A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong gives it a superficial appearance of being right.
Thomas PaineRead
The real man smiles in trouble, gathers strength from distress, and grows brave by reflection.
Interpretation
What this quote means
A true man finds strength and courage in difficult times through thoughtful reflection.
This quote by Thomas Paine emphasizes the importance of facing challenges with a positive attitude. It suggests that during troubled times, a real man's ability to smile indicates resilience, while the strength he derives from distress allows personal growth and bravery, achieved through self-reflection on his experiences.
Themes
StrengthCourageReflectionTroubleResilience
In practice
Example use cases
During a motivational speech about overcoming adversity.
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.
Thomas PaineRead
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.
Thomas PaineRead
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.
Thomas PaineRead
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.
Thomas PaineRead
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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