If you think to succeed by such shadowy devices, you are but infants in the political world; you have the A, B, C, of stratagem yet to learn, and are wholly ignorant of the people you have to contend with.
Paine derides the British leadership for their ineffective and deceptive tactics, calling them politically naive and ignorant of the American people.
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As to what are called national religions, we may, with as much propriety, talk of national Gods.
I have carefully avoided to enlarge upon the subject, because I am inclined to believe that what is called the present ministry, wish to see contentions about religion kept up, to prevent the nation turning its attention to subjects of…
Where these can have the opportunity of acting, opposition dies with fear, or crumbles away by conviction.
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.