Pity for the sufferers, mixed with indignation at the violence, and heightened with apprehensions of undergoing the same fate, made the affair of Lexington the affair of the continent.
Paine explains how the emotional and political reactions to the Battle of Lexington unified the American colonies against British aggression.
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But from such opposition the French Revolution, instead of suffering, receives an homage.
The more it is struck the more sparks it will emit; and the fear is it will not be struck enough.
To account for this sudden transition, it is proper to observe that there are two distinct species of popularity; the one excited by merit, and the other by resentment.