"I love the man that can smile in trouble, that can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection. 'Tis the business of little minds to shrink, but he whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves his conduct, will pursue his principles unto death."
Thomas Paine was an English-born American writer and political pamphleteer whose works shaped revolutionary thought in the Atlantic world. He is best known for Common Sense, The American Crisis, Rights of Man, and The Age of Reason.