Many a person who could not comprehend Rousseau, and would be puzzled by Montesquieu, could understand Paine as an open book. He wrote with a clarity, a sharpness of outline and exactness of speech that even a schoolboy should be able to grasp.

Nature is truly wonderful. Only man is truly foul.

The best thinking has been done in solitude. The worst has been done in turmoil.

As a cure for worrying, work is far better than whiskey. I always found that, if I began to worry, the best thing I could do was focus upon doing something useful and then work very hard at it. Soon, I would forget what was troubling me.

What you are will show in what you do.

I believe in the existence of a Supreme Intelligence pervading the Universe.

Our greatest weakness lies in giving up.