Thomas Paine Quotes

Biography: Thomas Paine is known for his influential writings during the American... more Biography: Thomas Paine is known for his influential writings during the American Revolution, particularly "Common Sense" and "The American Crisis." Born in England in 1737, Paine's works inspired colonists to pursue independence. He later participated in the French Revolution and advocated for human rights and reason. less

"What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly""These are the times that try men's souls""Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods""The instant formal government is abolished, society begins to act""Men who look upon themselves born to reign, and others to obey, soon grow insolent""Each time we make a decision we are turning the central part of ourselves into something a little different than it was before""The cause of America is in a great measure the cause of all mankind""These are times that try men's souls""If there must be trouble, let it be in my day, that my child may have peace""It is error only, and not truth, that shrinks from inquiry""Independence is my happiness and I view things as they are without regard to place or person""Reason obeys itself and ignorance submits to whatever is dictated to it""When men yield up the privilege of thinking, the last shadow of liberty quits the horizon""To argue with a person who has renounced the use of reason is like administering medicine to the dead""The greatest tyrannies are always perpetrated in the name of the noblest causes""An army of principles can penetrate where an army of soldiers cannot""Society is produced by our wants and government by our wickedness""The mind once enlightened cannot again become dark""A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong gives it a superficial appearance of being right""The real man smiles in trouble, gathers strength from distress, and grows brave by reflection"

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