Quotes By Thomas Paine

Suspicion is the companion of mean souls, and the bane of all good society.

There are matters in the Bible, said to be done by the express commandment of God, that are shocking to humanity and to every idea we have of moral justice.

He that would make his own liberty secure, must guard even his enemy from oppression; for if he violates this duty, he establishes a precedent that will reach to himself.

Is it not a species of blasphemy to call the New Testament revealed religion, when we see in it such contradictions and absurdities.

When we are planning for posterity, we ought to remember that virtue is not hereditary.

It is error only, and not truth, that shrinks from inquiry.

These are the times that try men's souls.

It is the direction and not the magnitude which is to be taken into consideration.

The greatest remedy for anger is delay.

I prefer peace. But if trouble must come, let it come in my time, so that my children can live in peace.

Those who want to reap the benefits of this great nation must bear the fatigue of supporting it.

Any system of religion that has anything in it that shocks the mind of a child, cannot be true.

My mind is my own church.

We have it in our power to begin the world over again.

The most formidable weapon against errors of every kind is reason.

One good schoolmaster is of more use than a hundred priests.

Human nature is not of itself vicious.

Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one.

Reputation is what men and women think of us; character is what God and angels know of us.

It is an affront to treat falsehood with complaisance.

Arms discourage and keep the invader and plunderer in awe, and preserve order in the world as well as property... Horrid mischief would ensue were the law-abiding deprived of the use of them.

Society in every state is a blessing, but government, even in its best stage, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one.

My country is the world, and my religion is to do good.

Moderation in temper is always a virtue; but moderation in principle is always a vice.

There are two distinct classes of what are called thoughts: those that we produce in ourselves by reflection and the act of thinking and those that bolt into the mind of their own accord.

When men yield up the privilege of thinking, the last shadow of liberty quits the horizon.

Character is much easier kept than recovered.

I believe in the equality of man; and I believe that religious duties consist in doing justice, loving mercy, and endeavoring to make our fellow-creatures happy.

To establish any mode to abolish war, however advantageous it might be to Nations, would be to take from such Government the most lucrative of its branches.

It is not a field of a few acres of ground, but a cause, that we are defending, and whether we defeat the enemy in one battle, or by degrees, the consequences will be the same.