Bücher von Thomas Paine

Thomas Paine's "theological works," including his lengthy essay on "The Rights of Man." There are several long essays in this volume, along with copies of letters to Lafayette and others that were an important part of Paine's ongoing dialogue on morality, government, and human development. The three long essays in the book are titled: The Age of Reason; An Examination of the Passages of the New Testament, Quoted From the Old, and Called Prophecies of the Coming of Jesus Christ; and The Rights of Man. Paine writes very well and his style is quite easily appreciated by today's reader. This is scholarly, direct, and common sensical stuff. In "The Age of Reason," Paine explains that he believes in one God, and no more, and that he hopes for happiness beyond this life. Beyond that, he does "not believe in the creed professed by the Jewish church, by the Roman church, by the Greek church, by the Turkish church, by the Protestant church, nor by any church that I know of. My own mind is my own church." "I have always held it an opinion... that it is better to obey a bad law, making use at the same time of every argument to show its errors, and promote its repeal, than forcibly to violate it; because the precedent of breaking a bad law might weaken the force and lead to a discretionary violation of those which are good."

A major actor in the American Revolution, the English intellectual Thomas Paine (1737-1809) is best remembered for his pamphlet Common Sense (1776), which advocated American independence from Britain. Although accorded honorary French citizenship in 1792 for his republican Rights of Man, Paine was later imprisoned and narrowly escaped the guillotine. It was around this time that he started to write The Age of Reason, originally published in two parts between 1794 and 1795. In Part 1, Paine outlines his personal religious views and attacks institutional faith as a human invention, while Part 2 analyses the Bible and highlights its contradictions. The work was met with great hostility in Britain and denounced as espousing atheism, while in America it led to a short-lived revival of deism but was also much reviled. This reissue includes both parts and affords valuable insight into radical freethinking during the age of revolutions.

A major actor in the American Revolution, English intellectual Thomas Paine (1737-1809) is remembered especially for his pamphlet Common Sense (1776; also reissued in this series), which advocates America's independence from Great Britain. A dedicated radical, Paine went on to lend his support to the French Revolution. In 1791, he published Rights of Man in response to Burke's Reflections on the Revolution in France (1790), a condemnation of the events in France. First published in 1792, this book is a continuation of Rights of Man. While the first volume was a passionate rebuttal of Burke's argument, this book - reissued here in its second edition - develops concrete measures for political reform, proposing novel concepts such as political representation and tax reform to benefit the poor. Widely circulated because of its low price, the book proved immensely influential, and resulted in indictments for seditious libel for Paine and his editor.

A major actor in the American Revolution, English intellectual Thomas Paine (1737-1809) is remembered especially for his pamphlet Common Sense (1776; also reissued in this series), which advocates America's independence from Great Britain. An immediate best-seller, it sold over 100,000 copies in three months. Paine was a dedicated reformer who also lent his support to the French Revolution. First published in 1791, this book was sparked by the publication of Edmund Burke's Reflections on the Revolution in France (1790), a direct condemnation of the French uprising; and the fourth edition of this remarkable contribution to political philosophy is reissued here. In a passionate rebuttal of Burke's position, Paine argues that revolution is legitimate against a government that fails to protect its people and their essential rights. Extremely influential in its own day, this book develops a critique of authoritarian governments that remains relevant today.

First published in 1782, this response to Raynal's The Revolution of America (also reissued in this series) by Thomas Paine (1737-1809) has been eclipsed by Paine's other work and largely overlooked. Written a year after Raynal's account of the American Revolution appeared in English, Paine's 'corrections' run to nearly eighty pages. His main critique of Raynal is that his argument stresses political theory rather than actions in the real world, an approach that lacks practicality. Paine argues against Raynal's assertion that the American War of Independence erupted over a tax dispute, and downplays France's involvement in the movement for independence. However, while attacking Raynal's influential work, he does so diplomatically, believing that the Abbe was writing from too great a distance to assess accurately the causes and principles of the conflict. This book has been hailed by scholars as the first of Paine's publications to demonstrate his internationalist views.

This famous pamphlet - published anonymously in 1776 because of its seditious content - by the British political radical Thomas Paine (1737-1809) laid out his pioneering ideas for American independence, and earned him the title of 'Father of the American Revolution'. The Declaration of Independence, written chiefly by Thomas Jefferson and famously promulgated later that year, was influenced by Paine's arguments in this work: that America was too large to be governed by a country as small as Britain - which, he claimed, was ruling America only for its own financial gain - and that the colonies had now achieved the financial and military capacity to break free. Criticising the British monarchical system, with a single figure at its pinnacle, Paine called instead for a government that promoted security, liberty and equality for its people. Over half a million copies of this highly influential document were sold in America in its first year.

In the winter of 1776, the American War of Independence was in trouble. Thomas Paine, who had previously inspired the revolutionary cause with his pamphlet "Common Sense", published the essays titled "The Crisis". This document provides many insights into the hardships and precarious uncertainties that threatened the birth of a nation.

Presents observations on the place of religion in society.

For this revised and updated edition of Paine's writings the distinguished intellectual historian Bruce Kuklick brings together an expanded collection of the classic texts. A brief chronology, updated bibliography, and a succinct and lucid introduction to the principal themes of each text give further help to the student reader.