Lectures of Col. R.G. Ingersoll | Page 3

fires the
weary soldiers read the inspiring words of "Common Sense," filled
with ideas sharper than their swords, and consecrated themselves anew
to the cause of freedom.
Paine was not content with having aroused the spirit of independence,
but he gave every energy of his soul to keep that spirit alive. He was
with the army. He shared its defeats, its dangers, and its glory. When
the situation became desperate, when gloom settled upon all, he gave
them the "Crisis." It was a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night,
leading the way to freedom, honor, and glory. He shouted to them
"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 his
country; but he that stands it now deserves the love and thanks of man
and woman.
To those who wished to put the war off to some future day, with a lofty
and touching spirit of self-sacrifice, he said: "Every generous parent
should say: 'If there must be war, let it be in my day, that my child may
have peace'." To the cry that Americans were rebels, he replied: "He
that rebels against reason is a real rebel; but he that in defense of reason
rebels against tyranny, has a better title to 'Defender of the Faith' than
George III."
Some said it was to the interest of the colonies to be free. Paine
answered this by saying: "To know whether it be the interest of the
continent to be independent, we need ask only this simple, easy
question: 'Is it the interest of man to be a boy all his life?"' He found
many who would listen to nothing, and to them he said: "That to argue
with a man who has renounced his reason is like giving medicine to the
dead." This sentiment ought to adorn the walls of every orthodox
church.
There is a world of political wisdom in this: "England lost her liberty in
a long chain of right reasoning from wrong principles;" and there is real
discrimination in saying: "The Greeks and Romans were strongly
possessed of the spirit of liberty, but not the principles, for at the time
they were determined not to be slaves themselves, they employed their
power to enslave the rest of mankind."
In his letter to the British people, in which he tried to convince them
that war was not to their interest, occurs the following passage brimful
of common sense: "War never can be the interest of a trading nation
any more than quarreling can be profitable to a man in business. But to
make war with those who trade with us is like setting a bull-dog upon a
customer at the shop door."
The Writings of Paine fairly glitter with simple, compact, logical
statements that carry conviction to the dullest and most prejudicial. He
had the happiest possible way of putting the case, in asking questions in
such a way that they answer themselves, and in stating his premises so
clearly that the deduction could not be avoided.
Day and night he labored for America. Month after month, year after
year, he gave himself to the great cause, until there was "a government

of the people and for the people," and until the banner of the stars
floated over a continent redeemed and consecrated to the happiness of
mankind.
At the close of the Revolution no one stood higher in America than
Thomas Paine. The best, the wisest, the most patriotic were his friends
and admirers; and had he been thinking only of his own good he might
have rested from his toils and spent the remainder of his life in comfort
and in ease. He could have been what the world is pleased to call
"respectable." He would have died surrounded by clergymen, warriors,
and statesmen, and at his death there would have been an imposing
funeral, miles of carriages, civic societies, salvos of artillery, a Nation
in mourning, and, above all, a splendid monument covered with lies.
He choose rather to benefit mankind. At that time the seeds sown by
the great infidels were beginning to bear fruit in France. The eighteenth
century was crowning its gray hairs with the wreath of progress.
On every hand science was bearing testimony against the church.
Voltaire had filled Europe with light. D'Holbach was giving to the elite
of Paris the principles contained in his "System of Nature." The
encyclopaedists had attacked superstition with information for the
masses. The foundation of things began to be examined. A few had the
courage to keep their shoes on and let the bush burn. Miracles began to
get scarce. Everywhere the people began to inquire. America had set an
example to the world.