Life of Thomas Paine: Written Purposely to Bind with His WritingsCarlile, Richard
History
Life of Thomas Paine: Written Purposely to Bind with His Writings
Carlile, Richard
Paine, Thomas, 1737-1809
placing a man beyond the reach of want, if honesty be expected in a
place of trust, and that the strongest inducement to honesty is to
raise the spirit of a man, by enabling and encouraging him to make a
respectable appearance.
This "Case of the Officers of Excise" procured Mr. Paine an introduction
to Oliver Goldsmith, with whom he continued on terms of intimacy during
his stay in England. His English poetical productions consisted of "The
Death of Wolfe," a song; and the humourous narrative, about "The Three
Justices and Farmer Short's Dog." At least, these two pieces are all
that we now have in print. I have concisely stated Mr. Paine's advance
to manhood and fame considering the act but infantile in being elaborate
upon the infancy and youth of a public character who displays nothing
extraordinary until he reaches manhood. My object here is not to make a
volume, but to compress all that is desirable to be known of the Author,
in as small a compass as possible. Mr. Paine was twice married, but
obtained no children: his first wife he enjoyed but a short time, and
his second he never enjoyed at all, as they never cohabited, and before
Mr. Paine left England they separated by mutual consent, and by articles
of agreement. Mr. Paine often said, that he found sufficient cause for
this curious incident, but he never divulged the particulars to any
person, and, when pressed to the point, he would say that it was
nobody's business but his own.
In the autumn of 1774, being then out of the Excise, he was introduced
to the celebrated Dr. Franklin, then on an embassy to England respecting
the dispute with the Colonies, and the Doctor was so much pleased with
Mr. Paine, that he pointed his attention to America as the best mart for
his talents and principles, and gave him letters of recommendation to
several friends. Mr. Paine took his voyage immediately, and reached
Philadelphia just before Christmas. In January he had become acquainted
with a Mr. Aitkin, a bookseller, who it appears started a magazine for
the purpose of availing himself of Mr. Paine's talents. It was called
the Pennsylvania Magazine, and, from our Author's abilities, soon
obtained a currency that exceeded any other work of the kind in America.
Many of Mr. Paine's productions in the papers and magazines of America
have never reached this country so as to be republished, but such as we
have are extremely beautiful, and compel us to admit, that his literary
productions are as admirable for style, as his political and theological
are for principle.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Life of Thomas Paine: Written Purposely to Bind with His Writings — John Shaqi
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