Paine does not refer directly to changes in Poland in Part Two of Rights of Man, but he does state that in contradiction to a hereditary monarchy ‘Poland, through an elective monarchy, has had fewer wars than those which are hereditary’,
Thomas Paine And The Polish Revolution Read Post »
Although not necessarily to be accredited with being the first to question religious privilege and accepted wisdom in spiritual affairs, Paine was undoubtedly their most fierce critic in his day and The Age of Reason articulates the disdain for and the contempt in which he held all-powerful religion.
Church Disestablishment – Paine’s View Read Post »
If pressed to identify any feature giving the book a degree of importance which removes it from simply being a recreational read, I would point to material in it which social historians will find of great value, although this is expressed in an entertaining manner rather than in terms of what one would expect in a scholarly treatise.
BOOK REVIEW: Beyond The Call Of Duty, Memoirs Of An Excise Man Read Post »
This short essay is unquestionably a major contribution to Paine studies, though likely on the controversial side in that it casts Paine in a role few of his admirers would have thought possible, for it is the belief of the author that Paine was ‘an undercover agent’ for George III.
BOOK REVIEW: Thomas Paine: The Case Of The King Of England And His Officers Of Excise Read Post »
The influence of Paine’s political thought on the Irish rebels cannot be underestimated. In the Ireland of 1790 many minds were fixed upon the French Revolution. For Burke, Ireland was either a strong dike to keep Jacobinism out or a broken bank to let it in.
Thomas Paine, Wolfe Tone And Ireland Read Post »
