Chapter V: Introduction (3)

I would call the attention of the reader to the manner in which they close: to the _cause_ of which they speak: to the object of their labors: to the fact that they stand above party or faction: to the expression of Junius, "written by one of yourselves:" to the declaration that if he lives he will often remind the English people of the danger they are in and of the remedy: to the fact that Mr. Paine here does it, and continues to do it ever after while he lives: in short, I would call the attention of the reader to the perfect similarity in style, object, and sentiment, save in this--the one was the requiem of Freedom in England, the other, her natal song in America.

As I have called attention to the style, I would caution the reader not to be betrayed by the word "hath" of Mr. Paine. It by no means affects the style. It was doubtless used or not used at first as a blind by Mr. Paine; for he sometimes used it and sometimes did not. A few years later in life it is abandoned altogether, and Junius occasionally lets it slip. See Let. 37. And also the word "doth."--Note, Let. 41.

The following gives a distinction between society and government, the failure of human conscience, and the necessary surrender of human liberty:

_Common Sense._

"Society in every state is a blessing, but
government even in its best state is but a
necessary evil. In its worst state, an intolerable
one; for when we suffer or are exposed to the same
miseries by a government which we might expect in
a country without government, our calamity is
heightened by reflecting, that we furnish the
means by which we suffer. Government, like dress,
is the badge of lost innocence. The palaces of
kings are built upon the ruins of the bowers of
paradise, for were the impulses of _conscience_
clear, uniform, and irresistibly obeyed, man would
need no other law-giver; but that not being the
case, he finds it _necessary_ to surrender up a
part of his property to furnish means for the
protection of the rest; and this he is induced to
do by the same prudence which in every other case
advises him out of two evils to choose the least."

_Junius._

"It is not in the nature of human society that any
form of government in such circumstances can long
be preserved."--Let. 35.

"The multitude in all countries are patient to a
certain point. Ill usage may rouse their
indignation and hurry them into excesses, but the
original fault is in government.

"The ruin or prosperity of a state depends so much
upon the administration of its government, that to
be acquainted with the merit of a ministry, we
need only observe the condition of the
people."--Let. 1.

"If _conscience_ plays the tyrant it would be
greatly for the benefit of the world that she were
more arbitrary and far less placable than some men
find her."--Let. 27.

"I lament the unhappy _necessity_ whenever it
arises of providing for the safety of the state by
a temporary invasion of the personal liberty of
the subject."--Let. 58.

"Junius feels and acknowledges the evil in the
most express terms, and will show himself ready to
concur in any rational plan that may provide for
the liberty of the individual without hazarding
the safety of the community."--Let. 63.

Mr. Paine now proceeds to form a government upon an ideal plan, and show the origin of those first principles which would operate in the first peopling of a country. "But as nothing but heaven is impregnable to vice," the natural restraints of society will not be sufficient to check it; this will necessitate the establishment of a government. At first, the whole colony may deliberate, and in the first parliament every man will have a seat. But as the colony increases this can not be done, because inconvenience prohibits it. He now observes:

_Common Sense._

"This will point out the convenience of their
consenting to leave the legislative part to be
managed by a select number chosen from the whole
body, who are supposed to have the same interests
at stake which those have who appointed them, and
who will act in the same manner as the whole body
would were they present. If the colony continue
increasing, it will become necessary to augment
the number of representatives; and that the
interest of every part of the colony may be
attended to, it will be found best to divide the
whole into convenient parts, each part sending its
proper number; and that the _elected_ might never
form to themselves an interest separate from the
_electors_, prudence will point out the propriety
of having elections often; because, as the
_elected_ might by that means return and mix again
with the general body of the _electors_, in a few
months their fidelity to the public will be
secured by the prudent reflection of making a rod
for themselves. And as this frequent interchange
will establish a common interest with every part
of the community, they will mutually and naturally
support each other, and on this (not on the
unmeaning name of king) depends the _strength of
government and the happiness of the governed_."

_Junius._

"The House of Commons are only interpreters whose
duty it is to convey the sense of the people
faithfully to the crown; if the interpretation be
false or imperfect, the constituent powers are
called to deliver their own sentiments. Their
speech is rude but intelligible; their gestures
fierce but full of explanation. Perplexed with
sophistries, their honest eloquence rises into
action."--Let. 38.

"I am convinced that if shortening the duration of
parliaments (which, in effect, is keeping the
representative under the rod of the constituent)
be not made the basis of our new parliamentary
jurisprudence, other checks or improvements
signify nothing. On the contrary, if this be made
the foundation, other measures may come in aid,
and, as auxiliaries, be of considerable advantage.
If we are sincere in the political creed we
profess, there are many things can not be done by
king, lords and commons."--Let. 68.

"Here, then, is the origin and rise of government;
viz, a mode rendered necessary by the inability of
moral virtue to govern the world; here, too, is
the design and end of government, viz: freedom and
security. And however our eyes may be dazzled with
show, or our ears deceived by sound; however
prejudice may warp our wills, or interest darken
our understanding, the simple voice of nature and
reason will say, it is right."

"The free election of our representatives in
parliament comprehends, because it is the source
and security of every right and privilege of the
English nation. The ministry have realized the
compendious ideas of Caligula. They know that the
liberty, the laws, and property of an Englishman,
have in truth but one neck, and that to violate
the freedom of election strikes deeply at them
all."--Let. 39.

"Does the law of parliament, which we are often
told is the law of the land; does the right of
every subject of the realm, depend upon an
arbitrary, capricious vote of one branch of the
legislature? The voice of truth and reason must
be silent."--Let. 20.

In the above the sentiment is not only the same, but the same metaphors are used. As a "rod" for the representative, and the "voice of reason."

In the following the same metaphor also is used, but with a change in the application.

_Common Sense._

"But the constitution of England is so exceedingly
complex, that the nation may suffer for years
together without being able to discover in which
part the fault lies; some will say in one, some in
another, and every political _physician_ will
advise a different medicine."

_Junius._

"After a rapid succession of changes, we are
reduced to that state which hardly any change can
mend. It is not the disorder, but the _physician_:
it is not a casual concurrence of calamitous
circumstances; it is the pernicious hand of
government which alone can make a whole people
desperate."--Let. 1.

In the above, Junius is speaking, in his first Letter, with all the prejudices of an Englishman in favor of the constitution. But this soon wears off, and in his closing Letter he speaks as boldly as COMMON SENSE.

_Common Sense._

"I know it is difficult to get over local or long
standing prejudices, yet if we will suffer
ourselves to examine the component parts of the
English constitution, we will find them to be the
base remains of two ancient tyrannies, compounded
with some new republican materials.

"_First_: The remains of monarchical tyranny in
the person of the king.

"_Secondly_: The remains of aristocratical tyranny
in the persons of the peers.

"_Thirdly_: The new republican materials in the
persons of the commons, on whose virtue depends
the freedom of England."

_Junius._

"I confess, sir, that I felt the prejudices of my
education in favor of a House of Commons still
hanging about me.... The state of things is much
altered in this country since it was necessary to
protect our representatives against the direct
power of the crown. We have nothing to apprehend
from prerogative, but every thing from undue
influence."--Let. 44.

"The nearer any government approaches to a
republic, the less business there is for a king.
It is somewhat difficult, to find a proper name
for the government of England. Sir William
Meredith calls it a republic, but in its present
state it is unworthy of the name, because the
corrupt influence of the crown by having all the
places at its disposal, hath so effectually
swallowed up the power, and eaten out the virtue
of the House of Commons (the republican part in
the constitution), that the government of England
is nearly as monarchical as that of France or
Spain. Men fall out with names without
understanding them. For it is the republican and
not the monarchical part of the constitution of
England, which Englishmen glory in, viz: the
liberty of choosing a House of Commons from out
their own body; and it is easy to see, that when
republican virtue fails, slavery ensues. Why is
the constitution of England sickly, but because
monarchy hath poisoned the republic, the crown
hath engrossed the commons."

See how Junius now bows to monarchy in order to
strike it:

"I can more readily admire the liberal spirit and
integrity, than the sound judgment of any man who
prefers a republican form of government in this or
any other empire of equal extent, to a monarchy so
qualified and limited as ours. I am convinced that
neither is it in theory the wisest system of
government, nor practicable in this country. Yet,
though I hope the English constitution will
forever preserve its original monarchical form, I
would have the manners of the people purely and
strictly republican. I do not mean the licentious
spirit of anarchy and riot; I mean a general
attachment to the common weal, distinct from any
partial attachment to persons or families; an
implicit submission to the laws only; and an
affection to the magistrate proportioned to the
integrity and wisdom with which he distributes
justice to the people, and administers their
affairs. The present habit of our political body
appears to me the very reverse of what it ought to
be. The form of the constitution leans rather more
than enough to the popular branch; while in effect
the manners of the people (of those at least who
are likely to take the lead in the country)
incline too generally to a dependence upon the
crown. The real friends of arbitrary power combine
the facts, and are not inconsistent with their
principles, when they strenuously support the
unwarrantable privileges assumed by the House of
Commons. In these circumstances it were much to be
desired that we had many such men as Mr. Sawbridge
to represent us in parliament. I speak from common
report and opinion only, when I impute to him a
speculative predilection in favor of a republic.
In the personal conduct and manners of the man I
can not be mistaken. He has shown himself
possessed of that republican firmness which the
times require, and by which an English gentleman
may be as usefully and as honorably distinguished
as any citizen of ancient Rome, of Athens, or
Lacedemon."--Let. 58.

I would remark on the above passage from Junius, that this is one of his finest rhetorical efforts, and it is well worthy of a moment's pause, to study its plan and probable effect on the English mind. This was written near the close of his literary campaign. The reaction had set in, and he was stemming the tide of public opinion. He wishes to bring the people up to his republican notions, and to rouse them to action. He begins by _admiring the liberal spirit and integrity_ of the man, but reflects on his judgment who prefers a republic to a monarchy so _qualified and limited_ in a country of _that size_. He limits monarchy to a small country. The reader will mark how guarded he is here. He is fully aware of the prejudices of the people in favor of monarchy, and doubtless he spoke his own sentiments at the time, qualified as they were. Mr. Paine afterward spoke of "setting up the Duke of Gloucester, deposing the king, and bringing the ministers to trial." Junius has now prepared the public ear for an attentive and respectful hearing; he has bowed to monarchy, and touched the heart of his audience. He now introduces the principles of a republic, which produce a spirit devoid of anarchy and riot, but one attached to the common weal and submissive to the laws only. He now tenderly chides the people for their dependence upon the crown, _especially the leaders_. He then advances to a charge of inconsistency, and shows the advantage the friends of arbitrary power take of it. He now supports himself by _authority_ in a eulogy on Mr. Sawbridge, of whom he says: "He has shown himself possessed of that republican firmness which the times require." He at last caps the climax with an array of republics, and a hint that an English gentleman would be "honorably distinguished" if he would come forward and play the part of Brutus. The whole paragraph is deeply planned and finely wrought out, and would fall with stunning weight upon the mind of the English nation.

But let us proceed. Mr. Paine asked, in the last sentence quoted above in the parallel column: "Why is the constitution of England sickly?" etc. He also further says: "An inquiry into the _constitutional errors_ in the English form of government is at this time highly necessary, for, as we are never in a proper condition of doing justice to others while we continue under the influence of some leading partiality, so neither are we capable of doing it to ourselves while we remain fettered by an obstinate prejudice. And as a man who is attached to a prostitute is unfit to choose or judge of a wife, so any prepossession in favor of a rotten constitution of government will disable us from discerning a good one."--Common Sense, Part I.

Englishmen considered rotten boroughs the only rotten part of the constitution, but Common Sense and Junius both considered that the disease had extended from the extremities to the heart. Junius says:

"As to cutting away the rotten boroughs, I am as much offended as
any man at seeing so many of them under the direct influence of
the crown, or at the disposal of private persons. Yet, I own I
have both doubts and apprehensions in regard to the remedy you
propose.... When all your instruments of amputation are prepared,
when the unhappy patient lies bound at your feet, without the
possibility of resistance, by what infallible rule will you direct
the operation? When you propose to cut away the rotten parts, _can
you tell us what parts are perfectly sound_? Are there any
certain limits, in fact or theory, to inform you at what point you
must stop--at what point the mortification ends? To a man [Mr.
Wilkes] so capable of observation and reflection as you are, it is
unnecessary to say all that might be said upon the subject.
Besides that, I approve highly of Lord Chatham's idea of infusing
a portion of new health into the constitution, to enable it to
bear its infirmities--a brilliant expression, and full of
intrinsic wisdom."--Last Letter of Junius.

_Common Sense._

"To say that the constitution of England is a
union of three powers, reciprocally checking each
other, is farcical; either the words have no
meaning, or they are flat contradictions. To say
that the commons is a check upon the king
presupposes two things:

_"First._--That the king is not to be trusted
without being looked after; or, in other words,
that a thirst for absolute power is the natural
_disease_ of monarchy.

_"Secondly._--That the commons, by being appointed
for that purpose, are either wiser, or more worthy
of confidence than the crown."

_Junius._

"The three branches of the legislature seem to
treat their separate rights and interests as the
Roman triumvirs did their friends--they
reciprocally sacrifice them to the animosities of
each other, and establish a detestable union among
themselves upon the ruin of the laws and the
liberty of the commonwealth."--Let. 39.

"There is something exceedingly ridiculous in the
composition of monarchy--it first excludes a man
from the means of information, yet empowers him to
act in cases where the highest judgment is
required. The state of a king shuts him from the
world, yet the business of a king requires him to
know it thoroughly; wherefore, the different
parts, by unnaturally opposing and destroying each
other, prove the whole character to be absurd and
useless."

In speaking of and to the king, he says:

"It has been the misfortune of your life, and
originally the cause of every reproach and
distress which has attended your government, that
you should never have been acquainted with the
language of truth until you heard it in the
complaints of your people."--Let. 35.

"A faultless, insipid equality in his character is
neither capable of virtue or vice in the extreme,
but it secures his submission to those persons
whom he has been accustomed to respect, and makes
him a dangerous instrument of their ambition.
Secluded from the world, attached from his infancy
to one set of persons and one set of ideas, he can
neither open his heart to new connections, nor his
mind to better information."--Let. 39.

"That the crown is this overbearing part in the
English constitution, needs not to be mentioned;
and that it derives its whole consequence merely
from being the giver of _places and pensions_, is
self-evident. Wherefore, though we have been wise
enough to shut and lock a door against absolute
monarchy, we at the same time have been foolish
enough to put the crown in possession of the key.

"The prejudice of Englishmen in favor of their own
government by king, lords, and commons, arises as
much or more from national pride than reason.
Individuals are undoubtedly safer in England than
in some other countries, but the will of the king
is as much the law of the land in Britain as in
France, with this difference: that, instead of
proceeding directly from his mouth, it is handed
to the people under the formidable shape of an act
of parliament. For the fate of Charles the First
hath only made kings more subtle--not more just."

Of the king's influence on parliament, he says:

"It is arbitrary and notoriously under the
influence of the crown."--Let. 44.

"I beg you will convey to your gracious master my
humble congratulations upon the glorious success
of _peerages and pensions_, so lavishly
distributed as the rewards of Irish virtue."--Let.
66.

"That the sovereign of this country is not
amenable to any form of trial known to the laws,
is unquestionable; but exemption from punishment
is a singular privilege annexed to the royal
character, and no way excludes the possibility of
deserving it. How long and to what extent a king
of England may be protected by the forms, when he
violates the spirit of the constitution, deserves
to be considered. A mistake in this matter proved
fatal to Charles and his son."--Preface to Junius.

"Wherefore, laying aside all national pride and
prejudice in favor of modes and forms, the plain
truth is that _it is wholly owing to the
constitution of the people, and not the
constitution of the government_, that the crown is
not as oppressive in England as in Turkey."

"The consequences of this attack upon the
constitution are too plain and palpable not to
alarm the dullest apprehension. I trust you will
find that the people of England are neither
deficient in spirit or understanding, though you
have treated them as if they had neither sense to
feel, nor spirit to resent. We have reason to
thank God and our ancestors that there never yet
was a minister in this country who could stand the
issue of such a conflict, and, with every
prejudice in favor of your intentions, I see no
such abilities in your grace as should enable you
to succeed in an enterprise in which the ablest
and basest of your predecessors have found their
destruction.... Never hope that the freeholders
will make a tame surrender of their rights, or
that an English army will join with you in
overturning the liberties of their country."--Let.
11.

I will now present their doctrine of _equal rights_:

_Common Sense._

"Mankind being originally equals in the order of
creation, the equality could not be destroyed by
some subsequent circumstance....

"As the exalting one man so greatly above the
rest, can not be justified on the equal rights of
nature...."

_Junius._

"In the rights of freedom we are all equal....

"The least considerable man among us has an
interest equal to the proudest nobleman."--Let.
37.

"When the first original right of the people, from
which all laws derive their authority," etc.--Let.
30.

"Those sacred original rights which belonged to
them before they were soldiers."--Let. 11.

"For all men being originally equals, no one by
birth could have a right to set up his own family
in perpetual preference to all others forever, and
though himself might deserve some decent degree of
honors of his cotemporaries, yet his descendants
might be far too unworthy to inherit them. One of
the strongest _natural_ proofs of the folly of
hereditary right in kings, is, that nature
disproves it, otherwise she would not so
frequently turn it into ridicule by giving mankind
an ass for a lion."

"Those original rights of your subjects, on which
all their civil and political liberties depend....

"If the English people should no longer confine
their resentment to a submissive representation of
their wrongs; if, following the glorious example
of their ancestors, they should no longer appeal
to the creature of the constitution, but to that
high Being who gave them the rights of humanity,
whose gifts it were sacrilege to surrender; let me
ask you, sir, upon what part of your subjects
would you rely for assistance?"--Address to the
king, Let. 35.

While I am upon the subject of king, I will present their views in this place. And I would call attention to the severity of the language:

_Common Sense._

"In England, a king hath little more to do than to
make war and give away places, which, in plain
terms, is to impoverish the nation and set it
together by the ears. A pretty business, indeed,
for a man to be allowed eight hundred thousand
sterling a year for, and worshiped into the
bargain! Of more worth is one honest man to
society and in the sight of God than all the
crowned ruffians that ever lived.

"But where, say some, is the king of America? I'll
tell you, friend, he reigns above, and doth not
make havoc of mankind, like the royal brute of
Britain."

_Junius._

"For my own part, far from thinking that the king
can do no wrong; far from suffering myself to be
deterred or imposed upon by the language of forms;
if it were my misfortune to live under the
inauspicious reign of a prince, whose whole life
was employed in one base, contemptible struggle
with the free spirit of his people, or in the
_detestable_ endeavor to corrupt their moral
principles, I would not scruple to declare to him:
'Sir, you alone are the author of the greatest
wrong to your subjects and to yourself.... Has not
the strength of the crown, whether influence or
prerogative, been uniformly exerted for eleven
years together, to support a narrow, pitiful
system of government, which defeats itself and
answers no one purpose of real power, profit, or
personal satisfaction to you?'"--Pref.

"The minister who, by secret corruption, invades
the freedom of elections, and the ruffian [meaning
the king] who, by open violence, destroys that
freedom, are embarked in the same bottom."--Let.
8.

"When Junius observes that kings are ready enough
to follow such advice, he does not mean to
insinuate that, if the advice of Parliament were
good, the king would be so ready to follow
it."--Let. 45.

In commenting on the sentence spoken of the king,
"_by whose_ NOD ALONE _they were permitted to do
anything_," he says: "Here is idolatry even
without a mask; and he who can calmly hear and
digest such doctrine, hath forfeited his claim to
rationality; is an apostate from the order of
manhood, and ought to be considered as one who
hath not only given up the proper dignity of man,
but sunk himself beneath the rank of animals, and
contemptibly crawls through the world like a worm.
However, it matters very little now what the king
of England either says or does; he hath wickedly
broken through every moral and human obligation,
trampled nature and conscience under his feet;
and, by a steady and unconstitutional spirit of
insolence and cruelty, procured for himself an
universal hatred."

"There is surely something singularly benevolent
in the character of our sovereign. From the moment
he ascended the throne, there is no crime of which
human nature is capable (and I call upon the
recorder to witness it) that has not appeared
venial in his sight."--Let. 48.

"I know that man [the king] much better than any
of you. _Nature_ intended him only for a good
humored fool. A systematical education, with long
practice, has made him a consummate hypocrite....
What would have been the triumph of that odious
hypocrite and his minions if Wilkes had been
defeated? It was not your fault, reverend sir,
that he did not enjoy it completely."--Let. 51, to
Rev. Mr. Horne.

I shall now give two passages from another portion of Mr. Paine's work to parallel with the last two of Junius on the king:

"Good heavens! what volumes of thanks does America
owe to Britain! What infinite obligation to the
tool that fills with paradoxical vacancy the
throne!"--Crisis, iii.

"The connection between vice and meanness is a fit
subject for satire, but when the satire is a fact
it cuts with the irresistible power of a diamond.
If a Quaker, in defense of his just rights, his
property, and the chastity of his house, takes up
a musket he is expelled the meeting; but the
present king of England, who seduced and took into
keeping a sister of their society, is reverenced
and supported by repeated testimonies, while the
friendly noodle from whom she was taken, and who
is now in this city, continues a drudge in the
service of his rival, as if proud of being
cuckolded by a creature called a king."--Crisis,
iii.

"Though the Kennedies were convicted of a most
deliberate and atrocious murder, they still had a
claim to the royal mercy. They were saved by the
chastity of their connections. They had a sister;
yet it was not her beauty, but the pliancy of her
virtue, that recommended her to the king.

"The holy author of our religion was seen in the
company of sinners; but it was his gracious
purpose to convert them from their sins. Another
man who, in the ceremonies of our faith, might
give lessons to the great enemy of it, upon
different principles, keeps much the same company.
He advertises for patients, collects all the
diseases of the heart, and turns a royal palace
into an hospital for incurables. A man of honor
has no ticket of admission at St. James'. They
receive him like a virgin at the Magdalen's--'Go
thou and do likewise.'"--Let. 67, to Lord
Mansfield.

The above will explain a passage in Junius--Let.
56--which is as follows: "You must confess that
even Charles the Second would have blushed at that
open encouragement, at those eager, meretricious
caresses, with which every species of private vice
and public prostitution is received at St.
James'."

I will now make a few remarks upon COMMON SENSE. I have introduced a few extracts to show its spirit, scope, and object; and the opinions, principles, language, and style of Mr. Paine. I have also thrown by the side of them the similar characteristics of Junius, but this is not all.

COMMON SENSE was to America what _Junius_ would have been to England if the same success had attended it. There is a _plan_ in COMMON SENSE similar to that of Junius. It opens the new year with a new policy; it begins by a contrast between society and government; it attacks the government and defends the original rights of the people; it assaults the king and his minions; it defends republicanism against royalty; it calls on the people to rebel against the tyrant, to take up arms in their defense, and to establish government upon the natural and original rights of the people. If one will study the two works he will find not only the general plan the same, but even in detail they strikingly correspond; showing the same head to plan, and the same hand to execute. There is the same language, the same figures of speech, the same wit, the same method of argumentation, the same withering satire, the same appeals to Heaven, and the same bold, proud, unconquerable spirit, in the one as in the other.

If Mr. Paine was Junius, these things would naturally be expected. And it would be expected, also, that having failed to produce the desired effect in England, and all further effort there being at an end, that if Junius lived he would change his base of operations if a favorable opportunity offered, and strike once more for the liberties of the people. Thus the natural order of things leads us to an irresistible conclusion. But in order not to be too hasty we ought to ask: Is there not _one_ fact in the whole life and character of Mr. Paine incompatible with Junius? When it is found I will surrender the argument. But let us proceed.

Nature is prodigal of varieties. No two individuals are alike, either in physical form or mental features. Great differences may be found even among those most resembling each other, but when we find a man prominent among his fellow-kind, it is because of marked characteristics in which he greatly differs from the rest. These characteristics are expressed in action. A record of these actions is the history of men. Faust gives us movable type, and Watt the steam-engine. Newton asks nature to reveal her mode of operation in the movement of matter. Bacon asks her for her method. Buckle inquires after the science of history. Napoleon was a magazine of war. And thus great minds reveal themselves in their own way; and the more striking and peculiar the characteristic, the more easily can we distinguish and describe the person. Mr. Paine was a literary adventurer. And unlike adventurers in conquest or discovery, he left the record of his course as he went along. His was not a path in the sea, nor foot-prints in the sand, but a work like that of Euclid or Laplace, carved out of thought; he called out of chaos a new world of politics; he fought great battles and won victories with the pen. To know the man, then, we must examine his writings. To this end, therefore, I call the reader's attention to his style.

STYLE.

I will first make some concise remarks upon this subject, to aid us in comparing Junius with Mr. Paine; because I propose to show that the style of the one is the style of the other.

Style, by most authors, is treated under the following heads: _Perspicuity_, _Vivacity_, and _Beauty_. Perspicuity, I define, the clear and true expression of our thoughts in the fewest words. Vivacity is the energy or life of expression; it attracts the attention, and excites the imagination. It takes the will by storm and produces conviction. Combined with perspicuity it becomes eloquence. Beauty is the harmony and smoothness of of expression, and is often made synonymous with _elegance_.

The first requisite in style is perspicuity. It is a prevalent notion among the vulgar that clearness of expression leads to dryness and dullness in speaking or writing, owing to the plain garb in which ideas are clothed. But the fact is, the very reverse of this is true, and as the legitimate result.

Words are said to be the signs of ideas, or symbols of thought. But words _spoken_ is thought passing in the air; they are ideas in invisible vibrations, and a sound can neither be a sign nor a symbol. But words written are symbols of thought. Language addresses both the ear and the eye. The true end and aim of language is to make others feel the full force of an idea as it is felt by the speaker. Language must therefore be forever imperfect, and this from the nature of things, or at least till ideas can be silently conveyed upon the waves of some subtle nerve force. Ideas flit from the mind with the rapidity of lightning. To the inward beholder truth becomes visible at times instantaneously. He sees it, he feels it; it fills him with emotions; it struggles for utterance. Truth writhes to get free and become universally, instead of particularly, known and felt. It may be and is felt instantaneously, yet it can not be expressed in words for hours, and perhaps never: certainly never as it should be. Truth rests in the mind, or flutters there in ideal beauty. It requires an artist transcending earthly perfection to breathe it to the ear or throw it out to the eye on canvas. The tongue and hand both fail, the sounds are discordant, and the lines are broken. In the one instance we have a jumble of sounds, and in the other a daub for a picture.

It becomes apparent at once, the more words we use to express thought, the more it is cumbered with technicalities and idiomatic phrases, just so much more gross, and feeble, and uninviting it becomes, because robbed of its ideal beauty. But, on the contrary, if a word or a look or a touch could express it, its beauty, and its power, and its worth would not be thus blemished. Byron would have spoken that word were it lightning. Hence arises the interest and charm in beholding the picture of an artist, where so much is revealed at a glance; for it is thought which is expressed there. Hence, also, it becomes evident that far more can be expressed in a figure of speech, quickly and boldly put, than could be otherwise presented in hours or days. "A single hieroglyphic character," says Champoleon le June, "would probably convey more to the mind of an ancient Egyptian than a quarto page would to a European."

Perspicuity, therefore, is not necessarily devoid of energy or elegance, in fact the only means to secure a clear and concise style is to use the trope--especially in the two forms of metaphor and comparison: observing always that long and labored figures of speech are generally ambiguous, and always have a bad effect. Their beauty, and worth, and power consist in the brevity and clearness with which they are expressed. "The thought expressed in a single line by Chaucer," says Lord Kames, "gives more luster to a young beauty, than the whole of his much labored poem,

"Up rose the sun, and up rose Emilie."

Perspicuity, then, we would consider the very soul of vivacity, and vivacity the soul of eloquence.

The elegance or beauty of expression is of far less consequence, and must often be sacrificed to the very nature of ideas. It can not be said that all ideas are beautiful. There are uncomely and hideous things on earth; there are disagreeable and hateful subjects to be spoken of, and there are painful feelings to be expressed. Language would fail to subserve the end for which it exists, did it not correspond to the sources of thought and the objects to be described; otherwise it would not be language. To be elegant, therefore, at all times, in speaking or writing, involves an absurdity, inasmuch as only a part of our ideas could be expressed were this the case. The simple narration of facts enlightens; elegance soothes and pleases; but vivacity moves to action. It is the duty of the writer to make his style and language correspond with his subject.

Keeping the foregoing principles in view, the reader may apply such terms to the piece he reads, or the discourse he hears, as may be most fitting. It is thus we speak of concise, diffuse, bold, feeble, nervous, plain, neat, dry, or flowery styles. A full sentence or _period_, as it is called, must therefore have: 1. _Precision_; that is, it must be clear and not ambiguous: 2. _Unity_; that is, it must not have crowded into it different subjects: 3. _Strength_; that is, all unnecessary words must be thrown away, and it must be built with such mechanical skill as will render it the most forcible to the mind: and, 4. _Harmony_; that is, it must sound with the sense.

For the purpose of an argument, it is immaterial to me whether I have cause to praise or censure the style of Mr. Paine. It is a comparison of the known with the unknown, in which I am about to engage, and it is the _likeness_, not the merits, which I wish to bring out. A good or a bad style would not affect the similarity were either produced by the same hand. But it is a fact worthy of remark, as I am passing, that a bad style in writing or speaking, has never produced any marked effect upon the world. It is the nature of great minds to be possessed of clear ideas, and to such minds nature never withholds the gift of purity of diction.

The style of Mr. Paine is as peculiar as the great mind that produced it, and I will describe it to be: _strong, bold, clear, and harmonious_. The construction of any of his pieces, is like the building of a fine edifice. He never begins without plan and specifications. He builds it in the ideal before he puts it on paper. The reader finds a foundation fit and substantial in the first paragraph, often in the first sentence. Upon this he finds a superstructure to correspond, which in size and proportions, is neat and artistic, constructed with each separate material of the best kind, and in its proper place, never left without cornice and entablature, so that when taken all together it is most pleasing and useful. He never leaves a period like a broken column, yet a careless vine sometimes winds around it, to attract the mind from its stately proportions, and we have lost the argument in the beauty of the figure. But the effect is momentary. He soon brings us back to the practical and the real. And it is his peculiar beauty, that he does not impose ideas upon us which his language can not convey to the commonest understanding.

Mr. Jefferson says of his style: "No writer has exceeded Paine in familiarity of style, in perspicuity of expression, happiness of elucidation, and in simple and unassuming language."

Style presents the _law_, as well as the image, of the writers' mind; in other words, style gives us the true portrait and habits of the mind, for the mind can by no means counterfeit itself. I will therefore proceed to an analysis and comparison of Mr. Paine's style with that of Junius; and, first, of the sentence, or period. The different members are of the same length, hence the rythm or harmony. Take the following examples, and I will place bars between the different members to aid the eye:

"The style and language you have adopted are, I confess, | not ill suited to the elegance of your own manners, | or to the dignity of the cause you have undertaken. | Every common dauber writes rascal and villain under his pictures, | because the pictures themselves have neither character nor resemblance. | But the works of a master require no index; | his features and coloring are taken from nature; | the impression is immediate and uniform; | nor is it possible to mistake the characters, | whether they represent the treachery of a minister, | or the abused simplicity of a king." |

"Were I disposed to paint a contrast, | I could easily set off what you have done in the present case | against what you would have done in _that_ case, | and by justly opposing them, | conclude a picture that would make you blush. | But as, when any of the prouder passions are hurt, | it is much better philosophy | to let a man slip into a good temper | than to attack him in a bad one-- | for that reason, therefore, I only state the case, | and leave you to reflect upon it." |

"Ye that tell us of harmony and reconciliation, | can ye restore to us the time that is past? | Can ye give to prostitution its former innocence? | Neither can ye reconcile Britain and America. | The last cord now is broken-- | the people of England are presenting addresses against us. | There are injuries which nature can not forgive-- | she would cease to be nature if she did. | As well can the lover forgive the ravisher of his mistress, | as the continent forgive the murders of Britain." |

"The question is not of what metal your instruments are made, | but whether they are adapted to the work you have in hand. | Will they grant you common halls when it shall be necessary? | Will they go up with remonstrances to the king? | Have they firmness enough to meet the fury of a venal House of Commons? | Have they fortitude enough not to shrink at imprisonment? | Have they spirit enough to hazard their lives and fortunes in a contest, | if it should be necessary, with a prostituted legislature? | If these questions can fairly be answered in the affirmative, your choice is made. | Forgive this passionate language. | I am unable to correct it. | The subject comes home to us all. | It is the language of my heart." |

The above is sufficient. The first and last paragraphs are from Junius, the other two from Paine. The last two paragraphs are passionate, the first two calm but energetic. Throughout the whole, nature is at work--there is nothing artificial. But it was the melody or rythm that I wished to indicate to the reader. This is peculiar and common to both, and itself can not be imitated. If a writer ever succeeds in reproducing this style, it will be from the nature of his own mind, and not from imitation.

If the reader will now return to page 71, and compare the Dedication to Junius with the Introduction to Common Sense, he will find in rythm a striking parallel, because the subject is the same, and the mind of the writer is performing the same work.

Grammatical accuracy is often sacrificed to conciseness, as in the following:

_Paine._

"Many circumstances have and will arise which are
not local."--Introduc.

_Junius._

"If this be your meaning and opinion, you will act
consistently with _it_ in choosing Mr. Nash."--Let. 57.

Mr. Paine was bold enough to transcend the minor rules of grammar whenever he found them cumbersome to his style. In this he is consistent with Junius.

* * * * *

There is a majesty of manner, and a grandeur of style, which strike the mind of the reader with great force. Take, for example, the following:

_Paine._

"It was not Newton's honor, neither could it be
his pride, that he was an Englishman, but that he
was a philosopher; the heavens had liberated him
from the prejudices of an island, and science had
expanded his soul as boundless as his
studies."--Crisis, viii.

_Junius._

"You have still an honorable part to act. The
affections of your subjects may still be
recovered; but, before you subdue their hearts,
you must gain a noble victory over your own.
Discard those little personal resentments which
have too long directed your public conduct. Pardon
this man the remainder of his punishment; and, if
resentment still prevails, make it what it should
have been long since--an act, not of mercy, but of
contempt. He will soon fall back into his natural
station, a silent senator, and hardly supporting
the weekly eloquence of a newspaper. The gentle
breath of peace would leave him on the surface
neglected and unremoved; it is only the tempest
that lifts him from his place.

"The heart that feels not now is dead; the blood
of his children will curse his cowardice who
shrinks back at a time when a little might have
saved the whole, and made them happy. I love the
man that can smile in trouble, that can gather
strength from distress, and grow brave by
reflection." ... Speaking of the principles of
war, he continues: "What signifies it to me
whether he who does it is a king or a common man;
my countryman or not my countryman; whether it be
done by an individual villain or an army of them?
... Let them call me rebel and welcome; I feel no
concern from it, but I should suffer the misery of
devils were I to make a whore of my soul by
swearing allegiance to one whose character is that
of a sottish, stupid, stubborn, worthless, brutish
man! ... There are cases which can not be overdone
by language, and this is one."--Crisis, i.

"Without consulting your ministers, call
together your whole council. Let it appear to the
public that you can determine and act for
yourself. Come forward to your people. Lay aside
the wretched formalities of a king, and speak to
your subjects with the spirit of a man, and in the
language of a gentleman.... These sentiments, sir,
and the style they are conveyed in, may be
offensive, perhaps, because they are new to
you."--Let. 35.

In the following, diminutives are handled with telling effect:

_Paine._

"Indolence and inability have too large a share in
your composition ever to suffer you to be any
thing more than the hero of little villainies and
unfinished adventures."--To Lord Howe, Crisis, v.

"That a man whose soul is absorbed in the low
traffic of vulgar vice, is incapable of moving in
any superior region, is clearly shown in you by
the event of every campaign."--To Lord Howe,
Crisis, v.

"You may plan and execute little mischiefs, but
are they worth the expense they cost you, or will
such partial evils have any effect on the general
cause? Your expedition to Egg Harbor will be felt
at a distance like an attack upon a hen-roost, and
expose you in Europe with a sort of childish
frenzy."--Crisis, vi.

_Junius._

"About this time the courtiers talked of nothing
but a bill of pains and penalties against the lord
mayor and sheriffs, or impeachment at the least.
Little Mannikin Ellis told the king that if the
business were left to his management he would
engage to do wonders. It was thought very odd that
a business of so much importance should be
intrusted to the most contemptible little piece of
machinery in the whole kingdom. His honest zeal,
however, was disappointed. The minister took
fright, and at the very instant that little Ellis
was going to open, sent him an order to sit down.
All their magnanimous threats ended in a
ridiculous vote of censure, and a still more
ridiculous address to the king."--Note, Let. 38.

The reader will observe that the method also of ridicule is the same. A hundred examples of this might be selected from both; and he has, doubtless, already noticed the biting satire of both. The Letters of Junius are among the finest specimens of satire in the English language, and are only equaled by Mr. Paine's Letters to Lord Howe, and passages in his Rights of Man to Mr. Burke. I will give a few extracts. It will be remembered how Junius called the king not only a "ruffian," but said "nature only intended him for a good humored fool," and that if he ever retired to America he would get a severe covenant to digest from a people who united in detesting the pageantry of a king and the supercilious hypocrisy of a bishop. With this remembrance I will submit the following piece of satire from Crisis, No. vi:

"Your rightful sovereign, as you call him, may do well enough for you, who dare not inquire into the humble capacities of the man; but we, who estimate persons and things by their real worth, can not suffer our judgment to be so imposed upon; and unless it is your wish to see him exposed, it ought to be your endeavor to keep him out of sight. The less you have to say about him the better. We have done with him, and that ought to be answer enough. You have been often told so. Strange! that the answer must be so often repeated. You go a begging with your king as with a brat, or with some unsalable commodity you are tired of; and though every body tells you no, no, still you keep hawking him about. But there is one that will have him in a little time, and as we have no inclination to disappoint you of a customer, we bid nothing for him."

Many passages of similar severity could be collected. In fact, the two Letters addressed to Lord Howe are not equaled in force or severity by the most savage of Junius' productions. I now call attention to other parallel peculiarities.

* * * * *

{103}The manner of threatening, commanding, and warning, is, the same:

_Paine._

"I hold up a warning to your senses, if you have
any left.... I call, not with the rancor of an
enemy, but the earnestness of a friend, on the
deluded people of England.... There is not a
nobleman's country seat but may be laid in ashes
by a single person."--Crisis, vi.

_Junius._

"The English nation must be roused and put upon
its guard.... The corruption of the legislative
body on this side, a military force on the other,
and then _farewell_ to England."--Let. 40.

"A change of the ministry in England may probably
bring your measures into question and your head to
the block."--To Lord Howe, Crisis, v.

"Sullen and severe without religion, profligate
without gayety, you live like Charles the Second,
without being an amiable companion, and, for aught
I know, may die as his father did, without the
reputation of a martyr."--Let. 12.

"Go home, sir, and endeavor to save the remains of
your ruined country by a just representation of
the madness or her measures. A few moments well
applied may yet preserve her from political
destruction."--Crisis, v.

"Return, my lord, before it be too late, to that
easy, insipid system which you first set out with.
Take back your mistress. Indulge the people.
Attend New Market. To be weak and inactive is
safer than to be daring and criminal; and wide is
the distance between a riot of the populace and a
convulsion of the whole kingdom."--Let. 11.

"The farce of monarchy and aristocracy in all
countries is following that of chivalry, and Mr.
Burke is dressing for the funeral. _The time is
not very distant_ when England will laugh at
itself for sending to Holland, Hanover, Zell, or
Brunswick, for men, at the expense of a million a
year, who understand neither her laws, her
language, nor her interest, and whose capacities
would scarcely have fitted them for the office of
parish constable."--Rights of Man.

"_The period is not very distant_ at which you
will have the means of redress in your own power;
it may be nearer, perhaps, than any of us expect,
and I would warn you to be prepared for
it."--Dedication.