On the recordJanuary 1, 1776
When we look back on the dangers we have been saved from, and reflect on the success we have been blessed with, it would be sinful either to be idle or to despair.
Said by
Thomas Paine
Source
gutenberg.orgThomas Paine: “When we look back on the dangers we have been saved from, and reflect on the success we have been blessed with, it would…”
Editor's note · Context
Written during the American Revolution, this passage encourages continued effort and hope despite ongoing difficulties.
Share
More from Thomas Paine
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
In those which proceed from the former cause, the temper becomes incensed and soured; and the redress, obtained by danger, is too often sullied by revenge.
Jan 1, 1791
When men unite in agreeing that a thing is good, could it be obtained, such for instance as relief from a burden of taxes and the extinction of corruption, the object is more than half accomplished.
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.