Chapter VII: Introduction (5)

I now call attention to the fact that Mr. Paine and Junius, when attacking the private character of men, both seem to delight, when the fact would fit, in charging bastardy:

_Paine._

"A French _bastard_, landing with an armed
banditti, and establishing himself king of England
against the consent of the natives, is, in plain
terms, a very paltry rascally original. It
certainty hath no divinity in it."--Common Sense.

_Junius._

Speaking of the Duke of Grafton's ancestors:

"Those of your grace, for instance, left no
distressing examples of virtue, even to their
_legitimate_ posterity; and you may look back with
pleasure to an illustrious pedigree, in which
heraldry has not left a single good quality upon
record to insult or upbraid you. You have better
proofs of your descent, my lord, than the register
of a marriage," etc.--Let. 12.

In their appeals to posterity they were both equal and frequent. Mr. Paine says, in closing his first Crisis: "By perseverance and fortitude we have the prospect of a glorious issue; by cowardice and submission the sad choice of a variety of evils, a ravaged country, a depopulated city, habitations without safety, and slavery without hope; our homes turned into barracks and bawdy-houses for Hessians and a _future race_ to provide for, whose fathers we shall doubt of. Look on this picture and weep over it! and if there yet remains one thoughtless wretch who believes it not, let him suffer it unlamented." Junius also says in strains as pathetic and patriotic: "We owe it to _posterity_ not to suffer their dearest inheritance to be destroyed. But if it were possible for us to be insensible of these sacred claims, there is yet an obligation binding on ourselves, from which nothing can acquit us, a personal interest which we can not surrender. To alienate even our own rights would be a crime as much more enormous than suicide as a life of civil security and freedom is superior to a bare existence; and if life be the bounty of Heaven, we scornfully reject the noblest part of the gift, if we consent to surrender that certain rule of living, without which the condition of human nature is not only miserable, but contemptible."--Let. 20.

* * * * *

In the study of the human heart, and in a knowledge of the secret workings of the mind they were both masters. And, had it not been that they overapplied the nobler virtues in the common people, they would never have gone wrong in their conclusions. They failed not in the knowledge, but in the application of the thing. They thought it existed where it did not. But this is the law, which they laid down as follows:

_Paine._

"It is the faculty of the human mind to become
what it contemplates, and to act in unison with
its objects."--R. M., part i.

_Junius._

"By persuading others we convince ourselves. The
passions are engaged, and create a maternal
affection in the mind which forces us to love the
cause for which we suffer." ... "When once a man
is determined to believe, the very absurdity of
the doctrine confirms him in his faith."--Let. 35.

The mental constitution of Mr. Paine made him practical. What he knew he considered of no use to himself unless he could apply it in some way. He finds the people oppressed by the usurpations of government, and he urges to rebellion. He finds in America, Britain had prohibited the importation of powder, and his knowledge of chemistry immediately supplies the national magazines. His mechanical thought was not satisfied until it had taken the form of an iron bridge. It was the same disposition in Junius which kept him forever talking of "experience," and the "evidence of facts." I give a single parallel out of hundreds:

_Paine._

"In the progress of politics, as in the common
occurrences of life, we are not only apt to forget
the ground we have traveled over, but frequently
neglect to gather up _experience_ as we
go."--Crisis, iii.

_Junius._

"As you yourself are a singular instance of youth
without spirit, the man who defends you is a no
less remarkable example of _age_ without the
benefit of _experience_."--Let. 9.

I merely call attention to the above fact as a practical feature of the mind common to both. In the same manner both make frequent mention of "_reason_" and "common sense." Examples of this kind it is useless to give, for they look out from every page.

* * * * *

I now pass to consider their doctrines and private opinions; and first of politics:

I have heretofore proven that they were not partisans in the strict sense of the term, yet they both had party proclivities:

_Paine._

"There is a dignity in the warm passions of a whig
which is never to be found in the cold malice of a
tory; in the one nature is only heated, in the
other poisoned. The instant the former has it in
his power to punish, he feels a disposition to
forgive, but the canine venom of the latter knows
no relief but revenge. This general distinction
will, I believe, apply in all cases, and suits as
well the meridian of England as America."--Crisis,
vi.

_Junius._

To the king: "You are not, however, destitute of
support. You have all the Jacobites, Non-jurors,
Roman Catholics, and _Tories_ of this country, and
all Scotland without exception.... And truly, sir,
if you had not lost the _Whig_ interest of
England, I should admire your dexterity in turning
the hearts of your enemies."--Let. 35.

"When I hear the undefined privileges of the
popular branch of the legislature exalted by
_tories_ and jacobites, at the expense of those
strict rights which are known to the subject and
limited by the laws, I can not but suspect that
some mischievous scheme is in agitation to destroy
both law and privilege, by opposing them to each
other."--Let. 44.

They both declare _Law to be king_:

_Paine._

"But where, say some, is the king of America? ...
So far as we approve of monarchy, in America _the
law is king_."--C. S.

_Junius._

To the king: "Nor can you ever succeed [against
Wilkes] unless he should be imprudent enough to
forfeit the protection of those _laws to which you
owe your crown_."--Let. 35.

They both express themselves on the game laws of England as follows:

_Paine._

"Had there been a house of farmers, there had been
no game laws.... The French constitution says
there shall be no game laws; that the farmer on
whose lands wild game shall be found (for it is by
the produce of those lands they are fed) shall
have a right to what he can take. In England, game
is made the property of those at whose expense it
is fed."--R. of M.

_Junius._

"As to the game laws, he [Junius] never scrupled
to declare his opinion that they are a species of
the forest laws: that they are oppressive to the
subject; and that the spirit of them is
incompatible with legal liberty: that the
penalties imposed by these laws bear no proportion
to the nature of the offense: that in particular,
the late acts to prevent dog-stealing or killing
game between sun and sun, are distinguished by
their absurdity, extravagance, and pernicious
tendency."--Let. 63.

Both express themselves the same on _laws_ in general:

_Paine._

"The government of a free country, properly
speaking, is not in the persons, _but in the
laws_."--R. of M.

_Junius._

"The submission of a free people to the executive
authority of government is no more than a
compliance with the laws which they themselves
have enacted."--Let. 1.

I would have the reader mark the fact that the above sentiment of Junius is the first he proclaims in his book. This, it will readily be seen, contains in itself the whole system of politics which Junius and Paine labored to establish. From this sentiment arose the frequent expressions of Junius, "Original rights;" "First rights;" "Sacred original rights of the people;" "The meanest mechanic is equal to the noblest peer;" and which Paine embodied in the expression, "Mankind are originally equal in the order of creation." Herein also we find the foundation for that method of both in tracing the rights of man back to their origin, and the easy manner in distinguishing original right from usurpation. A parallel here will make this plain:

_Paine._

"The example shows to the artificial world that
man must go back to nature for information."--R.
M., part ii. "Can we possibly suppose that if
government had originated in a right principle and
had not an interest in pursuing a wrong one, that
the world could have been in the wretched and
quarrelsome condition we have seen it? ... What
was at first plunder, assumed the softer name of
revenue, and the power originally _usurped_ they
affected to inherit."--R. M., part ii., chap. ii.
See, also, a fine specimen of this kind of
argumentation in the first chapter of Common
Sense.

_Junius._

"To establish a claim of privilege in either
house, and to distinguish _original right from
usurpation_, it must appear that it is
indispensably necessary for the performance of the
duty, and also that it has been uniformly allowed.
From the first part of this description it
follows, clearly, that whatever privilege does of
right belong to the present House of Commons, did
equally belong to the first assembly of their
predecessors, was so completely vested in them,
and might have been exercised in the same extent.
From the second we must infer that privileges
which, for several centuries, were not only never
allowed, but never even claimed by the House of
Commons, must be founded upon usurpation."--Let.
44.

In regard to America, I have shown their views to run parallel. Mr. Paine says in Crisis vii: "The ministry and minority have both been wrong." And Junius says in his first Letter: "But unfortunately for his country, Mr. Grenville was at any rate to be distressed because he was minister, and Mr. Pitt and Lord Camden were to be the patrons of America because they were in opposition." The minority here meant no more than the ruin of a minister and split the nation, without doing the colonies any good. Mr. Paine also says of Lord Chatham on this same point in Crisis viii: "An opinion hangs about the gentlemen of the minority, that America would relish measures under their administration which she would not from the present cabinet. On this rock Lord Chatham would have split had he gained the helm."

I bring forward this parallel to show three things, the same political opinions, the same views of the parties in England, and the same figures of speech, all thrown into the same subject-matter. This, together with the same resemblance in style, surely point to the same author.

This leads me on to speak of other private opinions. And first of lawyers, and especially Lord Mansfield:

_Paine._

"It is difficult to know when a lawyer is to be
believed."--Let. to Erskine, Int.

_Junius._

"As a practical profession, the study of the law
requires but a moderate portion of abilities. The
learning of a pleader is usually upon a level with
his integrity. The indiscriminate defense of right
and wrong contracts the understanding, while it
corrupts the heart. Subtlety is soon mistaken for
wisdom, and impunity for virtue. If there be any
instances upon record as some there are
undoubtedly of genius and morality united in a
lawyer, they are distinguished by their
singularity, and operate as exceptions."--Let. 67.

Of those who preside at St. James': "They know no
other influence than corruption, and reckon all
their probabilities from precedent. A new case is
to them a new world, and while they are seeking
for a parallel they get lost. The talents of Lord
Mansfield can be estimated at best no higher than
those of a sophist. He understands the subtleties
but not the elegance of nature, and by continually
viewing mankind through the cold medium of the
law, never thinks of penetrating into the warmer
regions of the mind."--Crisis, vii.

"Considering the situation and abilities of Lord
Mansfield, I do not scruple to affirm, with the
most solemn appeal to God for my sincerity, that
in my judgment he is the very worst and most
dangerous man in the kingdom."--Let. 68.

The above parallel in regard to Lord Mansfield is most remarkable. Let us consider it. Whether the statements be true or not, is immaterial. Mr. Paine said he knew no other influence than corruption; that his talents were those of a sophist, and that he understood the subtleties of nature, not its elegance. Reference is here had to the Athenian sophists, whose art it was "to make the worse appear the better reason." This art made them talented in a certain direction, and in the employment of it they became renowned and rich. Paine affirms that the law had corrupted him. Junius says the practice of the law makes a bad man, and that Mansfield was, considering the conditions, the worst man in the kingdom. This is an opinion so singular and prominent, so rare among men, and expressed so boldly and unqualifiedly, by both Paine and Junius, that it furnishes a parallel which comes with positive and telling force. Perhaps Paine and Junius were the only two writers at the time who held this opinion. And that they should express it in the same manner, with all the fine shades and attending peculiarities the same, and be at the same time two persons, is a phenomenon which nature never exhibited but once, and never will again among mankind. To remove the weight of this evidence, something positive must be brought forward to rebut it.

* * * * *

It will be noticed above that Mr. Paine spoke of "precedent" being the basis of reckoning all their probabilities, and that a new case was a new world. Here we find another parallel in opinion:

_Paine._

"Government by precedent, without any regard to
the principle of the precedent, is one of the
vilest systems that can be set up. In numerous
instances, the precedent ought to operate as a
warning, and not as an example, and requires to be
shunned instead of imitated; but, instead of this,
precedents are taken in the lump, and put at once
for constitution and for _law_."--R. of M., part
ii., chap. iv.

_Junius._

"Precedents, in opposition to principle, have
little weight with Junius, but he thought it
necessary to meet the ministry on their own
ground."--Let. 16, note.

"I am no friend to the doctrine of precedents,
exclusive of right, though lawyers often tell us
that whatever has been done once may lawfully be
done again."--Preface.

Many examples could be given of the above likeness, but these are sufficient.

* * * * *

I submit the following in regard to Lord North:

_Paine._

"As for Lord North, it is his happiness to have in
him more philosophy than sentiment, for he bears
flogging like a top, and sleeps the better for it.
His punishment becomes his support, for while he
suffers the lash for his sins, he keeps himself up
by twirling about. In politics, he is a good
arithmetician, and in every thing else _nothing at
all_."--Crisis, vii.

_Junius._

"The management of the king's affairs in the House
of Commons can not be more disgraced than it has
been. A leading minister repeatedly called down
for absolute ignorance, ridiculous motions
ridiculously withdrawn, deliberate plans
disconcerted, a week's preparation of graceful
oratory lost in a moment, give us some though not
adequate ideas of Lord North's parliamentary
abilities and influence. Yet, before he had the
misfortune of being Chancellor of the Exchequer,
he was neither an object of derision to his
enemies, nor of melancholy pity to his friends. I
hope he [Grafton] will not rely on the fertility
of Lord North's genius for finance; _his lordship
is yet to give us the first proof of his
abilities_."--Let. 1.

Mr. Paine, no doubt, had in his mind this passage of Junius when he described him as a twirling top, a good arithmetician in _politics_, but in every thing else nothing at all.

* * * * *

In speaking of the misconduct of England, they both make it commence at the termination of the Seven Years' War, and speak of the time reckoned from the beginning of the year 1763. I will notice Junius first, so as to present this parallel in chronological order. He says in his first Letter, written Jan. 21, 1769: "Outraged and oppressed as we are, this nation will not bear, _after a six years'_ peace, to see new millions," etc. On February 14, 1770, he says: "_At the end of seven years_ we are loaded with a debt," etc. This is the method, in regard to time Junius always employs when speaking of the distress and calamities of England.

Let us now pass over to America, and we find, near the close of 1778, Mr. Paine uses the same method and language, when addressing the people of England in Crisis, vii: "A period of sixteen years of misconduct and misfortune is certainly long enough for any one nation to suffer under." He elsewhere uses the same language in the same way, which shows a mental habit peculiar to both.

* * * * *

The same opinion of court and courtier has elsewhere been shown, but a definite parallel or two may not be out of place:

_Paine._

"For the caterpillar principles of all courts and
courtiers are alike."--Rights of Man, part i.

_Junius._

"Where birth and fortune are united, we expect the
noble pride and independence of a man of spirit,
not the servile, humiliating complaisance of a
courtier."--Let. 1.

They held the same opinion of oaths:

_Paine._

"If a government requires the support of oaths, it
is a sign that it is not worth supporting, and
ought not to be supported."--R. of M., part ii,
chap. iv.

_Junius._

"He [the minister] is the tenant of the day, and
has no interest in the inheritance. The sovereign
himself is bound by other obligations, and ought
to look forward to a superior, a permanent
interest. His paternal tenderness should remind
him how many hostages he has given to society. The
ties of nature come powerfully in aid of _oaths_
and protestations."--Let. 38.

They place _personal interest_ above strict _moral right_, as a means of improvement:

_Paine._

"As to mere theoretical reformation, I have never
preached it up. The most effectual process is that
of improving the condition of man by means of his
interest, and it is on this ground that I take my
stand."--R. of M., part ii, chap. v.

_Junius._

"It will be said, that I deny at one moment what I
would allow at another. To this I answer,
generally, that human affairs are in no instance
governed by strict, positive right.... My
premises, I know, will be denied in argument, but
every man's conscience tells him they are true. It
remains then to be considered whether it be for
the _interest of the people_," etc.--Let. 44.

The reader will here see a mental characteristic the same, and a philosophy growing therefrom which is boldly affirmed by both.

* * * * *

That we gather strength by antagonism, and in this way the vicious are often brought into notice and become successful, is a prominent fact noticed by both.

_Paine._

"Those whose sentiments are injudicious or
unfriendly, will cease of themselves, unless too
much pains is bestowed upon their conversion."--C.
S., Int.

_Junius._

"Mr. Wilkes, if not persecuted, will soon be
forgotten."--Let. 11. See also Let. 1 and 35.

I have heretofore given examples of the above to prove another fact.

* * * * *

I now call attention to the passion of suspicion:

_Paine._

"I am not of a disposition inclined to suspicion.
It is, in its nature, a mean and cowardly passion,
and, upon the whole, even admitting error into the
case, it is better; I am sure it is more generous
to be wrong on the side of confidence, than on the
side of suspicion. _But_, I know as a fact, that
the English government.... Their
anti-revolutionary doctrines invite suspicion even
against one's will, and in spite of one's charity
to believe well of them."--Let. to Samuel Adams.

_Junius._

"The situation of this country is alarming enough
to rouse the attention of every man who pretends
to a concern for the public welfare. Appearances
justify _suspicion_; and when the safety of a
nation is at stake, suspicion is a just ground of
inquiry."--Let. 1.

The above is strong language in regard to _suspicion_. Paine thinks it mean and cowardly if not well founded, and Junius thinks it is justifiable when the safety of a nation is at stake. This is an uncommon sentiment, and, if Mr. Paine was Junius, he is found repeating himself after an interval of thirty-four years.

In regard to thinking for one's self, Junius says of Benson, in withering rebuke to Lord Mansfield, who had committed him for contempt: "He had the _impudence_ to pretend to _think for himself_." Paine exclaims: "Why is man afraid to think?"

* * * * *

There is a fact now in regard to the English army which is of great weight in my argument relative to a change of opinion. Junius always spoke highly of the army, while he sometimes censured individual officers. Speaking of the regiments of the guards, he says: "Far be it from me to insinuate the most distant reflection upon the army. On the contrary, I honor and esteem the profession, and if these gentlemen were better soldiers I am sure they would be better subjects." Mr. Paine, just nine years afterward, when in America, and fighting against the English army, says of the English people: "They are made to believe that their generals and armies differ from those of other nations, and have nothing of rudeness or barbarity in them. They suppose them what they wish them to be; they feel a disgrace in thinking otherwise. There was a time when I felt the same prejudices, and reasoned from the same errors; but experience--sad and painful experience--has taught me better. What the conduct of former armies was I know not, but what the conduct of the present is I well know--it is low, cruel, indolent, and profligate."--Crisis, vii. This is a species of dovetailing the life and opinions of Junius into those of Mr. Paine. But the reader will see there is no effort on my part. All I ask is for truth to take its course. It would be beneath the dignity of a scientific criticism to stoop to artifice.

* * * * *

I wish now to bring forward a complex parallel, to show that pride of character which would not stoop to the meanness of party politics, and to show, also, their opinion of bribery at elections, and the origin of "military governments" in England.

"It is difficult," says Mr. Paine, "to account for the origin of charter and corporation towns, unless we suppose them to have arisen out of, or having been connected with, some species of garrison service. The times in which they began justify this idea. The generality of these towns have been garrisons, and the corporations were charged with the care of the gates of the town when no military garrison was present. Their refusing or granting admission to strangers, which has produced the custom of giving, selling, and buying freedom, has more of the nature of garrison authority than civil government."--Rights of Man, part ii, chap. 5, note.

I am now prepared to give the parallels:

_Paine._

"As one of the houses of the English Parliament is
in a great measure made up by elections from these
corporations, and as it is unnatural that a pure
stream would flow from a foul fountain, its vices
are but a continuation of the vices of its origin.
A man of moral honor and good political principles
can not submit to the mean _drudgery_ and
disgraceful arts by which such elections are
carried."

_Junius._

"But it seems the sale of a civil employment was
not sufficient, and _military governments_, which
were intended for the support of worn-out
veterans, must be thrown into the scale to defray
the extensive bribery of a contested
election."--Let. 34.

"But is there no honorable way to serve the public
without engaging in personal quarrels with
insignificant individuals, or submitting to the
_drudgery_ of canvassing votes for an
election."--Let. 53.

Says Mr. Paine: "_I love method._" This, every action proved. His business transactions, his political plans, the productions of his pen, were all in design and execution methodical. In dedicating his life to the good of mankind, he studied method in the use of his great mental powers. He never set about doing any thing without a plan and specifications. He carried in the brain the ideal of the work he was to give material shape and substance. His plans were always well-digested and often long in maturing. He, for example, anticipated the revolution, and proceeded to fill the public arsenals with powder. He then brought out Common Sense, when public opinion was decidedly against a declaration of independence, to educate that public sentiment in favor of it. This produced the desired effect, and when war was fairly begun upon a proper basis and plan, he struck the enemy at the proper time and place with an occasional Crisis. The first Crisis he wrote, for example, won a battle for the Union. After the war was over, he went to England and brought out his Rights of Man, laboring in the same lines and advocating the very principles of Junius. There is not a political principle expressed in Junius which was not again reproduced in Rights of Man. But method is stamped upon every production of his pen. Take, for example, Common Sense. The design was to bring public sentiment up to a declaration of independence. Now if we examine the method of the work, we will find the steps like a geometrical demonstration, from first principles to conclusion. In Common Sense he first convinces the reason, then inflames the passions, and lastly destroys dissension by a stirring, manly, patriotic appeal. The work proper is divided into four parts.

I. Of the origin and design of government. Here the first principles are laid down, and are such as to convince the mind of every man capable of thinking. He then shows that the English constitution is not founded upon such principles; and that a people seeking political happiness while clinging to such a rotten government, is like a man seeking connubial happiness while he is attached to a prostitute.

II. Of monarchy and hereditary succession. Here he brings out his great political axiom, _the equality of man in the order of creation_, and then ridicules the pretentions of kings, and demolishes the whole fabric of "sacred titles" by an appeal to sacred and profane history, to the rights of man, to his reason, to his affections, and to posterity. He has now prepared the mind of the American reader for the reception of truth, and he brings forward--

III. Thoughts on the present state of the American affairs.

He begins by saying: "In the following pages I offer nothing more than simple facts, plain arguments, and common sense." It is now he warms with the subject, and having before prepared the mind with exalted views of government and with the axioms upon which all just governments are founded; having before shown that all legislative powers are derived from the people, and founded in the consent of the governed; having, in short, announced his bill of rights, he now comes forward with an indictment against England. This is full and complete, and by the time the reader has done with it he is then prepared for his final argument, which is--

IV. The ability of America to acquire and maintain her independence.

He afterward added an appendix, in which he recounts the principal causes which impel the colonies to a separation.

The reader will remark the _method_ of the whole piece. He takes hold of the mind by strategy at first, and then places before it principles, facts, causes, and consequences, till he has made it entirely his own.

If now the reader will return to the first Letter of Junius, he will find an admirable example of the same method. As to _method_, the two pieces are every way identical. Did a person not study this Letter of Junius, he would perhaps fail to get, at first, the exact likeness which Mr. Paine has so completely reproduced in Common Sense, as an artistic performance.

Junius' Letter to the king is also an example of the same method. There is, first, the bill of rights, and then the indictment. We find here the same strategy, which takes possession of the mind of the people, the same method to place the writer above and beyond selfish motives, the same foundation of principles, the same superstructure of argument, and the same method of bringing the reader to the conclusions. Herein we find _policy_.

* * * * *

The policy of Mr. Paine made him extremely cautious, and he weighed well the consequences of speaking to the public, studying especially the proper time. This was the habit of Junius also. I will now give a few examples: When the civil laws of England had been trampled on by the military, in the case of General Gansel, Junius delayed speaking about it. He says: "Had I taken it up at an earlier period, I should have been accused of an uncandid, malignant precipitation, as if I watched for an unfair advantage against the ministry, and would not allow them a reasonable time to do their duty. They now stand without excuse."--Let. 30. He then proceeds to strike the ministry "hip and thigh." In Letter 44 he also mentions the fact of having been silent, not from a "shameful indifference," but because he had determined to "not deliver a hasty opinion on a matter of so much delicacy and importance."

The same constitutional caution is exhibited in Mr. Paine. Upon national honor, in Crisis xii, dated May, 1782, he says: "In March, 1780, I published part of the Crisis, No. viii, in the newspapers, but did not conclude it in the following papers, and the remainder has lain by me till the present day. There appeared about that time some disposition in the British cabinet to cease the further prosecution of the war, and as I had formed my opinion that whenever such a design should take place, it would be accompanied by a dishonorable proposition to America respecting France, I had suppressed the remainder of that number, not to expose the baseness of any such proposition." He now incorporates it in this number, and then follows with one of the noblest productions on national honor which it has been the fortune of man to write.

* * * * *

I now give an opinion on the principles of the English constitution:

_Paine._

"A government on the principles on which
constitutional governments arising out of society
are established, can not have the right of
altering itself. If it had, it would be
arbitrary. It might make itself what it pleased;
and whenever such a right is set up, it shows that
there is no constitution. The act by which the
English parliament empowered itself to sit for
seven years, shows there is no constitution in
England. It might, by the same self-authority,
have to sat any greater number of years, or for
life."--R. of M., part i.

_Junius._

"There can not be a doctrine more fatal to the
liberty and property we are contending for, than
that which confounds the idea of a supreme and an
arbitrary legislature.... If the majority can
disfranchise ten boroughs, why not twenty--why not
the whole kingdom? Why should not they make their
own seats in parliament for life? When the
septennial act passed, the legislature did what,
apparently and palpably, they had no power to
do."--Let. 68.

Although the above doctrine that the people, not the legislature, are supreme, is not new, yet it was rarely asserted in the time of Paine, and renders the above parallel strong and peculiar. Even the same language is used in making the same application to the septennial act, which might as well have empowered the members of parliament to sit _for life_.

* * * * *

Here is a parallel on the opinion of the _jobbing_ spirit of courtiers:

_Paine._

"Every nation that does not govern itself, is
governed as a _job_. England has been the prey of
_jobs_ ever since the revolution."--R. of M., part
ii, chap, v., note.

_Junius._

To Draper: "It would have been more decent in you
to have called this dishonorable transaction by
its true name, a _job_, to accommodate two persons
by particular interest and management at the
castle."--Let. 7.

Both Paine and Junius frequently give vent to their detestation of gambling and gamblers. A single case in point is sufficient:

_Paine._

"Those who knew the savage obstinacy of the king,
and the jobbing, _gambling_ spirit of the court,
predicted the fate of the petition."--Crisis, iii.

_Junius._

To Bedford: "His own honor would have forbidden
him from mixing his private pleasures or
conversation with jockeys, _gamesters_,
blasphemers, gladiators, and buffoons."--Let. 23.
See, also, Let. 14.

They both have the same opinion of the _theater_; but as the proof of this is only circumstantial, I will not cumber these pages with it. We know that Paine was a Quaker upon this point; and Junius contemptuously addresses Garrick, the actor, "Now mark me, _vagabond_! keep to your _pantomimes_," etc.

* * * * *

I now pass to consider their religious opinions. And, first, their views of God:

_Paine._

"The Almighty hath implanted in us these
unextinguishable feelings for good and wise
purposes."--C. S.

"The country was the gift of Heaven, and God alone
is their Lord and sovereign."--Crisis, v.

"From such men and such masters may the gracious
hand of Heaven preserve America."

_Junius._

"Grateful as I am to the good Being whose bounty
has imparted to me this reasoning intellect,"
etc.--Let. 68.

"They acknowledged the hand of Providence in the
descent of the crown upon the head of a true
Stuart." [Spoken in irony.]--Let. 49.

"If 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,"
etc.--Let. 35.

"The will of God hath parted us, and the deed is
registered for eternity."--Crisis, v.

"Even the distance at which the Almighty hath
placed America and England, is a strong and
_natural_ proof that the authority of the one over
the other was never the design of Heaven.

"I do not scruple to affirm, with the most solemn
appeal to God for my sincerity."--Let. 68.

"The people also found it necessary to appeal to
Heaven in their turn."--Let. 9.

"The reformation was preceded by the discovery of
America, as if the Almighty graciously meant to
open a sanctuary to the persecuted in future
years, when home should afford neither friendship
nor safety.

"I am as confident, as I am that God governs the
world, that America will never be happy till she
gets clear of foreign dominion."--Crisis, i.

"And if life be the bounty of Heaven, we scorn
fully reject the noblest part of the gift,"
etc.--Let. 20.

"If when the opportunity offers itself you neglect
to do your duty to yourselves and to posterity, to
_God_ and your country," etc.--Dedication.

Of Providence they further say:

_Paine._

"But Providence, who best knows how to time her
misfortunes as well as her immediate favors, chose
this to be the time, and who dare dispute
it?"--Crisis, iii.

"To the _interposition of Providence_ and her
blessings on our endeavors, and not to British
benevolence are we indebted for the short chain
that limits your ravages."--Crisis, vi.

"To deny such a right would be a kind of atheism
against nature, and the beat answer to such an
objection will be: 'The fool hath said in his
heart there is no God!'"--Crisis, iii.

_Junius._

"If it should be the will of Providence to afflict
him with a domestic misfortune," etc.--Let. 23.

"The next is a most remarkable instance of the
goodness of Providence."--Let. 66.

"If by the immediate _interposition of Providence_
it were possible for us to escape a crisis so full
of terror and despair, posterity will not believe
the history of the present times."--Let. 1.

Mr. Paine wrote the Age of Reason as an argument against atheism on the one hand and fanaticism on the other. This he says himself.

* * * * *

I will now give the language of Mr. Paine on religion, infidelity, atheism, fanaticism, and morality, and then subscribe the language of Junius.

{163}In his discourse to the Theophilanthropists of Paris, Mr. Paine says: "Religion has two principal enemies--_fanaticism and infidelity_, or that which is called _atheism_. The first requires to be combatted by reason or morality, the other by natural philosophy." In opposing atheism he makes intelligent force the God of the universe. This is his language: "_God is the power_, or first cause, _nature is the law_, and _matter is the subject acted upon_." That is, there is a duality in the universe--_force_ and _matter_; and the action of _force_ on matter produces the _laws of nature_, or, every phenomenon is produced by the motion of matter. He founds his argument against atheism on the _motion_ of matter, and elaborates it in his clear and forcible style, and then says: "Where will infidelity--where will atheism find cause for this astonishing velocity of motion, never ceasing, never varying, and which is the preservation of the earth in its orbit? It is not by reasoning from an acorn to an oak, or from any change in the state of matter on the surface of the earth, that this can be accounted for. _Its cause is not to be found in matter, nor in any thing we call nature._ The atheist who affects to reason, and the fanatic who rejects reason, plunge themselves alike into inextricable difficulties. The one perverts the sublime and enlightening study of natural philosophy into a deformity of absurdities by not reasoning to the end, the other loses himself in the obscurity of metaphysical theories, and dishonors the Creator by treating the study of his works with contempt. The one is a half-rational of whom there is some hope, the other is a visionary to whom we must be charitable."

I wish the reader to compare with the last sentence above the following extracts from Junius, to be found in Letters 44 and 35: "The opinions of these men are too absurd to be easily renounced. Liberal minds are open to conviction, liberal doctrines are capable of improvement. _There are proselytes from atheism, but none from superstition._" "When once a man is determined to believe, the very absurdity of the doctrine confirms him in his faith."

* * * * *

But Junius, like Paine, was a _religious_ man. In Letter 56, he says: "I know such a man; my lord, I know you both, _and, with the blessing of God_ (_for I, too, am religious_), the people of England shall know you as well as I do."

As Mr. Paine has been misunderstood by the religious world, and as so much has been said against his religion that a prejudice deep and bitter now rests on the world against him, I will give a couple of extracts from his Rights of Man on this point. I confess that my own prejudices were so great against him (and I thought myself quite liberal), that they would not suffer me to read his works till quite recently. Such is the tyranny of religious instruction. The first extract is from the first part. In a note, he says: "There is a single idea, which, if it strikes rightly upon the mind, either in a legal or a religious sense, will prevent any man, or any body of men, or any government, from going wrong on the subject of religion; which is, that before any human institutions of government were known in the world, there existed, if I may so express it, a compact between God and man from the beginning of time; and that, as the relation and condition which man in his individual person stands in toward his Maker can not be changed by any human laws or human authority, that religious devotion, which is a part of this compact, can not so much as be made a subject of human laws; and that all laws must conform themselves to the prior-existing compact, and not assume to make the compact conform to the laws, which, besides being human, are subsequent thereto. The first act of man, when he looked around and saw himself a creature which he did not make, and a world furnished for his reception, must have been devotion; and devotion must ever continue sacred to every individual man, as it appears right to him, and governments do mischief by interfering."

The next extract is from part second, near its close, and I would call the attention of the reader to the beauty of the allegory:

"But as religion is very improperly made a political machine, and the reality of it is thereby destroyed, I will conclude this work with stating in what light religion appears to me.

"If we suppose a large family of children on any particular day, or particular occasion, made it a custom to present to their parents some token of their affection and gratitude, each of them would make a different offering, and most probably in a different manner. Some would pay their congratulations in themes of verse and prose, others by some little devices, as their genius dictated or according to what they thought would please; and, perhaps, the least of all, not able to do any of those things, would ramble into the garden or the field and gather what it thought the prettiest flower it could find, though perhaps it might be but a simple weed. The parents would be more gratified by such a variety than if the whole of them had acted on a concerted plan, and each had made exactly the same offering. This would have the cold appearance of contrivance, or the harsh one of control. But of all unwelcome things nothing would more afflict the parent than to know that the whole of them had afterwards gotten together by the ears, boys and girls, fighting, and reviling, and abusing each other about which was the best or the worst present.

"Why may we not suppose that the great Father of all is pleased with a variety of devotion; and that the greatest offense we can act is that by which we seek to torment and render each other miserable? For my own part I am fully satisfied that what I am now doing with an endeavor to conciliate mankind, to render their condition happy, to unite nations that have hitherto been enemies, and to extirpate the horrid practice of war, and break the chains of slavery and oppression, is estimable in his sight, and being the best service I can perform, I act it cheerfully.

"I do not believe that any two men, on what are called doctrinal points, think alike who think at all."

[And this, my reader, is Thomas Paine who hath spoken. I would like to have Henry Ward Beecher, after he has read this book, take the above passage as a text and preach a sermon from it.]

I now call attention to a few parallels:

_Paine._

"A narrow system of politics like a narrow system
of religion, is calculated only to sour the
temper, and be at variance with mankind."--Crisis,
iii.

_Junius._

"Superstition is certainly not the characteristic
of this age; yet some men are bigoted in politics
who are infidels in religion."--Let. 67.

"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. A
character of this sort is the soil fittest to
produce that obstinate bigotry in politics and
religion which begins with a meritorious
sacrifice of the understanding and finally
conducts the monarch and the martyr to the
block."--Let. 39.

Junius is here speaking of the king, who with a narrow understanding would naturally have a narrow system of politics and religion. But again:

_Paine._

"We persecute no man, neither will we abet in the
persecution of any man for religion's
sake."--Crisis, iii.

_Junius._

"The fundamental principles of Christianity may
still be preserved though every zealous sectary
adheres to his own exclusive doctrine, and pious
ecclesiastics make it part of their religion to
persecute one another."--Let. 58.

"The writer of this is one of those few who never
dishonors religion, either by ridiculing or
caviling at any denominations whatsoever. To God
and not to man are all men accountable on the
score of religion."--Epistle to the Quakers.

"If I thought Junius capable of uttering a
disrespectful word of the religion of his country
I should be the first to renounce and give him up
to the public contempt and indignation."--Let. 54.

Above it is Philo Junius who is speaking; but the reader will remember he is the real Junius. He had been attacked for his impiety, and he puts Philo Junius forward to defend himself. The reader can not fail to notice the same hand in the last parallel. Paine says: "The _writer_ of this is one of _those few_ who never dishonors religion" by abusing the professors of it. And he never did. Junius ridiculed the ceremonial in the Catholic Church which denies the cup to the laity; and of this he says: "It is, in this country, as fair an object of ridicule as _transubstantiation_, or any other part of Lord Peter's History in the Tale of the Tub." This reminds me of what Paine says of popery and Peter: "A man hath as good reason to believe that there is as much of kingcraft as priestcraft in withholding the scripture from the public in popish countries. For monarchy in every instance is the popery of government."--Common Sense. In regard to Peter, we see the same temptation to touch his pen with satire and ridicule, and the passage may be found in Rights of Man, part first. It is as follows: "I will quote Mr. Burke's catalogue of barriers that he has set up between man and his maker. Putting himself in the character of a herald, he says: 'We fear God; we look with _awe_ to kings; with affection to parliaments; with duty to magistrates; with reverence _to_ priests; and with respect to nobility.' Mr. Burke has forgot to put in chivalry. _He has also forgot to put in Peter._"

* * * * *

They both considered it true that there is a wide difference between _piety_ and _morality_. Paine himself says (and it is the noblest sentiment ever uttered by man): "MY COUNTRY IS THE WORLD, AND MY RELIGION IS TO DO GOOD." Junius frequently puts piety and morality in antithesis, as the following examples will show: "They care not what injustice is practiced upon a man whose _moral character_ they _piously_ think themselves obliged to condemn."--Let. 39. "The _unfeigned piety_, the _sanctified religion_ of George the Third have taught him to new-model the civil forces of the State. _Corruption glitters in the van_," etc. Then, speaking of some of his predecessors, he says: "They were kings or gentlemen, not hypocrites or priests. They were at the head of the Church, but did not know the value of their office. They said their prayers without ceremony, and had too little of priestcraft in their understanding to reconcile the _sanctimonious forms_ of religion with the utter destruction of the _morality_ of the people."--Let. 55.

* * * * *

But Mr. Paine was the inveterate enemy to priestcraft as well as kingcraft. His whole life was spent in waging war against the two. Let us now see what Junius thought of the former. I have shown him to run parallel with Mr. Paine in the latter.

Junius says: "The resentment of a priest is implacable: no sufferings can soften; no penitence can appease."--Let. 53. In speaking of the Rev. Mr. Horne, he says: "No, my lord; it was the solitary, vindictive malice of a monk, brooding over the infirmities of his friends, until he thought they quickened into public life, and feasting with a rancorous rapture upon the sordid catalogue of his distresses. Now let him go back to his cloister. The Church is a proper retreat for him; in his principles he is already a bishop. The mention of this man has moved me from my natural moderation."--Let. 49. Again:

"The priesthood are accused of misinterpreting the scriptures. Mr. Horne has improved on his profession. He alters the text, and creates a refutable doctrine of his own."--Let. 53.

The above passages can not be mistaken for Mr. Paine's spirit, style, and language. These tell us they are his with much more truth than a name attached to any writing tells us its author.

* * * * *

It seems they both had the same opinion of a _Methodist_:

_Paine._

"But when he [man] multiplies his creed with
imaginary things, he forces his mind, and pretends
to believe what he does not believe. This is, in
general, the case with the _Methodists_--their
religion is all creed and no morals."--Let. to Mr.
Dean.

_Junius._

"You meanly evaded the question, and, instead of
the explicit firmness and decision of a king, gave
us nothing but the misery of a ruined grazier, and
the whining piety of a _Methodist_."--Let. 36.

Now the reader will recall the parallel I gave in regard to never dishonoring religion by saying any thing against particular forms or denominations. With the exception of the Catholic Church, this is the only instance which has fallen under my eye; and it seems they had such a disliking to Methodism, a sarcasm must be let loose upon it. Trifling as this instance may seem, there is great force in its being solitary, and apparently contradictory to what they both before affirmed in general. Such an instance has, in fact, more weight than a score of parallels on common characteristics, for it shows a peculiar and strong bias in a particular direction.

* * * * *

Of the term Christian there is no positive ground for a parallel, because it is one of no definite meaning. We call ourselves, as a nation, Christians; yet we are divided into a hundred forms of {172}religion, and many of them in the articles of faith contradictory and antagonistic. Yet, in the fundamental principles of morality, we are, in common with all civilized races, agreed. The Christian religion happens to belong to the highest civilization, and we frequently use the term as synonymous with the _morality_ of this civilization. But when we come to define strictly according to the theological import of the word, there are many of us who are not Christians. In the former sense, Mr. Paine and Junius were Christians; in the latter sense, they were not. And now for the proof. Junius says, in Letter 15, to the Duke of Grafton: "It is not, indeed, the least of the thousand contradictions which attend you, that a man marked to the world by the grossest violation of ceremony and decorum, should be the first servant of a court in which _prayers are morality_, and _kneeling is religion_." For this, and his attacks on the priesthood, and his frequently putting piety in antithesis to morality, he was at last accused of being an impious and irreligious man. He now puts Philo Junius forward to explain his religious views, who says, in