Letters
Tagged: Offensive, honest
“What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as freedom should not be highly rated.”
— Thomas Paine, The American Crisis
Tagged: Conviction, Value, Freedom
“One good schoolmaster is of more use than a hundred priests.”
— Thomas Paine, The Age of Reason
Tagged: Religion, skepticism, Knowledge, Education, Belief
“Society is produced by our wants, and government by wickedness; the former promotes our happiness positively by uniting our affections, the latter negatively by restraining our vices. The one encourages intercourse, the other creates distinctions. The first is a patron, the last a punisher.”
— Thomas Paine, Common Sense
Tagged: Society, Government, Wickedness, Wants, desires
“The mind once enlightened cannot again become dark.”
— Thomas Paine, A Letter Addressed to the Abbe Raynal on the Affairs of North America
Tagged: Mind, Enlightenment, Darkness, Awakened
“Is it more probable that nature should go out of her course or that a man should tell a lie? We have never seen, in our time, nature go out of her course. But we have good reason to believe that millions of lies have been told in the same time. It is therefore at least millions to one that the reporter of a miracle tells a lie.”
— Thomas Paine, The Age of Reason
Tagged: Nature, Lie, Miracle, Reason
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