On the recordJanuary 1, 1776
It is strange that a nation must run through such a labyrinth of trouble, and expend such a mass of wealth to gain the wisdom which an hour's reflection might have taught.
Said by
Thomas Paine
Source
gutenberg.orgIt is strange that a nation must run through such a labyrinth of trouble, and expend such a mass of wealth to gain the wisdom which an hour's reflection might have taught.
Paine reflects on the irony of nations enduring immense hardship and expense to acquire wisdom that could have been gained through simple contemplation.
Share
More from Thomas Paine
The argument changes from hereditary rights to hereditary wisdom; and the question is, Who is the wisest man?
But from such opposition the French Revolution, instead of suffering, receives an homage.
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.