So be it. He is not the first great man who has found the world
thankless. Oddly enough, it troubled him little in comparison with the
satisfaction he felt in seeing his exalted projects meet with success.
So that good things were effectually accomplished, he cared not a whit
who got the credit.
In reference to the charges against him of being "an infidel," or
guilty of "infidelity," he himself, with that straightforward and
happy confidence which made some men call him a braggart, wrote:
"They have not yet accused Providence of Infidelity. Yet,
according to their outrageous piety, she (Providence) must
be as bad as Thomas Paine; she has protected him in all his
dangers, patronised him in all his undertakings, encouraged
him in all his ways...."
It is true, as Mr. van der Weyde points out in an article in _The
Truth Seeker_ (N.Y.), that a most extraordinary and beneficent
luck,--or was it rather a guardian angel?--stood guard over Paine. His
narrow escapes from death would make a small book in themselves.
Pages:
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166