Thomas Paine: “The Rights of Man are the rights of all generations of men, and cannot be monopolised by any.”

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.

Never did so great an opportunity offer itself to England, and to all Europe, as is produced by the two Revolutions of America and France.

I do not believe that any two men, on what are called doctrinal points, think alike who think at all.

In contemplating revolutions, it is easy to perceive that they may arise from two distinct causes; the one, to avoid or get rid of some great calamity; the other, to obtain some great and positive good; and the two may be distinguished by…