50 Powerful Thomas Paine Quotes That Will Challenge Your Thinking
Thomas Paine was a political philosopher, writer, and revolutionary who played a key role in the American Revolution and the Age of Enlightenment. His influential writings challenged conventional beliefs and championed democratic ideals, and his ideas continue to be studied and debated today. In this article, we’ve collected some of his most powerful quotes on topics like common sense, the Age of Reason, and more.
Thomas Paine Common Sense Quotes
These quotes are related to Thomas Paine’s most famous work, “Common Sense,” which argued for American independence from Great Britain.
“Society in every state is a blessing, but Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one.”
Thomas Paine, Common Sense
“Government, like dress, is the badge of lost innocence; the palaces of kings are built on the ruins of the bowers of paradise.”
Thomas Paine, Common Sense
“Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one.”
Thomas Paine, Common Sense
“A government of our own is our natural right.”
Thomas Paine, Common Sense
“These are the times that try men’s souls.”
Thomas Paine, Common Sense
“The cause of America is in a great measure the cause of all mankind.”
Thomas Paine, Common Sense
“It is not in numbers, but in unity, that our great strength lies.”
Thomas Paine, Common Sense
“The Sun never shined on a cause of greater worth.”
Thomas Paine, Common Sense
“Reputation is what men and women think of us; character is what God and angels know of us.”
Thomas Paine, Common Sense
“A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong gives it a superficial appearance of being right
Thomas Paine, Common Sense
THOMAS PAINE, COMMON SENSE
Thomas Paine Famous Quotes
These quotes represent some of Thomas Paine’s most famous and enduring ideas.
“These are the times that try men’s souls.”
Thomas Paine, The Crisis
“Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one.”
Thomas Paine, Common Sense
“The world is my country, all mankind are my brethren, and to do good is my religion.”
Thomas Paine, Rights of Man
“To argue with a person who has renounced the use of reason is like administering medicine to the dead.”
Thomas Paine, The American Crisis
“A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong gives it a superficial appearance of being right.”
Thomas Paine, Common Sense
“The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.”
Thomas Paine, The American Crisis
“Reputation is what men and women think of us; character is what God and angels know of us.”
Thomas Paine, The Age of Reason
“Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.”
Thomas Paine, The American Crisis
“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.”
Thomas Paine, Dissertation on First Principles of Government
“Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must undergo the fatigue of supporting it.”
Thomas Paine, The American Crisis
“The most formidable weapon against errors of every kind is reason.”
Thomas Paine, The Age of Reason
“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.”
Thomas Paine, Common Sense
THOMAS PAINE, COMMON SENSE
Thomas Paine Quotes To Argue With A Person
These quotes are particularly useful for challenging conventional beliefs and engaging in debate with others.
“The world is my country, all mankind are my brethren, and to do good is my religion.”
Thomas Paine, The Rights of Man
“Reputation is what men and women think of us; character is what God and angels know of us.”
Thomas Paine, The Age of Reason
“Society is produced by our wants and government by our wickedness; the former promotes our happiness positively by uniting our affections, the latter negatively by restraining our vices.”
Thomas Paine, Common Sense
“Belief in a cruel God makes a cruel man.”
Thomas Paine, The Age of Reason
“Moderation in temper is always a virtue; but moderation in principle is always a vice.”
Thomas Paine, The Rights of Man
“The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly; it is dearness only that gives everything its value.”
Thomas Paine, The American Crisis
“Character is much easier kept than recovered.”
Thomas Paine, The Age of Reason
“Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom, must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it.”
Thomas Paine, The American Crisis
“To argue with a person who has renounced the use of reason is like administering medicine to the dead.”
Thomas Paine, The American Crisis
“It is error only, and not truth, that shrinks from inquiry.”
Thomas Paine, The Rights of Man
“The world is made by the living and not by the dead.”
Thomas Paine, The Rights of Man
THOMAS PAINE, THE AGE OF REASON
Thomas Paine Quotes Age Of Reason
These quotes are related to Paine’s book “The Age of Reason,” which challenged traditional Christian beliefs and advocated for deism.
“I do not believe in the creed professed by the Jewish Church, by the Roman Church, by the Greek Church, by the Turkish Church, by the Protestant Church, nor by any Church that I know of. My own mind is my own Church.”
Thomas Paine, Age of Reason
“Infidelity does not consist in believing, or in disbelieving; it consists in professing to believe what one does not believe.”
Thomas Paine, Age of Reason
“All national institutions of churches, whether Jewish, Christian, or Turkish, appear to me no other than human inventions, set up to terrify and enslave mankind, and monopolize power and profit.”
Thomas Paine, Age of Reason
“The world is my country, all mankind are my brethren, and to do good is my religion.”
Thomas Paine, Age of Reason
“The Christian religion is a parody on the worship of the sun, in which they put a man called Christ in the place of the sun, and pay him the adoration originally payed to the sun.”
Thomas Paine, Age of Reason
“All natural institutions of churches, whether Jewish, Christian, or Turkish, appear to me no other than human inventions, set up to terrify and enslave mankind, and monopolize power and profit.”
Thomas Paine, Age of Reason
“I believe in one God, and no more; and I hope for happiness beyond this life. 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.”
Thomas Paine, Age of Reason
“Persecution is not an original feature in any religion; but it is always the strongly marked feature of all religions established by law.”
Thomas Paine, Age of Reason
“All the tales of miracles, with which the Old and New Testament are filled, are fit only for impostors to preach and fools to believe.”
Thomas Paine, Age of Reason
“The study of theology, as it stands in Christian churches, is the study of nothing; it is founded on nothing; it rests on no principles; it proceeds by no authority; it has no data; it can demonstrate nothing; and it admits of no conclusion.”
Thomas Paine, Age of Reason
“It is error only, and not truth, that shrinks from inquiry.”
Thomas Paine, Age of Reason
“The most formidable weapon against errors of every kind is reason.”
Thomas Paine, Age of Reason
“To argue with a man who has renounced his reason is like giving medicine to the dead.”
Thomas Paine, Age of Reason
THOMAS PAINE, AGE OF REASON
Thomas Paine was a powerful and influential thinker who challenged conventional beliefs and advocated for democracy and individual liberty. His ideas continue to be studied and debated today, and his quotes provide valuable insights into his unique perspective on the world.
