The Writings Of Thomas Paine, Volume III.: 1791-1804Paine, Thomas
History
The Writings Of Thomas Paine, Volume III.: 1791-1804
Paine, Thomas
Political science
The Memorial is here printed from the manuscript of Paine now among the
Morrison Papers, in the British Museum,--no doubt the identical document
penned in Luxembourg prison. The paper in the United States State
Department (vol. vii., Monroe Papers) is accompanied by a note by
Monroe: "Mr. Paine, Luxembourg, on my arrival in France, 1794. My answer
was after the receipt of his second letter. It is thought necessary to
print only those parts of his that relate directly to his confinement,
and to omit all between the parentheses in each." The paper thus
inscribed seems to have been a wrapper for all of Paine's letters.
An examination of the MS. at Washington does not show any such
"parentheses," indicating omissions, whereas that in the British Museum
has such marks, and has evidently been prepared for the press,--being
indeed accompanied by the long title of the French pamphlet. There are
other indications that the British Museum MS. is the original Memorial
from which was printed in Paris the pamphlet entitled:
"Mémoire de Thomas Payne, autographe et signé de sa main: addressé à
M. Monroe, ministre des États-unis en france, pour réclamer sa mise en
liberté comme citoyen Américain, 10 Sept 1794. Robespierre avait fait
arrêter Th. Payne, en 1793--il fut conduit au Luxembourg où le glaive
fut longtemps suspendu sur sa tête. Après onze mois de captivité, il
recouvra la liberté, sur la réclamation du ministre Américain--c'était
après la chute de Robespierre--il reprit sa place à la convention, le 8
décembre 1794. (18 frimaire an iii.) Ce Mémoire contient des renseigne
mens curieux sur la conduite politique de Th. Payne en france, pendant
la Révolution, et à l'époque du procès de Louis XVI. Ce n'est point, dit
il, comme Quaker, qu'il ne vota pas La Mort du Roi mais par un sentiment
d'humanité, qui ne tenait point à ses principes religieux. Villenave."
No date is given, but the pamphlet probably appeared early in 1795.
Matthieu Gillaume Thérèse Villenave (b. 1762, d. 1846) was a journalist,
and it will be noticed that he, or the translator, modifies Paine's
answer to Marat about his Quakerism. There are some loose translations
in the cheap French pamphlet, but it is the only publication which
has given Paine's Memorial with any fulness. Nearly ten pages of
the manuscript were omitted from the Memorial when it appeared as
an Appendix to the pamphlet entitled "Letter to George Washington,
President of the United States of America, on Affairs public and
private." By Thomas Paine, Author of the Works entitled, Common Sense,
Rights of Man, Age of Reason, &c. Philadelphia: Printed by Benj.
Franklin Bache, No. 112 Market Street. 1796. [Entered according to
law.] This much-abridged copy of the Memorial has been followed in
all subsequent editions, so that the real document has not hitherto
appeared.(1)
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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