part ii., chap. i.
"The plain evidence of facts is superior to all declarations."--Let. 5.
"You sunk yourself below the character of a private gentleman."--Crisis, ii.
"You are degraded below the condition of a man."--Let. 34.
"Now if I have any conception of the _human heart_, they will fail in this more than in any thing they have yet tried."--Crisis, iii.
"I thought, however, he had been better read in the history of the _human heart_."--Let. 27.
Mr. Paine and Junius both reasoned, and this very often, from the nature of man, and especially his passions. The following are parallels:
_Paine._
"Spirit of prophecy." "Man of spirit." "Air of." "Strokes of." "Give color to." "Tranquillity of." "Narrow views."
_Junius._
"Spirit of prophecy." "Man of spirit." "Air of." "Strokes of." "Give color to." "Tranquillity of." "Narrow views."
"But the great hinge on which the whole machine turned, is the _union of the States_."--Crisis, xv., note.
"This is not the hinge on which the debate turns."--Let. 16.
"Each individual feels his share of the wound given to the whole."--Crisis, xii.
"I consider nothing but the wound which has been given to the law."--Let. 30.
"Thorn in the flesh."
"Thorn in the king's side."
"As the future ability of a giant over a dwarf is delineated in his features while an infant."--Crisis, xi.
"The features of the infant are a proof of the descent."--Let. 58.
"But from such opposition, the French revolution, instead of suffering, receives homage. The more it is struck, the more sparks it will emit."--Rights of Man, part i.
"Hardly serious at first, he is now an enthusiast. The coldest bodies warm with opposition, the hardest sparkle in collision."--Let. 35.
"He pities the plumage, but forgets the dying bird."--Do.
"The feather which adorns the royal bird supports his flight. Strip him of his plumage, and you fix him to earth."--Let. 42.
"The ripeness of the continent for independence."
"When you are ripe, you shall be plucked."--Let. 66.
"Had you studied true greatness of heart, _the first and fairest ornament of mankind_."--Crisis, vii.
"But neither should I think the most exalted faculties of the human mind a gift worthy of the Divinity, nor any assistance in the improvement of them a subject of gratitude to my fellow-creatures, if I were not satisfied that really to inform the understanding, corrects and enlarges the heart."--Last sentence of Junius.
[This shows a parallel also in the _estimation_ they place upon the human faculties, which is worth more in argument than any parallel of figure or expression.]
"Wounded herself to the heart."
"Stab you to the heart."
"Unite in despising you."
"United detestation."
"We are not moved by the gloomy _smile_ of a worthless king."--Crisis, iv.
"How far you are authorized to rely upon the sincerity of those _smiles_ which a pious court lavishes without reluctance upon a libertine by profession," etc.--Let. 15.
"That which, to some persons, appeared moderation in you at first, was not produced by any real virtue of your own, but by a contrast of passions, dividing and holding you in perpetual irresolution. One vice will frequently expel another, without the least merit in the man, as powers in contrary directions reduce each other to rest."--Crisis, v.
"We owe it to the bounty of Providence that the completest depravity of the heart is sometimes strangely united with a confusion of the mind, which counteracts the most favorite principles, and makes the same man treacherous without art, and a hypocrite without deceiving."--Let. 15.
The last parallel above will bear a moment's thought and study. Paine says: "Without the least merit in the man." Junius says: "We owe it to the bounty of Providence." They were both deeply read in the history of the human heart. The following is of the same nature, showing the same mental philosophy:
_Paine._
"Men whose political principles are founded on avarice are beyond the reach of reason, and the only cure of toryism of this cast is to tax it. A substantial good drawn from a real evil, is of the same benefit to society as if drawn from a virtue; and when men have not public spirit to render themselves serviceable, it ought to be the study of government to draw the best possible use from their vices. When the governing passion of any man or set of men is once known, the method of managing them is easy; for even misers, whom no public virtue can impress, would become generous could a heavy tax be laid upon covetousness."
_Junius._
"In public affairs there is the least chance of a perfect concurrence of sentiment or inclination. If individuals have no virtues, their vices may be of use to us. I care not with what principle the new-born patriot is animated if the measures he supports are beneficial to the community. The nation is interested in his conduct, the motives are his own."--Let. 58.
"I am not so unjust as to reason from one crime to another; though I think that, of all vices, avarice is most apt to taint and corrupt the heart."--Let. 27.
"Charity with them begins and ends at home."--Exam. of Prophecies, Appendix.
"His charity has improved upon the proverb, and ended where it began."--Let. 27.
"Gut a verse."
"Gut a resolution."
The above are a few of the similar figures which have come under my eye. The careful reader will, doubtless, find many more, as I have given my attention to a multiplicity of subjects in this investigation, and many parallels would thus escape me. But I have given more than sixty, which ought to arrest the attention of any thinking man. Together with the above may be taken parallel phrases _frequently_ used by both; for example: "I affirm," "Excess of folly," "In point of," "Give the lie to," "For several reasons," "Branded with," "It signifies not," "Circumstanced," "For my own part," "In short," "Forever," "Common cause."
* * * * *
I now pass on to those figures of speech which come in the form of argumentation, as antithesis and interrogation.
Antithesis is a species of word painting. It is to an argument what light and shade are to a painting. There can, therefore, be no argument without antithesis in some form. It may be defined, contrasting or placing in opposition opinions, sentiments, and ideas. The following are examples:
_Paine._
"At home and abroad."
"A government of our own is our natural right; and when a man seriously reflects on the precariousness of human affairs, he will become convinced that it is infinitely wiser and safer to form a constitution of our own in a cool, deliberate manner, while we have it in our power, than to trust such an interesting event to time and chance. _If we omit it now_, some Massanello may hereafter arise, who, laying hold of popular disquietudes, may collect together the desperate and discontented, and, by assuming to themselves the powers of government, finally sweep away the liberties of the continent like a deluge."--C. S.
_Junius._
"At home and abroad."
"If we see them obedient to the laws, prosperous in their industry, united at home and respected abroad, we may reasonably presume that their affairs are conducted by men of experience, abilities, and virtue. _If, on the contrary_, we see an universal spirit of distrust and dissatisfaction, a rapid decay of trade, dissensions in all parts of the empire, a total loss of respect in the eyes of foreign powers, we may pronounce, without hesitation, that the government of that country is weak, distracted, and corrupt."--Let. 1.
As would naturally be expected from what has already been brought forward, in regard to the mental constitution of Mr. Paine, he abounds in this figure and style of argumentation; and it is the same with Junius. Sentence after sentence, and period after period, are in antithesis. The expressions, "On the one hand, and on the other," "At home and abroad," "On this side, and on that," are the constant companions of both. Hence the method, also, in both, of bringing forward contradictions in the conduct and character of individuals, or in any proposition they are attacking. This is the language, also, of ridicule; the contradiction makes it absurd, the incongruity ridiculous. Antithesis is, therefore, an argumentative figure of speech, in which contrast or comparison is made to present an image of things or principles to the mind. It is to rhetoric what light and shade are to painting. In no other way can a writer paint a picture. Hence, when Mr. Paine says, "Were I disposed to _paint_ a contrast," and when Junius says, "Imagine what you might be, and then reflect upon what you are," they reveal the gift of that tremendous power they exhibit in their productions.
It is from this constitutional arrangement of the mind which makes a man a good mathematician. For, if one will trace a mathematical process of reasoning, he will find it to be a system of comparisons or antitheses--and nothing else--having foundation primarily in _equality_. The idea of _equality_ is the origin of mathematics. It was, therefore, a mathematician who wrote Junius. We can not go wrong in this conclusion, for we reason from first principles, and we would expect to find his style and language assuming mathematical preciseness, and only equaled by Mr. Paine in argumentation.
* * * * *
From what has already been said, we would expect to find the frequent use of the _dilemma_, and the _reductio ad absurdum_--or, that the contrary of what is true leads to the _absurd_.
_Paine._
"There is something exceedingly ridiculous in the composition of monarchy; it first excludes a man from the means of information, yet empowers him to act in cases where the highest judgment is required. The state of a king shuts him from the world, yet the business of a king requires him to know it thoroughly; wherefore, the different parts, by unnaturally opposing and destroying each other, prove the whole character to be absurd and ridiculous."
_Junius._
"The right of election is the very essence of the constitution. To violate that right, and, much more, to transfer it to any other set of men, is a step leading immediately to the dissolution of all government. So far forth as it operates, it constitutes a House of Commons which does not represent the people. A House of Commons so formed would involve a contradiction, and the greatest confusion of ideas; but there are some ministers, my lord, whose views can only be answered by reconciling absurdities, and making the same proposition which is false and absurd in argument true in fact."--Let. 11.
I give the following dilemmas:
_Paine._
"If you make the necessary demand at home, your party sinks; if you make it not, you sink yourself; to ask it now is too late, and to ask it before was too soon; and, unless it arrive quickly, will be of no use. In short, the part you have to act can not be acted."--Crisis, ii.
_Junius._
"This confession reduces you to an unfortunate dilemma. By renewing your solicitations, you must either mean to force your country into a war at a most unseasonable juncture, or, having no view or expectation of that kind, that you look for nothing but a private compensation to yourself."--Let. 25.
But those methods of argumentation are only a species of antithesis, and may all be reduced to the one fundamental form of comparison. This may remind us of the fact that all improvement arises from comparison, whether in language, government, or personal experience.
I have one marked feature of argumentative figure to point out, and this is, _interrogation_. This is insinuation without direct attack, a sort of flank movement, when charges are made that can not be proven, or when too evident to need proof. This style is also not only common to both Mr. Paine and Junius, but so prominent that it attracts attention at once.
* * * * *
It is frequently the case with Mr. Paine and Junius that "_language fails_," that is, it is poured forth in such torrents of abuse that the reader is made painfully aware of it, and to recapture the mind of the reader, they artfully charge it to the impossibility of doing justice to so bad a subject. For example:
_Paine._
"There are cases that can not be overdone by language, and this is one."--Crisis, i.
"There is not in the compass of language a sufficiency of words to express the baseness of your king, his ministry, and his army. They have refined upon villainy till it wants a name. To the fiercer vices of former ages they have added the dregs and scummings of the most finished rascality, and are so completely sunk in serpentine deceit that there is not left among them one generous enemy."--Crisis, v.
_Junius._
"But this language is too mild for the occasion. The king is determined that our abilities shall not be lost to society."--Let. 48.
"Our language has no terms of reproach, the mind has no idea of detestation, which has not already been happily applied to you and exhausted. Ample justice has been done, by abler pens than mine, to the separate merits of your life and character. Let it be my humble office to collect the scattered sweets till their united virtue tortures the sense."--Let. 41.
"We sometimes experience sensations to which language is not equal. The conception is too bulky to be born alive, and in the torture of thinking we stand dumb. Our feelings imprisoned by their magnitude, find no way out, and in the struggle of expression every finger tries to be a tongue. The machinery of the body seems too little for the mind, and we look about us for help to show our thoughts by. Such must be the sensation of America whenever Britain teeming with corruption shall propose to her to sacrifice her faith."--Crisis, xii.
"In what language shall I address so black, so cowardly a tyrant. Thou worse than one of the Brunswicks and all the Stuarts."--Let. 56.
"The king has been advised to make a public surrender, a solemn sacrifice in the face of all Europe, not only of the interest of his subjects, but of his own personal reputation, and of the dignity of that crown which his predecessors have worn with honor. These are strong terms, sir, but they are supported by fact and argument."--Let. 42.
In the last parallel above, it will be noticed, the strong terms were called forth by a sacrifice of _national honor_ with Great Britain, and a prospect of it in the United States. I call attention to this in this place to save repetition of proofs, showing that proud spirit of personal honor so prominent in Paine and Junius, and from which they both say: national honor is governed by the same rules as personal honor. I now pass to notice the most prominent mental characteristics.
MENTAL CHARACTERISTICS.
If the reader will carry forward in his mind what I have already said on style and the object for which Mr. Paine and Junius wrote, it will greatly aid me in reducing the size of this book. I shall act on the principle of this suggestion, and while I give new matter upon new subjects, the reader will find the parallels greatly strengthened by what has already been said. The reader will also apply the facts already brought forward to the passages I shall hereafter present, so that, like a two-edged sword, it may be made to cut both ways. And first of _avarice_ and the _miser_:
_Paine._
"Could I find a miser whose heart never felt the emotion of a spark of principle, even that man, uninfluenced by every love but the love of money, and capable of no attachment but to his interest, would and must, from the frugality which governs him, contribute to the defense of the country, or he ceases to be a miser and becomes an idiot."
_Junius._
"Of all the vices avarice is most apt to taint and corrupt the heart."--Let. 27.
"As for the common _sordid views_ of avarice," etc.--Let. 53.
"The miser himself seldom lives to enjoy the fruits of his _extortion_."--Let. 20, note.
"Every passion that acts upon mankind has a peculiar mode of operation. Many of them are temporary and fluctuating; they admit of cessation and variety. But avarice is a fixed, uniform passion. It neither abates of its vigor nor changes its object."--Crisis, x.
"I could never have a doubt in law or reason that a man convicted of a high breach of trust and of a notorious corruption in the execution of a public office, was and ought to be incapable of sitting in the same parliament."--Let. 20.
I call attention to that pride of character and personal honor, so conspicuous in both Paine and Junius:
_Paine._
"A man who has no sense of honor, has no sense of shame."--Let. to Cheetham.
_Junius._
"Honor and honesty must not be renounced, although a thousand modes," etc.--Let. 58.
"Knowing my own heart, and feeling myself, as I now do, superior to all the skirmish of party, the inveteracy of interested, or mistaken opponents, I answer not to falsehood or abuse."--R. M., part ii.
"Junius will never descend to dispute with such a writer as Modestus."--Let. 29.
"Fortified with that proud integrity, that disdain to triumph or to yield, I will advocate the rights of man."--Do.
"For my own part, my lord, I am proud to affirm, that if I had been weak enough to form such a friendship, I would never have been base enough to betray it."--Let. 9.
A thousand passages might be selected from both to show this riding trait of character. The proud, imposing spirit that would dare to undertake the business of a world for the good of mankind, and to tread on the pride of courtiers, and to tell the king, who ruled over the greatest nation on earth, that nature had only intended him for a good-humored fool, is pre-eminently the leading trait in Junius and Paine. No one can mistake it; no one can fail in finding it; no one can help feeling the force of it. It has never been produced in any other man. The world's history has given us but the one example of it. We search in vain for another parallel. And if Mr. Paine did not write Junius, nature produced twins of the same mental type to do the same work for mankind, and then defeated all her arts and gave the lie to all her laws, by exhibiting the one and forever concealing the other. But surely nature can conceal nothing. Her method is to reveal, not to conceal. She writes the character of man on all he touches, and reveals it in the very language he would employ to conceal it.
It was this proud spirit which gave Paine that contempt for monarchy which he so often expressed. "I have an aversion to monarchy," he says, "as being too debasing to the dignity of man." This is a language which courtiers could not understand, and they would consider it the vain babbling of a mad-man; but it is the very basis of that government which he labored to establish in America and France. This is also the spirit of Junius when he says with such withering sarcasm: "It may be matter of curious speculation to consider, if an honest man were permitted to approach a king, in what terms he would address himself to his sovereign." And after having gained the ear of the king, when he says: "Let it be imagined, no matter how improbable, that he has spirit enough to bid him speak freely and understanding enough to listen to him with attention. Unacquainted with the vain impertinence of forms, he would deliver his sentiments with _dignity_ and firmness." Here Junius, also, fortified with that proud integrity of character which he held in common with all who would not be enslaved, and which he possessed as the birthright of man, was free to place the dignity of an honest man in antithesis to a weak understanding in a king only supported by the vain impertinence of forms. Paine was too proud to be vain; his pride came up from nature; it was the pride of human worth, and opposed to that vanity of art which always makes pretentions to more worth than nature has conferred. Nature gives us pride, art makes us vain. It was this pride, in opposition to vanity, which Junius expressed in his great battle against the usurpations of government, when he says: "Both liberty and property are precarious unless the possessors have sense and spirit enough to defend them. This is not the language of vanity. If I am a vain man my gratification lies within a narrow circle." That is, "to write for fame and be unknown."
From this pride of character, so strong and peculiar, we may draw no weak conclusion in regard to the authorship of Junius, for the parallel is perfect, and the age in which he wrote gave us nothing like it in any one but Paine. This characteristic gives tone to the whole mind, and a shade of coloring to every faculty. It reflects itself upon the people, and draws therefrom the conclusion that they have more "sense and spirit" than they really possess. It gives a double coloring to hope, paints two bows instead of one, and reduces the time for the establishment of right. It thus produces more faith in the people than facts will sustain. For example:
_Paine._
"The fraud, hypocrisy, and imposition of governments are now beginning to be too well understood to promise them any longer career. The farce of monarchy and aristocracy in all countries, is following that of chivalry, and Mr. Burke is dressing for the funeral."
"The time is not very distant when England will laugh at itself for sending abroad for a king." &c.
_Junius._
"I believe there is yet a spirit of resistance in this country, which will not submit to be oppressed; but I am sure there is a fund of good sense in this country which can not be deceived."--Let. 16.
"Within the space of a few years we have seen two revolutions, those of America and France.... From both these instances it is evident that the greatest forces that can be brought into the field of revolutions, are reason and common interest...."
"We may hereafter hope to see revolutions or changes in government, produced by the same quiet operation, by which any measure determinable by reason and discussion, is accomplished."--R. of M.