He prays dictatorially. When it is sunshine, he prays for rain, and when it is rain, he prays for sunshine. He follows the same idea in everything that he prays for; for what is the amount of all his prayers, but an attempt to make the Almighty change his mind, and act otherwise than he does? It is as if he were to say—- thou knowest not so well as I.
Thomas Paine
Related He prays as he is offering protection money to God, so that he does not trouble him with his antics. DR HITESH C SHETH Feast of Luke the Evangelist He who prays as he ought will endeavour to live as he prays. JOHN OWEN He prays well who is so absorbed with God that he does not know he is praying. FRAN&CCEDIL;OIS DE SALES He who labours as he prays lifts his heart to God with his hands. BERNARD OF CLAIRVAUX The forgotten man. . . . He works, he votes, generally he prays, but his chief business in life is t... WILLIAM GRAHAM SUMNER The forgotten man... He works, he votes, generally he prays, but his chief business in life is to pa... WILLIAM GRAHAM SUMNER Is the spring coming?" he said. "What is it like?"... "It is the sun shining on the rain and th... FRANCES HODGSON BURNETT He who labours, prays. SAINT AUGUSTINE He in his madness prays for storms, and dreams that storms will bring him peace MIKHAIL LERMONTOV A POCKET-SIZED GIRL He keeps me in his pocket for a rainy day; he swears I'm ... COCO J. GINGER When a man spends his own money to buy something for himself, he is very careful about how much ... MILTON FRIEDMAN True prayer is only another name for the love of God. Its excellence does not consist in the multitu... FRANçOIS FéNELON Whatever man prays for, he prays for a miracle. Every prayer reduces itself to this—Great God, gra... IVAN TURGENEV Whatever man prays for, he prays for a miracle. Every prayer reduces itself to thisGreat God, gran... IVAN TURGENEV We plough the fields and scatter The good seed on the land, But it is fed and watered By... MATTHIAS CLAUDIUS He Is Not Dead I cannot say, and I will not say That he is dead. He is just away. JAMES WHITCOMB RILEY Percy wakes me (fourteen) Percy wakes me and I am not ready. He has slept all night ... MARY OLIVER A great nation is like a great man: When he makes a mistake, he realizes it. Having realiz... LAO TZU My father gave me a ruined boy to compensate for the fact that he does not love me. The ... BRENNA YOVANOFF What's the deal? Why can't he look into my eyes when I have words of appreciation lined u... TANYA GAMBHIR On Love" For even as love crowns you, so shall he crucify you. Even as he is... KAHIIL GIBRAN He is deaf, and keen to accept, any economical operation, that will correct his situation.... JASLEEN KAUR GUMBER You know all of the young gentlemen better than I do,” Lady Manston continued. “Are there any we... JULIA QUINN WHAT IS TRUTH? Truth is not a thing Or a concept. It is as multidimensional SUZY KASSEM Reasons" I wish I knew why he left. What his reason were. Why he changed his mind. <... LANG LEAV Abba Zeno said, 'If a man wants God to hear his prayer quickly, then before he prays for anything el... ABBA ZENO He opens his window and motions for me to open mine. When I do, he tries to say something. His voice... SIMONE ELKELES Start by pulling him out of the fire and hoping that he will forget the smell. He was supp... CAITLYN SIEHL Somebody said that it couldn't be done, But he with a chuckle replied That maybe it couldn't,... EDGAR A. GUEST A man can preach no better than he prays. CHARLES STANLEY He prays but faintly and would be denied. WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE When I approach a child He inspires in me two sentiments: Tenderness for what he is, And r... LOUIS PASTEUR Prayer is more than meditation. In meditation the source of strength is one's self. When one prays... MADAME CHIANG KAI-SHEK Prayer is more than meditation. In meditation, the source of strength is one's self. When one prays,... MADAME DE STAEL The old women in black at early Mass in winter are a problem for him. He could tell by their ey... JACK GILBERT He sipped again, more deeply. “Is this an interrogation, Lieutenant?” It was the smile in his vo... J.D. ROBB One day he said, "I'll tell this town How it feels to be an unfunny clown." And he told th... SHEL SILVERSTEIN One man doesn't believe in god at all, while the other believes in him so thoroughly that he prays a... FYODOR DOSTOYEVSKY But he grins, so brilliantly, not even paying attention. “I love it when you say my name,” he sa... TAHEREH MAFI I’ll be your family now,” he says. “I love you,” I say. I said that once, before I... VERONICA ROTH The Man of Power is one who presides— By persuasion. He uses no demeaning words or behavior, ... H. BURKE PETERSON I visit him a few times downtown while he paints. We talk about how he's going to Spain SAMANTHA SCHUTZ Unlike a drop of water which loses its identity when it joins the ocean, man does not lose his... B.R. AMBEDKAR THIS IS WHY He will never be given to wonder much if he was the mouth for some cruel... MICHAEL RYAN I believe in you, my darling. I believe in you." He closed his eyes. And when he opened th... ELIZABETH HOYT He who becomes the slave of habit, who follows the same routes every day, who never change... MARTHA MEDEIROS Prayer is more than meditation. In meditation, the source of strength is one's self. When one pr... MADAME DE STAEL Prayer is more than meditation. In meditation the source of strength is one's self. When one pra... CHIANG KAI-SHEK He is life's liberating force. He is release of limbs and communion through dance. He is l... EURIPIDES In Psalm 72, Solomon prays for power and fame but he says the purpose of influence is to speak up fo... RICK WARREN For a moment, he looks back at me, and his farewell is in his smile. Then he turns to the stars. BETH REVIS Yes Yes when God created love he didn't help most when God created dogs He didn't h... CHARLES BUKOWSKI Yes. Kissing. Overrated." "I could change your mind," Zach said, surprising the hell out ... TRACY SUMNER I am the slave of the Master of Prophets And my fealty to him has no beginning. I am... يوسف النبهاني I love a man who tickles me awake with reality, and kisses me goodnight with fiction Braids my ... YESENIA BARKLEY But in seven weeks it was done, the frontiers decided. A continent for better or worse divided. W. H. AUDEN You say that your fare told you that he was a detective?" "Yes, he did." "When did he say ... ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE This is what it's all been about with you," he said in an even tone. "All the fear, all the run... KRESLEY COLE The Umbrella Ion Bulbuk has bought an umbrella. “Knock-knock” – it is a neigh... SPIRIDON VANGHELI Gus is the Cat at the Theatre Door. His name, as I ought to have told you before, Is reall... T.S. ELIOT Eragon went to see the dragon for the first time since it had spoken to him. He approached apprehens... CHRISTOPHER PAOLINI I'll be your family now," he says. "I love you," I say. (....) He stares at me. I wait wi... VERONICA ROTH Thank you Jonah." He lowers his head at the break in my voice. I ignore the moisture in his e... KATIE MCGARRY Father! My father knows the proper way The nation should be run; He tells us childr... EDGAR A. GUEST Abby,” he signed. “Hmm?” “I have a confession to make.” “Okay,” she ... SAMANTHA CHASE Never give all the heart, for love Will hardly seem worth thinking of To passionate women ... W.B. YEATS On the late afternoon streets, everyone hurries along, going about their own business. Wh... VERA NAZARIAN Percy and Books Percy does not like it when I read a book. He puts his face over th... MARY OLIVER Man is a rope stretched between the animal and the Superman--a rope over an abyss. A dan... FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE The captain put his fingers to his temples as if he had a headache. “So, let me get this straight.... RICHELLE E. GOODRICH a pro does as well as he can within what he has set out to do and a madman does excep... CHARLES BUKOWSKI The soldier, above all other people, prays for peace, for he must suffer and bear the deepest wounds... DOUGLAS MACARTHUR Once on a yellow piece of paper with green lines he wrote a poem And he called it "Chops"... STEPHEN CHBOSKY He indeed shall be successful who purifies himself, / And magnifies the name of his Lord and prays. QURAN Help your father As he ages And loses his strength For it was he who sheltered you RASSOOL JIBRAEEL SNYMAN He who doesn't pray to the Lord prays to the devil. POPE FRANCIS Funny thing how it is. If a man owns a little property, that property is him, it's part of him, and ... JOHN STEINBECK THERE was a man in our town, and he was wondrous rich; He gave away his millions to the colleges... FRANKLIN PIERCE ADAMS ...Not yet dry behind the ears, not old enough to buy a beer, but old enough to die for his country.... SARAH PALIN He was right. I knew the score. He’d never pretended it was other than it was--whatever the hell t... JOSH LANYON It Couldn't Be Done Somebody said that it couldn't be done, But he with a chuckle repli... EDGAR A. GUEST Love was worth sacrificing for, he thought as he left his room. Even if it wasn't yours. ... J.R. WARD Relaxing, experiencing nature and laughing are what rejuvenate me and make me feel happy. I believe ... SUI HE Since raised blood pressure is the major cause of stroke, the blood pressure lowering effect of pota... FENG HE As a young child, I suffered from poor health. My parents encouraged me to swim, which really improv... SUI HE I like to find old things and I picked up that arrowhead in tears, that broken point ... LI HE These findings provide strong support for the recommendations encouraging the public to consume more... FENG HE The average fruit and vegetable intake in most developed countries is about three servings per day, ... FENG HE They are the Chinese heroes. I am happy for their performance and the result is not the most importa... HE ZHENLIANG This will be conducive to the development of Sino-US relations and China's relationships with the re... HE YAFEI The best way to resolve Sino-US trade imbalance is to expand bilateral trade cooperation. Restrictin... HE YAFEI They are sorry there is no more Soviet Union and they don't know how to act. HE YAFEI We are willing to import more U.S. goods. HE YAFEI Even when he's making dumplings with peasants, he speaks memorized words and sounds like a People's ... HE WEIFANG This is a critical moment. There is a lot of opposition to continuing the reforms as they are today. HE WEIFANG I unequivocally state the wish that the Communist Party should become two parties. HE WEIFANG The situation exists in almost every well-known Chinese university. HE WEIFANG The government really wants to slow down investment, but it can't control local governments who have... HE FAN The new managed floating currency regime is just an interim system. There is a chance of a further w... HE FAN Eventually, we found that the situation there was more serious than what we imagined. HE CHANGCHUI
More Thomas Paine
A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong gives it a superficial appearance of being right. THOMAS PAINE If there must be trouble, let it be in my day, that my child may have peace. THOMAS PAINE That which we obtain too easily, we esteem too lightly. THOMAS PAINE The strength and power of despotism consists wholly in the fear of resistance. THOMAS PAINE I believe in the equality of man; and I believe that religious duties consist in doing justice, lovi... THOMAS PAINE Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting ... THOMAS PAINE An army of principles can penetrate where an army of soldiers cannot. THOMAS PAINE These are the times that try men's souls. THOMAS PAINE What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly; it is dearness only that gives everything its value... THOMAS PAINE Belief in a cruel God makes a cruel man. THOMAS PAINE The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. THOMAS PAINE Titles are but nicknames, and every nickname is a title. THOMAS PAINE Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom, must, like men, undergo the fatigues of supportin... THOMAS PAINE And as to you, Sir, treacherous in private friendship and a hypocrite in public life, the world will... THOMAS PAINE The right of voting for representatives is the primary right by which other rights are protected. To... THOMAS PAINE War involves in its progress such a train of unforeseen circumstances that no human wisdom can calcu... THOMAS PAINE My country is the world, and my religion to do good. THOMAS PAINE Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder t... THOMAS PAINE I die content, I die for the liberty of my country.
[Fr., Je meurs content, je meurs pour la liber... THOMAS PAINE A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong, gives it a superficial appearance of being right, and ra... THOMAS PAINE Reason obeys itself; and ignorance submits to whatever is dictated to it. THOMAS PAINE The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheaply, we esteem too l... THOMAS PAINE ...the true greatness of a nation is founded on principles of humanity. THOMAS PAINE Man must go back to nature for information. THOMAS PAINE When men yield up the privilege of thinking, the last shadow of liberty quits the horizon. THOMAS PAINE Every religion is good that teaches man to be good; and I know of none that instructs him to be bad. THOMAS PAINE I believe in one God, and no more; and I hope for happiness beyond this life. I believe in the eq... THOMAS PAINE To establish any mode to abolish war, however advantageous it might be to Nations, would be to take ... THOMAS PAINE Is it not a species of blasphemy to call the New Testament revealed religion, when we see in it such... THOMAS PAINE If there is a country in the world where concord, according to common calculation, would be least ex... THOMAS PAINE Reputation is what men and women think of us. Character is what God and the angels know of us. THOMAS PAINE The mind once enlightened cannot again become dark. THOMAS PAINE I do not believe in the creed professed by the Jewish church, by the Roman church, by the Greek chur... THOMAS PAINE To argue with a man who has renounced the use and authority of reason, and whose philosophy consists... THOMAS PAINE He that would make his own liberty secure must guard even his enemy from oppression; for if he viola... THOMAS PAINE I love those who can smile in trouble, who can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by refl... THOMAS PAINE These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this ... THOMAS PAINE I once felt all that kind of anger, which a man ought to feel, against the mean principles that are ... THOMAS PAINE Suspicion is the companion of mean souls, and the bane of all good society. THOMAS PAINE Everything that is right or natural pleads for separation. The blood of the slain, the weeping voice... THOMAS PAINE He is not affected by the reality of distress touching his heart, but by the showy resemblance of it... THOMAS PAINE My country is the world, and my religion is to do good. THOMAS PAINE It is impossible to calculate the moral mischief, if I may so express it, that mental lying has prod... THOMAS PAINE A thing moderately good is not so good as it ought to be. Moderation in temper is always a virtue; b... THOMAS PAINE The final event to himself has been, that as he rose like a rocket, he fell like the stick. THOMAS PAINE Our citizenship in the United States is our national character. Our citizenship in any particular st... THOMAS PAINE We have it in our power to begin the world over again. THOMAS PAINE It is error only, and not truth, that shrinks from inquiry. THOMAS PAINE The world is my country, all mankind are my brethren, and to do good is my religion. THOMAS PAINE These are the times that try men's souls. THOMAS PAINE It is not a field of a few acres of ground, but a cause, that we are defending, and whether we defea... THOMAS PAINE A bad cause will never be supported by bad means and bad men. THOMAS PAINE It is the direction and not the magnitude which is to be taken into consideration. THOMAS PAINE When we are planning for posterity, we ought to remember that virtue is not hereditary THOMAS PAINE The world is my country, all mankind are my brethren, and to do good is my religion. THOMAS PAINE It can only be by blinding the understanding of man, and making him believe that government is some ... THOMAS PAINE A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong, gives it a superficial appearance of being right, and ra... THOMAS PAINE Whatever is my right as a man is also the right of another; and it becomes my duty to guarantee as w... THOMAS PAINE We fight not to enslave, but to set a country free, and to make room upon the earth for honest men t... THOMAS PAINE When we are planning for posterity, we ought to remember that virtue is not hereditary. THOMAS PAINE It is not a field of a few acres of ground, but a cause, that we are defending, and whether we defea... THOMAS PAINE There are two distinct classes of what are called thoughts: those that we produce in ourselves by re... THOMAS PAINE Reputation is what men and women think of us; character is what God and angels know of us. THOMAS PAINE He that would make his own liberty secure, must guard even his enemy from oppression; for if he viol... THOMAS PAINE To say that any people are not fit for freedom, is to make poverty their choice, and to say they had... THOMAS PAINE It is an affront to treat falsehood with complaisance. THOMAS PAINE The real man smiles in trouble, gathers strength from distress, and grows brave by reflection. THOMAS PAINE Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one. THOMAS PAINE It is from the Bible that man has learned cruelty, rapine, and murder; for the belief of a cruel God... THOMAS PAINE Independence is my happiness, and I view things as they are, without regard to place or person; my c... THOMAS PAINE The whole religious complexion of the modern world is due to the absence from Jerusalem of a lunatic... THOMAS PAINE Arms discourage and keep the invader and plunderer in awe, and preserve order in the world as well a... THOMAS PAINE He who is the author of a war lets loose the whole contagion of hell and opens a vein that bleeds a ... THOMAS PAINE But such is the irresistable nature of truth, that all it asks, and all it wants is the liberty of a... THOMAS PAINE All national institutions of churches, whether Jewish, Christian or Turkish, appear to me no other t... THOMAS PAINE 'Tis the business of little minds to shrink; but he whose heart is firm, and whose conscience ap... THOMAS PAINE I love the man that can smile in trouble, that can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by ... THOMAS PAINE The abilities of man must fall short on one side or the other, like too scanty a blanket when you ar... THOMAS PAINE Those who want to reap the benefits of this great nation must bear the fatigue of supporting it. THOMAS PAINE The sublime and ridiculous are often so nearly related that it is
difficult to class them separatel... THOMAS PAINE There are two distinct classes of what are called thoughts: those that we produce in ourselves by r... THOMAS PAINE The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too ligh... THOMAS PAINE 'Tis the business of little minds to shrink; but he whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approv... THOMAS PAINE The Vatican is a dagger in the heart of Italy. THOMAS PAINE He that rebels against reason is a real rebel, but he that in defence of reason rebels against tyran... THOMAS PAINE One good schoolmaster is of more use than a hundred priests. THOMAS PAINE Reason obeys itself; and ignorance submits to whatever is dictated to it. THOMAS PAINE Character is much easier kept than recovered. THOMAS PAINE Human nature is not of itself vicious. THOMAS PAINE The instant formal government is abolished, society begins to act. A general association takes place... THOMAS PAINE Whenever we read the obscene stories, the voluptuous debaucheries, the cruel and torturous execution... THOMAS PAINE All national institutions of churches, whether Jewish, Christian, or Turkish, appear to me no other ... THOMAS PAINE The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too ligh... THOMAS PAINE Moderation in temper is always a virtue; but moderation in principle is always a vice THOMAS PAINE Moderation in temper is always a virtue; but moderation in principle is always a vice. THOMAS PAINE The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lig... THOMAS PAINE He that would make his own liberty secure must guard even his enemy from oppression; for if he viola... THOMAS PAINE It is necessary to the happiness of man that he be mentally faithful to himself. Infidelity does not... THOMAS PAINE Persecution is not an original feature in any religion; but it is always the strongly marked feature... THOMAS PAINE It is necessary to the happiness of man that he be mentally faithful to himself. Infidelity does not... THOMAS PAINE I love the man that can smile in trouble, that can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by ... THOMAS PAINE When my country, into which I had just set my foot, was set on fire about my ears, it was time to st... THOMAS PAINE A thing moderately good is not so good as it ought to be. Moderation in temper is always a virtue, b... THOMAS PAINE What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly. THOMAS PAINE To argue with a person who has renounced the use of reason is like administering medicine to the dea... THOMAS PAINE Such is the irresistible nature of truth that all it asks, and all it wants, is the liberty of appea... THOMAS PAINE Society is produced by our wants and government by our wickedness. THOMAS PAINE Better fare hard with good men than feast it with bad. THOMAS PAINE Suspicion is a mental picture seen through an imaginary keyhole THOMAS PAINE I love the man that can smile in trouble, that can gather strength from distress, and row brave by r... THOMAS PAINE I love the man that can smile in trouble, that can gather strength from distress, and row brave by r... THOMAS PAINE If there must be trouble, let it be in my day, that my child may have peace THOMAS PAINE The study of theology, as it stands in the Christian churches, is the study of nothing; it is founde... THOMAS PAINE The adulterous connection between church and state THOMAS PAINE Is it not a species of blasphemy to call the New Testament revealed religion, when we see in it such... THOMAS PAINE The New Testament, they tell us, is founded upon the prophecies of the Old; if so, it must follow th... THOMAS PAINE Persecution is not an original feature in any religion; but it is always the strongly marked feature... THOMAS PAINE The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too ligh... THOMAS PAINE It is necessary to the happiness of a man that he be mentally faithful to himself. THOMAS PAINE 'Tis the business of little minds to shrink; but he whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approv... THOMAS PAINE What we obtain too cheap, we esteem to lightly. THOMAS PAINE I love the man that can smile in trouble, that can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by ... THOMAS PAINE The strength and power of despotism consists wholly in the fear of resistance THOMAS PAINE It is not a God, just and good, but a devil, under the name of God, that the Bible describes THOMAS PAINE I do not believe in the creed professed by any church that I know of. Each of these churches accuse ... THOMAS PAINE When I see throughout this book, called the Bible, a history of the grossest vices and a collection ... THOMAS PAINE We have it in our power to begin the world over again THOMAS PAINE The most formidable weapon against errors of every kind is reason. THOMAS PAINE The real man smiles in trouble, gathers strength from distress, and grows brave by reflection THOMAS PAINE Society in every state is a blessing, but government, even in its best stage, is but a necessary evi... THOMAS PAINE The most detestable wickedness, the most horrid cruelties, and the greatest miseries, that have affl... THOMAS PAINE We fight not to enslave, but to set a country free, and to make room upon the earth for honest men t... THOMAS PAINE One of the strongest natural proofs of the folly of hereditary right in kings is, that nature disapp... THOMAS PAINE I have always strenuously supported the right of every man to his own opinion, however different tha... THOMAS PAINE Action and care will in time wear down the strongest frame, but guilt and melancholy are poisons of ... THOMAS PAINE Suspicion is the companion of mean souls, and the bane of all good society THOMAS PAINE But such is the nature of truth, that all it asks, and all it wants is the liberty of appearing irre... THOMAS PAINE Therefore we say that a lying Spirit has been in the mouth of the writers of the books of the Bible THOMAS PAINE Now, Sir, it is impossible for serious men, to whom God has given the divine gift of reason, and who... THOMAS PAINE Though the flame of liberty may sometimes cease to shine, the coal can never expire THOMAS PAINE I do not believe in the creed professed by the Jewish church, by the Roman church, by the Greek chur... THOMAS PAINE The New Testament rests itself for credulity and testimony on what are called prophecies in the Old ... THOMAS PAINE These are the times that try men’s souls. He that stands now deserves the love and thanks of men a... THOMAS PAINE The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of his cou... THOMAS PAINE There are matters in the Bible, said to be done by the express commandment of God, that are shocking... THOMAS PAINE That government is best which governs least. THOMAS PAINE ...it is easy to see that when the republican virtue fails, slavery ensues. THOMAS PAINE For my own part, my belief in the perfection of the Deity will not permit me to believe that a book ... THOMAS PAINE The bishop who has answered me has been obliged to acknowledge the fact, that the Books that compose... THOMAS PAINE Society is produced by our wants and government by our wickedness THOMAS PAINE Of all the systems of religion that ever were invented, there is no more derogatory to the Almighty,... THOMAS PAINE He that would make his own liberty secure must guard even his enemy from oppression;for if he violat... THOMAS PAINE These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this ... THOMAS PAINE What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its valu... THOMAS PAINE The character of Moses, as stated in the Bible, is the most horrid that can be imagined. If those ac... THOMAS PAINE Each of those churches shows certain books, which they call revelation, or the Word of God. The Jews... THOMAS PAINE It has been the practice of all Christian commentators on the Bible, and of all Christian priests an... THOMAS PAINE [The Hits 1789-'97 George Washington was serenaded with new words to] God Save the King ... I don't ... THOMAS PAINE When it can be said by any country in the world, my poor are happy, neither ignorance nor distress i... THOMAS PAINE We ought therefore to suspect that a great mass of information respecting the Bible, and the introdu... THOMAS PAINE The cause of America is in a great measure the cause of all mankind THOMAS PAINE My mind is my own church. THOMAS PAINE Action and care will in time wear down the strongest frame, but guilt and melancholy are poisons of ... THOMAS PAINE We must be compelled to hold this doctrine to be false, and the old and new law called the Old and N... THOMAS PAINE Whenever we read the obscene stories, the voluptuous debaucheries, the cruel and torturous execution... THOMAS PAINE These repeated forgeries and falsifications create a well-founded suspicion that all the cases spoke... THOMAS PAINE All the tales of miracles, with which the Old and New Testament are filled, are fit only for imposto... THOMAS PAINE It has been the political career of this man to begin with hypocrisy, proceed with arrogance, and fi... THOMAS PAINE A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong gives it the superficial appearance of being right, and r... THOMAS PAINE Those who expect to reap the blessings of liberty must undergo the fatigues of supporting it THOMAS PAINE Let them call me rebel, and welcome; I feel no concern from it. For I should suffer the misery of de... THOMAS PAINE If we do not hang together, we shall surely hang separately. THOMAS PAINE The American constitutions were to liberty, what a grammar is to language: they define its parts of ... THOMAS PAINE Of all the tyrannies that affect mankind, tyranny in religion is the worst THOMAS PAINE He that would make his own liberty secure, must guard even his enemy from opposition; for if he viol... THOMAS PAINE These are times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this cris... THOMAS PAINE Calvinism is the belief (1) That there are three Gods (2) That good works, or the love of our neighb... THOMAS PAINE It is an affront to treat falsehood with complaisance THOMAS PAINE One good schoolmaster is of more use than a hundred priests THOMAS PAINE The story of the whale swallowing Jonah, though a whale is large enough to do it, borders greatly on... THOMAS PAINE I love the man that can smile in trouble, that can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by ... THOMAS PAINE Later times have laid all the blame upon the Goths and Vandals, but, however unwilling the partizans... THOMAS PAINE All the tales of miracles, with which the Old and New Testament are filled, are fit only for imposto... THOMAS PAINE The Christian theory is little else than the idolatry of the ancient mythologists, accommodated to t... THOMAS PAINE Now, if the writers of these four books [Gospels] had gone into a court of justice to prove an alibi... THOMAS PAINE With respect to the books of the New Testament, particularly such parts as tell us of the resurrecti... THOMAS PAINE The first chapter of Matthew begins with giving a genealogy of Jesus Christ; and in the third chapte... THOMAS PAINE It is not then the existence or the non-existence, of the persons that I trouble myself about; it is... THOMAS PAINE In stating these matters, I speak an open and disinterested language, dictated by no passion but tha... THOMAS PAINE That there are men in all countries who get their living by war, and by keeping up the quarrels of n... THOMAS PAINE Be this as it may, they decided by vote which of the books out of the collection they had made, shou... THOMAS PAINE People in general know not what wickedness there is in this pretended word of God. Brought up in ... THOMAS PAINE As to the ancient historians, from THOMAS PAINE It is difficult beyond description to conceive that space can have no end; but it is more difficult ... THOMAS PAINE The Almighty Lecturer, by displaying the principles of science in the structure of the universe, has... THOMAS PAINE When also I am told that a woman, called the Virgin Mary, said, or gave out, that she was with child... THOMAS PAINE Infidelity does not consist in believing, or in disbelieving; it consists in professing to believe w... THOMAS PAINE It was needless, after this, to say that all was vanity and vexation of spirit; for it is impossible... THOMAS PAINE But the resurrection of a dead person from the grave, and his ascension through the air, is a thing ... THOMAS PAINE The study of theology, as it stands in Christian churches, is the study of nothing; it is founded on... THOMAS PAINE