Thomas Paine: “But they are engraven where no amusement can conceal them, and of a kind for which there is no recompense.”

Man cannot, properly speaking, make circumstances for his purpose, but he always has it in his power to improve them when they occur, and this was the case in France.

But the spirit of the nation was not to be overcome, and it was so fully sensible of the strong ground it had taken--that of withholding taxes--that it contented itself with keeping up a sort of quiet resistance, which effectually…

The argument changes from hereditary rights to hereditary wisdom; and the question is, Who is the wisest man?

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.