On the record
In short, other revolutions may have originated in caprice, or generated in ambition, but here, the most unoffending humility was tortured into rage, and the infancy of existence made to weep.
Said by
Thomas Paine
Source
gutenberg.orgThomas Paine: “In short, other revolutions may have originated in caprice, or generated in ambition, but here, the most unoffending…”
Editor's note · Context
Paine reflects on the unique nature of the American Revolution, born from humility rather than ambition or caprice.
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Jan 1, 1791
If, therefore, the good to be obtained be worthy of a passive, rational, and costless revolution, it would be bad policy to prefer waiting for a calamity that should force a violent one.
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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.
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Discussion and the general will arbitrates the question, and to this, private opinion yields with a good grace, and order is preserved uninterrupted.