directed your public conduct. Pardon
this man the remainder of his punishment; and, if
resentment still prevails, make it what it should
have been long since--an act, not of mercy, but of
contempt. He will soon fall back into his natural
station, a silent senator, and hardly supporting
the weekly eloquence of a newspaper. The gentle
breath of peace would leave him on the surface
neglected and unremoved; it is only the tempest
that lifts him from his place.

"The heart that feels not now is dead; the blood
of his children will curse his cowardice who
shrinks back at a time when a little might have
saved the whole, and made them happy. I love the
man that can smile in trouble, that can gather
strength from distress, and grow brave by
reflection." ... Speaking of the principles of
war, he continues: "What signifies it to me
whether he who does it is a king or a common man;
my countryman or not my countryman; whether it be
done by an individual villain or an army of them?
... Let them call me rebel and welcome; I feel no
concern from it, but I should suffer the misery of
devils were I to make a whore of my soul by
swearing allegiance to one whose character is that
of a sottish, stupid, stubborn, worthless, brutish
man! ... There are cases which can not be overdone
by language, and this is one."--Crisis, i.

"Without consulting your ministers, call
together your whole council. Let it appear to the
public that you can determine and act for
yourself. Come forward to your people. Lay aside
the wretched formalities of a king, and speak to
your subjects with the spirit of a man, and in the
language of a gentleman.... These sentiments, sir,
and the style they are conveyed in, may be
offensive, perhaps, because they are new to
you."--Let. 35.

In the following, diminutives are handled with telling effect:

_Paine._

"Indolence and inability have too large a share in
your composition ever to suffer you to be any
thing more than the hero of little villainies and
unfinished adventures."--To Lord Howe, Crisis, v.

"That a man whose soul is absorbe