It was the close struggle of life and death, the line of invisible division; and on which the unabated fortitude of a Washington prevailed, and saved the spark that has since blazed in the north with unrivalled lustre.
From "The American Crisis," Paine reflects on a pivotal moment in the Revolutionary War and Washington's leadership.
Share
More from Thomas Paine
When it becomes necessary to do anything, the whole heart and soul should go into the measure, or not attempt it.
It was a sort of new form of government that insensibly served to put the old one out of sight and to unhinge it from the superstitious authority of antiquity.
The argument changes from hereditary rights to hereditary wisdom; and the question is, Who is the wisest man?