“I compare it to something behind a curtain, about which there is a great deal of bustle and fuss, and a wonderful air of seeming solemnity; but when by an accident, the curtain happens to be opened, and the company see what it is, they burst into laughter.” Edmund Burke
Walk not on the earth exultantly; certainly thou wilt never tear the earth open, nor attain the mountains in height. Muhammad
These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that 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. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed, if so celestial and article as Freedom should not be highly rated. Thomas Paine
The present life is naught but a diversion and a sport; surely the Last Abode is Life, did they but know. Muhammad
“Persecution is not an original feature in any religion; but it is always the strongly-marked feature of all law-religions, or religions established by law.” Thomas Paine
“As to religion, I hold it to be the indispensable duty of all government, to protect all conscientious professors thereof, and I know of no other business which government hath to do therewith.” Thomas Paine
