Toleration is not the opposite of intoleration, but it is the counterfeit of it. Both are despotisms. The one assumes to itself the right of withholding liberty of conscience, and the other of granting it. The one is the pope, armed with fire and fagot, and the other is the pope selling or granting indulgences.
Thomas PaineWhen men yield up the privilege of thinking, the last shadow of liberty quits the horizon.
Thomas PaineAnd to read the Bible without horror, we must undo everything that is tender, sympathizing and benevolent in the heart of man.
Thomas PaineOur citizenship in the United States is our national character. Our citizenship in any particular state is only our local distinction. By the latter we are known at home, by the former to the world. Our great title is AMERICANS.
Thomas Paine