On the recordJanuary 1, 1776
If I had any talents for either, they were buried in me, and might ever have continued so, had not the necessity of the times dragged and driven them into action.
Said by
Thomas Paine
Source
gutenberg.orgThomas Paine: “If I had any talents for either, they were buried in me, and might ever have continued so, had not the necessity of the…”
Editor's note · Context
Reflecting on his unexpected role in the American Revolution, Paine describes how the urgency of the era compelled him to become a writer and advocate.
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Jan 1, 1791
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.
Jan 1, 1791
But as religion is very improperly made a political machine, and the reality of it is thereby destroyed, I will conclude this work with stating in what light religion appears to me.
Jan 1, 1791
I do not believe that any two men, on what are called doctrinal points, think alike who think at all.
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.