Thomas Paine

Am browsing the newly linked AlterNet and have enjoyed this piece on Thomas Paine, a man, I'm ashamed to admit, I know too little about, and here a kindred spirit:

"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 by 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."

And this:

"I believe in one God, and no more; and I hope for happiness beyond this life. I believe the equality of man, and I believe that religious duties consist in doing justice, loving mercy, and endeavoring to make our fellow-creatures happy."

With this extension of appreciation to AlterNet, I think I should now like to read Paine's The Age of Reason.