Skip to content
Shawords

Quote#Kindness

A man who is so exceedingly civil that for the sake of quietude and a…

Quote byThomas Paine · 1737–1809

Commonly attributed — not confirmed in an authoritative edition. Cited on Wikiquote to: "To the People of America", Pennsylvania Packet (January 23, 1779).

English (original)

A man who is so exceedingly civil that for the sake of quietude and a peaceable name will silently see the community imposed upon, or their rights invaded, may, in his principles, be a good man, but cannot be stiled a useful one, neither does he come up to the full mark of his duty; for silence becomes a kind of crime when it operates as a cover or an encouragement to the guilty.

— Thomas Paine

900

More from Thomas Paine