Junius Unmasked: Or, Thomas Paine the author of the Letters of Junius and the Declaration of IndependenceMoody, Joel
History
Junius Unmasked: Or, Thomas Paine the author of the Letters of Junius and the Declaration of Independence
Moody, Joel
Francis, Philip, 1740-1818; Junius, active 18th century; Paine, Thomas, 1737-1809; United States. Declaration of Independence
Again in the _genuine_ Letters, there is perfect harmony from the first
to the last. There is the same sentiment, spirit, object and style,
throughout the whole, and not a single contradiction anywhere to be
found. This can not be said of the Miscellaneous Letters, as I have
already shown. I would particularly call attention to the language of
Junius when charged by Mr. Horne of writing under various signatures,
and that he was known. To this Junius responds: "I rely on the
consciousness of _my own integrity_, and defy him to fix any colorable
charge of inconsistency upon me." The whole _life_, as well as writings
of Thomas Paine, sustains this assertion. I have studied Paine and
Junius with this affirmation in view, and never have I found Paine to
express an opinion inconsistent with Junius. Sometimes there is a change
of opinion which he indicates or points out. For example, Junius
thought highly of the English army. Paine had reason to change his mind
in regard to it, and he says, he once thought the same and reasoned from
the same prejudices.
These facts are enough to open the eyes of the reader, and to show him
that Taylor's Junius Identified, is a literary fraud no doubt innocently
perpetrated. Taylor jumped at a conclusion, namely, that the
Miscellaneous Letters were the letters of Junius, and took them as
authority, without one thought of inquiry into their authenticity. But
his great work should have been, first to _prove_ the Miscellaneous
Letters _genuine_. After this he should have shown that Francis was a
Scotchman, who was chagrined at the abuse of the Scotch, and at the same
time was an Englishman who was intensely exasperated at the Scotch, and
that these two facts are not inconsistent with his being an Irishman.
In conclusion, I will submit the following letter of Francis in reply to
the editor of the Monthly Magazine, who had made inquiry of Sir Philip,
in regard to his being the author of the Letters of Junius:
JULY, 1813.
SIR--The great civility of your letter induces me to answer it,
which, with reference merely to its subject matter, I should have
declined. Whether you will assist in giving currency to a silly,
malignant falsehood, is a question for your own discretion. To me
it is a matter of perfect indifference.
I am sir, yours, etc.,
P. FRANCIS.
I think the word _silly_ in the above letter has a telling significance.
* * * * *
Transcriber's Notes:
1. General transcription clarifying notes:
A. The original printing of this book did not include a Table of
Contents, one has been added by the transcriber to aid reader
navigation. Major text breaks and page headers were used to
formulate the "Chapters".
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account