Part 2

You have been told that he was an Infidel. Infidel to what? In the Christian sense of this term he was. But what peculiar significance do your informants attach to this fact? Are not three fourths of the world's inhabitants Infidels? Do not the greatest scholars of the age go far beyond him in Infidelity? Earth's wisest sons--those who have contributed most to the wealth of science, and literature, and statesmanship, have been these so-called Infidels. Yet Paine has been denounced as if he were the only Infidel that ever lived.

You have been told that he recanted on his deathbed. In other words, that he lived a hypocrite; that he only feigned Infidelity for the sake of being persecuted. A very plausible reason, surely. But this statement has been widely circulated, and that, too, in spite of the fact that every person who was with him during his dying hours pronounced it false,--those who sat by his bedside and heard every word that fell from his lips. It has ever been the custom of the church to make every distinguished individual appear as an endorser of her dogmas. See those insolent priests haunting the death chamber of Voltaire; see the crucifix thrust into the hands of the dying Litre and the dead Sherman; see the frantic efforts made to convince the world that Lincoln changed his religious views and died a Christian. An honest Quaker who visited Paine daily during his last illness testified to having been offered money to publicly state that he recanted. But he refused. Others were doubtless approached in the same manner, and with the same result. Unable to find a deathbed witness base enough to make so foul a charge, the calumny was originated by one who did not see him die. A Christian's brain conceived and bore that infamous falsehood; and black and hideous as the offspring was, nearly every orthodox clergyman was ready to serve it in the capacity of a faithful nurse. And in these nurses' arms it lived and died. Only a little while ago I saw one of them hugging to his breast and endeavoring to resuscitate with holy breath the putrid corpse of this dead lie! But supposing that he did recant, that he acknowledged the divinity of Christ. If he did this he died in the Christian faith. Now does the church treat deathbed penitents in the manner in which Paine has been treated? Has not every criminal that has repented in his last hours, from the dying thief of nineteen hundred years ago to the last murderer sent to Heaven, been held up as an object of admiration? Why, then, denounce Paine for having, as they claim, renounced his Infidelity? O Consistency, thou art, indeed, a jewel!

And now, assuming all these charges to be true, he would still have been naught but a poor, drunken Infidel; and while this would have subjected him to much harsh criticism while living, it would have been merely of a local character, and would have ceased when he was no more. Death would have silenced censure, the mantle of charity would have been spread above his grave, and the waves of oblivion would have rolled over his memory long ago. Is it possible that all Christendom would have been so deeply agitated, that the walls of her churches would have echoed every week with the fierce anathemas thundered from a thousand pulpits against the inanimate dust of a poor, drunken Infidel!

The conclusion, I think, must irresistibly force itself upon your minds that these reputed faults do not constitute the real head and front of Thomas Paine's offending. There must be something else. What is it? Would you have the mystery solved? If so, read his, "Age of Reason." Read it carefully, thoughtfully, critically; read it with your Bibles open before you; read it in connection with the ablest refutations that have been attempted against it. Do this, and the mystery will be solved. You will then know why Thomas Paine has been so bitterly assailed.

Two champions meet in the arena of debate. One of them, is overwhelmed. Smiles and groans announce his discomfiture, while shouts of applause reward the triumph of his rival. Then one of them grows angry, and stung with madness, drops the sword of argument and seizes in its stead the bludgeon of malice with which to assail his adversary. But which one does this, the successful or the defeated antagonist? I have somewhere read that "the bird that soars on pinions strong and free and is not hit by the marksman's bullet is not discomposed'"--that "_it is the wounded bird that flutters!_"

That Thomas Paine was not the poor, drunken, immoral wretch that priestly virulence represents him to have been, is dearly shown by the esteem in which he was held by those who knew him best. Would Dr. Franklin have retained the friendship of a poor, drunken, immoral wretch? Would Lord Erskine have defended against the government of England, a poor, drunken, immoral wretch? Would Bishop Watson have crossed swords in theological disputation with a poor, drunken, immoral wretch? Would Napoleon Bonaparte, when in the zenith of his fame, have invited to his table a poor, drunken, immoral wretch? Would France's greatest women, Roland and De Stael, have stooped to pay the tribute of praise to a poor, drunken, immoral wretch? Would President Jefferson have offered a national ship to bear to his home a poor, drunken, immoral wretch? Would Washington have acknowledged as one of the most potent factors in achieving American Independence, the pen of a poor, drunken, immoral wretch? Would the Congress of the United States and the National Convention of France have bestowed gifts and conferred, honors upon a poor, drunken, immoral wretch? Impossible! Every fact connected with his public life refutes these charges made against his private character.

In support of the claims that I have made for Thomas Paine, in refutation of the calumnies that have been circulated against him, I bring the testimony of more than _five hundred witnesses_--those who by intimate acquaintance, or a careful study of his life, are qualified to give a just estimate of his character and works,--historians, biographers, encyclopedists, statesmen, divines, and others; men and women who have acquired an honorable distinction in the various walks of life, and whose names alone are a sufficient guarantee that what they testify shall be the truth. From the dead and from the living--from two continents--I summon them:

"COMMON SENSE" AND THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION.

Dr. Joseph B. Ladd:

"Immortal Paine! whose pen, surprised we saw, Could fashion empires while it kindled awe.

"When first with awful front to crush her foes, All bright in glittering arms, Columbia rose, From thee our sons the generous mandate took, As if from Heaven some oracle had spoke; And when thy pen revealed the grand design, 'Twas done--Columbia's liberty was thine."

W. C. Braun: "From the brain of Thomas Paine Columbia sprang full panoplied, like Minerva from the brain of Jupiter."

"Paine was the prophet of American destiny."--_George Jacob Holyoake_.

"Thomas Paine is one of those men who most contributed to the establishment of a Republic in America."--_Abbe Sieyes_.

Century Dictionary: "Took a prominent part in support of the American Revolution."

"A principal actor in the American Revolution."--_M. Thiers, President Third Republic of France_.

John Clark Ridpath, LL. D.: "The Morning Star of the Revolution."

Hon. William Willett: "The first champion of American liberty."

Blackie's Modern Cyclopedia (England): "One of the founders of American Independence."

"The apostle of American Independence."--_M. de Lamartine._

William Cobbett: "I saw Paine first pointing the way and then leading a nation through perils and difficulties of all sorts to independence and to lasting liberty, prosperity and greatness."

"Paine was the first voice in America that was imperial."--_George W. Foote_.

Theodore Roosevelt: "Thomas Paine, the famous author of 'Common Sense.'"

Edmund Burke: "That celebrated pamphlet which prepared the minds of the people for Independence."

Egerton Ryerson, LL. D.: "The sudden and marvelous revolution in the American mind was produced chiefly by a pamphlet."

George Bancroft: "Franklin encouraged Thomas Paine,... who was the master of a singularly lucid and fascinating style, to write an appeal to the people of America."

"With a soul kindled into one steady blaze, he plies that fast-moving quill. That quill puts down words on paper, words that shall burn into the brains of kings like arrows winged with fire and pointed with vitriol. Go on, brave author, sitting in your garret alone at this dead hour, go on, on through the silent hours, on and God's blessings fall like breezes of June upon your damp brow, on and on, for you are writing the thoughts of a nation into birth."--_George Lippard_.

Pennsylvania Journal (January 10, 1776): "This day was published and is now selling by Robert Bell, in Third street, price two shillings, 'Common Sense addressed to the inhabitants of North America.'"

From this book came the world's first and greatest republic, the first realization of a government of the people, by the people, and for the people. Eloquently he pleads for separation and independence:

"The birthday of a new world is at hand."

"Everything that is right or natural pleads for separation. The blood of the slain, the weeping voice of nature cries, 'Tis time to part."

"The independence of America should have been considered as dating its era from, and published by, the first musket that was fired against her."

"O ye that love mankind! Ye that dare oppose, not only the tyranny, but the tyrant, stand forth! Every spot of the old world is overrun with oppression. Freedom hath been hunted round the globe. Asia and Africa have long expelled her. Europe regards her like a stranger and England hath given her warning to depart. O receive the fugitive, and prepare in time an asylum for mankind."

Benjamin Franklin: "A pamphlet that had prodigious effects."

Justin Winsor: "It was printed and reprinted in Philadelphia in English and once in German, and in the same year reprinted in Salem, Newbury-port, Providence, Boston, Newport, New York, Charleston, and also in London and Edinburgh."

Rev. Ashbel Green, D. D, (Chaplain to Congress): "The pamphlet had a greater run than any other ever published in our country."

William Massey, M. P.: "'Common Sense' had an immense circulation."

Francis Bowen, A. M.: "It had an enormous sale."

Historians' History of the World: "More than one hundred thousand copies of his 'Common Sense' were sold in a short time."

Prof. John Fiske: "More than a hundred thousand copies were speedily sold, and it carried conviction wherever it went."

Salmonsen's Conversationslexicon: "It had an immense sale (120,000 copies) and exerted an enormous influence."

Samuel M. Jackson, D.D., LL.D.: "'Common Sense' (120,000 copies were sold in the first three months) struck the keynote of the situation by advocating Independence and a Republican form of government."

(Referring to the sale of "Common Sense," Paine's biographer, Dr. Moncure D. Conway, says: "In the end probably half a million copies were sold.")

Eben Greenough Scott: "It was a plea for independence and a continental government."

Best of the World's Classics: "In this work Paine advocated complete separation from England."

Nordisk Familjebok Konversationslexicon: "He as boldly as convincingly sh owed the necessity of the Colonies tearing themselves away from England."

Rev. Charles E. Little: "His 'Common Sense' was widely circulated and greatly aided the Revolution by showing the importance and necessity of seeking independence."

Robert Bissett, LL. D.: "'Common Sense,' published [written] by Thomas Paine, afterwards so famous in Europe, contributed very much to the ratification of the independence of America."

John Frost, LL.D.: "It demonstrated the necessity, advantages, and practicability of independence."

Dr. George Weber: "Written in an eminently popular style it had an immense circulation, and was of great service in preparing the minds of the people for Independence."

Henry Howard Brownell: "The book was extensively circulated, and exercised, beyond question, a most powerful influence."

Robert Mackenzie: "His treatise had, for those days, a vast circulation and an extraordinary influence."

Oscar Fay Adams: "His famous pamphlet 'Common Sense' was of great service to the Americans."

Eva M. Tappan: "Its clear and logical arguments were a power in bringing on the war."

D. H. Montgomery: "Paine boldly said that the time had come for a 'final separation' from England, and that 'arms must decide the contest.'"

Rev. John Schroeder, D.D.: "'Common Sense,' from the pen of Thomas Paine, produced a wonderful effect in the different colonies in favor of Independence."

Woodrow Wilson: "Pamphlets which argued with slow and sober power gave place to pamphlets which rang with passionate appeals: which thrust constitutional argument upon one side and spoke flatly for independence. One such took precedence of all others, whether for boldness or for power, the extraordinary pamphlet which Thomas Paine, but the other day come out of England as if upon mere adventure, gave to the world as 'Common Sense.'"

American Reference Library: "'Common Sense,' more than any other single writing furnished the logical basis of Independence."

"'Common Sense' first formulated the demand for Independence."--The _Nation_ (London).

Benson J. Lossing, LL.D.: "It was the earliest and most powerful appeal in behalf of Independence, and probably did more to fix that idea firmly in the public mind than any other instrumentality."

Richard Hildreth: "It argued in that plain and convincing style for which Paine was so distinguished."

Edmund Randolph: "A style hitherto unknown on this side of the Atlantic."

Charles Kendall Adams, LL.D: "A work which had great influence on the Colonists."

"The success and influence of this publication was extraordinary, and it won for him the friendship of Washington, Franklin and other distinguished American leaders."--_Chambers' Encyclopedia_.

J. Franklin Jameson, LL.D.: "'Common Sense'... exerted a profound impression."

John T. Morse, Jr.: "Thomas Paine had sent 'Common Sense' abroad among the people and had stirred them profoundly."

Lord Stanhope: "That publication had produced a strong effect."

Rev. Abiel Holmes, D.D., LL.D.: "'Common Sense', written by Thomas Paine, produced great effect."

John Howard Hinton: "'Common Sense' from the popular pen of Thomas Paine produced a wonderful effect in the different colonies in favor of independence."

Dr. David Ramsey: "In union with the feelings and sentiments of the people it produced surprising effects."

Rev. George E. Ellis, D.D.: "Of mighty cogency in its tone and substance, was that vigorous work of Thomas Paine."

Rev. Jesse A. Spencer, D.D.: "The style, manner and matter of his pamphlet were calculated to rouse all the energies of human nature."

William Grimshaw: "'Common Sense' roused the public feeling to a degree unequalled by any previous appeal."

Hand Book of American Revolution: "It affected sensibly the current of political feeling."

Barnes's Centenary History: "It produced a profound impression."

"The clear and powerful style of Paine made a prodigious impression on the American people."--_Thomas Gaspey_.

Charles Morris: "Its stirring tones filled all minds with the thirst for liberty."

Nouvelle Biographie Generale (France): "The pamphlet produced a prodigious effect."

"The success of this writing of Paine," says the Italian patriot and historian, Charles Botta, "cannot be described."

W. H. Bartlett: "This pamphlet produced an indescribable sensation."

John Andrews, LL.D.: "It was received with vast applause."

Timothy Pitkins: "'Common Sense' produced a wonderful effect in the different Colonies in favor of Independence."

Rev. William Gordon: "Nothing could have been better timed than this performance."

Boston Gazette (April 29, 1776): "Had the spirit of prophecy directed the birth of a publication it could not have fallen on a more fortunate period than the time in which 'Common Sense' made its appearance."

"In the elements of its strength it was precisely fitted to the hour, to the spot and to the passions."--_Prof. Moses Coit Tyler_.

Melville M. Bigelow: "No pamphlet was so timely, none had such an effect."

Prof. C. A. Van Tyne: "It was a firebrand which set aflame the ready political material in America."

"Every living man in America in 1776 who could read, read 'Common Sense.'... This book was the arsenal to which colonists went for their mental weapons."--_Theodore Parker_.

Mrs. Robert Burns Peattie: "Men, women and children read it. It was for them an education."

C. W. A. Veditz, LL.B.: "The work of Paine became the text book of the new era."

Sydney G. Fisher: "Its phrases became household words on the lips of every man in the patriot party."

Henry W. Edson: "Its concise, simple and unanswerable style won thousands to the cause."

Edward Channing: "It was read and debated in smithy and shop and converted thousands."

Henry Eldridge Bourne and Elbert Jay Benton: "Much that Paine wrote was so simple, so convincing, such 'common sense,' that thousands read it and concluded that separation was necessary."

William Cullen Bryant and Sydney Howard Gay: "Everybody read it and nearly everybody was influenced by it."

Pennsylvania Evening Post (March 17, 1776): "'Common Sense' hath made independents of the majority of the country."

Almon's Remembrancer (1776): "'Common Sense' is read by all ranks; and as many as read, so many become converted."

"'Common Sense' has converted thousands to Independence who could not endure the idea before."

(Where two or more paragraphs of testimony follow the name of a witness, all of the testimony cited, unless otherwise credited, belongs to the witness named.)

William Robinson (to Nathan Hafle, Feb. 17, 1776): "Upon my word, it is well done.... I confess a perusal of it has much reformed my notions."

Joseph Hawley (to Elbridge Gerry, Feb. 18, 1776): "I have read the pamphlet entitled 'Common Sense, Addressed to the Inhabitants of America.' and every sentiment has sunk into my well-prepared heart."

"By private letters which I have lately received from Virginia, I find that 'Common Sense' is working a powerful change there in the minds of many men."--_George Washington_.

Rev. John Drayton: "Colonel Gadsden (having brought the first copy of Paine's pamphlet 'Common Sense') boldly declared himself [in the Provincial Congress at Charleston, Feb. 10, 1776] for the absolute Independence of America. This last sentiment came like an explosion of thunder on the members."

Bitterly as the Colonists opposed the tyranny of the English Government there were no manifestations of disloyalty. If they harbored the thought of separation and independence no tongue or pen had dared to give expression to it. Referring to this period Hon. Alexander H. Stephens says: "Neither did Livingston, nor Washington, nor any of the prominent leaders in the cause of the Colonists at that time look to anything but a redress of grievances. None were looking to a final separation and Independence."

"When I first took command of the army," says Washington, "I abhorred the idea of Independence." When admonished that continued resistance to the crown might lead to separation, he replied: "If you ever hear of me joining in any such measures you have my leave to set me down for everything wicked." While Paine was writing his "Common Sense," Jefferson, the reputed author of the Declaration of Independence, wrote that he was "looking with fondness toward a reconciliation with Great Britain." But a little while before Franklin had assured Lord Chatham that "he had never heard in America an expression in favor of Independence."

Virginia, the province of Washington and Jefferson, declared in favor of "a redress of grievances, and not a revolution of government." In November, 1775, the Assembly of Pennsylvania, Franklin's province, elected a delegation to the Continental Congress with these instructions: "Though the British Parliament and administration have compelled us to resist their violence by force of arms, yet we strictly enjoin that you dissent from and utterly reject any proposition, should such be made, that may cause or lead to a separation from the mother country."

"Among them all not one had been stirred by that splendid dream of a new nation, a nation independent and free. There was but one mind and only one that had grasped the great plan. There was one voice crying in the wilderness. There was one herald of the dawn, one that did not hesitate in that night of hesitancy and reluctancy."--_Dr. J. E. Roberts_.

Dr. David Ramsay, a prominent leader in the Continental Congress and a popular historian of the Revolution, describing the effects of "Common Sense," says: "Though that measure [Separation] a few months before was not only foreign to their wishes, but the object of their abhorrence, the current suddenly became so strong in its favor that it bore down all before it."

Prof. Moses Coit Tyler: "In one sentiment all persons, Tories and Whigs, seemed perfectly to agree, viz., in abhorrence of the project of separation from the Empire. Suddenly, however, and within a period of less than six months [chiefly as a result of Paine's pamphlet] the majority of the Whigs turned completely around, and openly declared for Independence."

"Thomas Paine brought to the study of the American Revolution a mind... quick to see into things, and marvelous in its power of stating them with lucidity, with liveliness and with incisive force."

It is generally supposed that the writing of "Common Sense" with its advocacy of separation and independence was suggested by Franklin. It was not; Franklin knew nothing of its existence prior to its publication. What he suggested was a history of Colonial affairs which he believed would convince the world that the grievances of the Colonists against the mother country were just. Paine's own account of the origin of this work is as follows:

"In October, 1775, Dr. Franklin proposed giving me such materials as were in his hands towards completing a history of the present transactions, and seemed desirous of having the first volume out the next spring.. I had then formed the outlines of 'Common Sense,' and finished nearly the first part; and as I supposed the doctor's design in getting out a history was to open the new year with a new system, I expected to surprise him with a production on that subject much earlier than he thought of; and without informing him of what I was doing, got it ready for the press as fast as I conveniently could, and sent him the first pamphlet that was printed off."

Regarding the originality of his revolutionary ideas, "Appleton's Cyclopedia of American Biography" says: "Beyond doubt Washington, Franklin, and all other prominent men of the Revolutionary period gave Paine the sole credit for everything that came from his pen."

Washington, Franklin and Jefferson were among Paine's earliest converts. Franklin gave his book his immediate approval, and Jefferson's endorsement soon followed. Washington, writing to Joseph Reed in the same month that it was published, acknowledged its "sound doctrine and unanswerable reasoning," and declared for separation.

"Jefferson, Washington and Franklin, who up to that time [publication of 'Common Sense'] had denounced even the thought of Independence,... all changed front, and soon, not a majority, but the effective part of the people, followed."--_T. B. Wakeman_.

"Washington, now converted, wrote to his friends in praise of 'Common Sense'... Jefferson, John Adams, Franklin, Madison, all the great statesmen of the time, wrote praisefully of Paine's 'flaming arguments.'"--_Ella Wheeler Wilcox_.