Besides, it is their own estates and property, their own rights, liberties and government, that they are defending; and were they not to do it, they would deserve to lose all, and none would pity them.
Paine asserts that Americans are defending their fundamental rights and property, implying that failure to do so would be a dereliction of duty.
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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.
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.
The Aristocracy had hitherto opposed the despotism of the Court, and affected the language of patriotism; but it opposed it as its rival (as the English Barons opposed King John) and it now opposed the nation from the same motives.