THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, June 7, 1995 TAG: 9506070031
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E3 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: BOOK REVIEW
SOURCE: BY CHILES T.A. LARSON
LENGTH: Medium: 83 lines
``THESE ARE THE times that try men's souls.''
Virtually everyone has heard this phrase, but not many know who said it and under what circumstances. The words open what was to become a series of 13 essays, collectively titled ``The American Crisis,'' crafted by English-born Thomas Paine during the low-water mark of the American Revolution.
Imagine the Colonial troops assembled in the late-afternoon light of Christmas Day 1776 being read this text by their officers: ``The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.''
Through that bitterly cold night along the Delaware River and into the next morning in the streets of Trenton, N.J., Paine's inspiring political rhetoric was transformed into a rare military victory so sorely needed by the American cause.
Who was this Tom Paine who landed on the streets of Philadelphia in November 1774 with something akin to the key to the city - a letter of introduction from Benjamin Franklin - and more important, how was he able to make an impact so quickly on the growing disaffection harbored by many American colonists toward British government?
John Keane addresses these questions and others in ``Tom Paine: A Political Life'' (Little, Brown, 656 pp., $27.50), a masterful narrative that stitches together bits and pieces of Paine's public and private lives as he journeyed from England to America to France, back to England, and France once again, before a final journey to America.
Although Paine was fully aware of the political dispute with the mother country during his first few months in America, ``I supposed the parties would find a way either to decide or settle it.'' Those views changed overnight with the Battle of Lexington. Having made the acquaintance of Robert Aitken, who owned a bookstore near his lodgings, Paine was asked to contribute several essays to The Pennsylvania Magazine, a publishing venture of Aitken. From this forum, he quickly developed an idea that ``in politics, words count and that, chosen carefully, words can sometimes disarm tyrants.''
Thus shortly evolved ``Common Sense,'' a pamphlet of ``striking originality'' that had extraordinary influence in crystallizing the thoughts among the literate and nonliterate throughout the 13 colonies and helped alter the course of the American cause. Among its major points was ``to make and defend the distinction between civil society and the state,'' a tenet now enjoying renewed popularity than two centuries after Paine. It also outlined the need to establish a new federal system, subject to frequent, periodic elections, that would ensure that governors do not stand above the law.
``Common Sense'' was reprinted by the tens of thousands and not only catapulted Paine's name into every household but also galvanized the country's founding fathers into producing the Declaration of Independence. Paine, wishing to maintain his political independence, refused to make a profit from this book.
With the success of American independence, Paine grew restless and returned to Europe and his writing. ``Rights of Man,'' a response to Edmund Burke's criticism of the French Revolution, described as ``sparked with diamond-hard prose written in a colloquial style,'' captured global attention. It also led to Paine's flight from a hostile England for France, where he accepted honorary citizenship and election to represent Calais at the National Convention!
A final major work, ``The Age of Reason,'' evolved during the tumultuous days of the French Revolution. It attacked Christian doctrine by likening it to Greek mythology and again set publishing records. It also became a thorn in Paine's side for the rest of his life. He died in 1809 at age 72.
Keane traces Paine's circuitous steps during this amazing upheaval - his arrest, narrow escape from the guillotine, repatriation and homecoming to a fickle America - with consummate skill.
For those interested in Paine's writings, The Library of America has just published a collection of his best-known works, edited by noted historian Eric Foner. MEMO: Chiles T.A. Larson is a photojournalist who lives in Ivy, Va. ILLUSTRATION: Drawing
Thomas Paine is the subject of John Keane's book, ``Tom Paine: A
Political Life.''
by CNB