Thomas Paine
British born writer and political pamphleteer

• "These are the times that try men's souls."
• "If there must be trouble, let it be in my day, that my child may have peace."
• "Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one."
• "Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must undergo the fatigue of supporting it."
• “I love the man that can smile in trouble, that can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection”
• “Reputation is what men and women think of us; character is what God and angels know of us.”
• “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.”
• “Character is much easier kept than recovered.”
• “The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly.”

Thomas Paine anecdote