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Of more worth is one honest man to society, and in the sight of God, than all the crowned ruffians that ever lived.
Thomas Paine
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Interpretation

What this quote means

An honest man holds more value to society and morality than corrupt rulers.

In this quote, Thomas Paine emphasizes the intrinsic worth of an honest individual compared to the great number of dishonest leaders or rulers who may hold power. He suggests that true value lies in the virtue and integrity of a person rather than their social status or authority, highlighting the importance of moral character over position or wealth.

Themes

HonestyIntegritySocietyMoralityValue

In practice

Example use cases

In a discussion about ethics in leadership, this quote can remind us of the importance of integrity.

More from Thomas Paine

A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong gives it a superficial appearance of being right.
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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
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