It was because Paine always went to fundamentals that his reason was so clear, his logic so perfect, and his conclusions so sound. With what simple eloquence does he state this great truth. I quote his observation. He knew, too, that knowledge and liberty are the great solvents of error and that trials and tribulations are its correctives. Republics are not perfect in all matters of government.
Nothing is perfect.
Not even the universe. Man's handiwork cannot correct all the mistakes of nature nor can it remedy all of her faults and make righteous all the acts of man. But a republic, the representative system of government with a basic constitution to protect the unalienable rights of the individual society, is by far the best system of government yet devised by man. Paine might well be honored as the father of our modern republican governments. He wanted to make the American Republic the pattern upon which all future governments were to be founded.