A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong gives it a superficial appearance of being right.
Thomas PaineRead
Could the peaceable principle of the Quakers be universally established, arms and the art of war would be wholly extirpated: But we live not in a world of angels...I am thus far a Quaker, that I would gladly agree with all the world to lay aside the use of arms, and settle matters by negotiation: but unless the whole will, the matter ends, and I take up my musket and thank Heaven He has put it in my power.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote expresses a desire for peace through negotiation rather than violence, while acknowledging the harsh realities of the world.
Thomas Paine highlights the idealistic principle of the Quakers that advocates for peace and the abolishment of war. However, he realistically points out that in a world that is not perfect, this ideal cannot be universally accepted, and the necessity of self-defense may compel individuals to resort to arms despite their wish for peaceful resolution. Paine's words illustrate the tension between the desire for peace and the harsh realities that often require conflict to resolve disputes.
Themes
PeaceViolenceNegotiationQuakersWar
In practice
Example use cases
In a debate about international relations, this quote can highlight the need for peaceful negotiations in conflict resolution.
More from Thomas Paine
All quotes →That God cannot lie, is no advantage to your argument, because it is no proof that priests can not, or that the Bible does not.
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I consider the war of America against Britain as the country's war, the public's war, or the war of the people in their own behalf, for the security of their natural rights, and the protection of their own property.
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Had the news of salvation by Jesus Christ been inscribed on the face of the sun and the moon, in characters that all nations would have understood, the whole earth had known it in twenty-four hours, and all nations would have believed it; whereas, though it is now almost two thousand years since, as they tell us, Christ came upon earth, not a twentieth part of the people of the earth know anything of it, and among those who do, the wiser part do not believe it.
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The end of all political associations is the preservation of the natural and imprescriptible rights of man; and these rights are liberty, property, security, and resistance of oppression.
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To reason with goverments, as they have existed for ages, is to argue with brutes. It is only from the nations themselves that reforms can be expected
Thomas PaineRead
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