On the recordJanuary 1, 1776
Could our affections forgive, or humanity forget the wounds of an injured country--we might, under the influence of a momentary oblivion, stand still and laugh.
Said by
Thomas Paine
Source
gutenberg.orgCould our affections forgive, or humanity forget the wounds of an injured country--we might, under the influence of a momentary oblivion, stand still and laugh.
Paine uses a rhetorical question to emphasize the profound and unforgivable nature of the injuries inflicted upon the country.
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I do not believe that any two men, on what are called doctrinal points, think alike who think at all.
Why may we not suppose, that the great Father of all is pleased with variety of devotion; and that the greatest offence we can act, is that by which we seek to torment and render each other miserable?
Reason and discussion, persuasion and conviction, become the weapons in the contest, and it is only when those are attempted to be suppressed that recourse is had to violence.