Character is much easier kept than recovered, and that man, if any such there be, who, from sinister views, or littleness of soul, lends unseen his hand to injure it, contrives a wound it will never be in his power to heal.
In "The American Crisis," Paine reflects on the enduring nature of character and the lasting damage caused by those who seek to undermine it.
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Nothing can be more terrible to a Court or Courtier than the Revolution of France.
It has nothing to dread from attacks; truth has given it an establishment, and time will record it with a name as lasting as his own.
Man cannot, properly speaking, make circumstances for his purpose, but he always has it in his power to improve them when they occur, and this was the case in France.