Moral courage was another prominent element in this great man's character. His espousal of the cause of American Independence--a cause which no other man had up to that time dared to espouse--shows a lofty heroism; his attack upon monarchy, in the very capital of a monarchical government, knowing, as he must have known, that every effort would be made to crush him, was a grand exhibition of moral bravery, while his publication of the "Age of Reason" was, in many respects, a more courageous act than either. But it was in His heroic defense of Louis XVI that his moral courage shone with all the lustre of the sun. Search all the annals of the past and say if on the historian's page is found one act, one single act, surpassing in moral sublimity that of Thomas Paine accepting a prison and, if need be, death, to save a fallen foe! In the expression of his religious opinions no man has been more frank or explicit, while no man's religious opinions have been more grossly misrepresented. What was his belief? "I believe in one God and no more; and I hope for happiness beyond this life. "I believe in the equality of man; and I believe that religious duties consist in doing justice, loving mercy, and endeavoring to make our fellow-creatures happy. "The world is my country, to do good my religion." This was his creed; and with a firm belief in the truth and justice of this creed he lived and died. There are, I regret to say, many good people who believe that Thomas Paine was a very bad man. They have heard this from the lips of those in whose veracity they place implicit confidence. While from infancy they have been taught to regard Jesus Christ as the mediator between man and God, they have been led to consider Thomas Paine as a sort of negotiator between the Devil and man. Now, let me ask these people, do you know why Thomas Paine has been so bitterly assailed? You have heard various charges preferred against him; but seriously, do you believe any of the charges named sufficient to account for the intense, the bitter hatred that has been manifested toward him? Have you never been impressed with the thought that there might be something back of all this, some secret grudge which your informants dare not mention? Let us notice briefly the faults and vices imputed to him.