The recorder. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1802-1803, 1802-12-01
Mr.. THOMAS PAINE

U ~,
titude md impetuoiity of file, which cites
mark ehe competitions OF this writer. Having.
praiied the file, oar cncomium is at end
Three fourths OF she letter are taken DIP with
Mr.. Paine himielf. The conqueror of Italy,
OF Germany, and of Egypt, when debating
MS orders TO the pirate of Algicrs, does not
peak with enc tenth part of the fclfAconie-'
qnence, shat is here affirmed by the hireling,
or the volunteer OF Thomas Teffcrloa His
name, for whatever reaIon, is held in general
deteftation. Yet this man addrefies the peo-
pie OF America with the aughtiners OF an Of
tended divinity, laundering vengeance and de-
ttruction through the battles Of Homer. We
coniider the whole performance as more than
half an iniult upon the country When Cree
70 rung through all the changes Of egotifm as
toSa5aiine's con!pifacy, when DemoithencS,
IN court OF juitice, boattcd cf the greatncis of
his public crvices, each orator was extremely
careful to Halter the feelings of his audience.
cicero is always reminding the Romans that
they ere the matters Of mankind; and the
CTreek aiiureS has Countrymcn, that amdtt u,
the.r Soi!cs, ana ali their diigraces, they gre
the mott eloquent, the mott generous, and tile
braFeit people apon Garth. They praiie
themielycS, 90 be lure, in tt'e higheit terms
Butsheir audience had been artfully prepared
for the endurance OF this praiie. Ovcrwhcl:n-
ed by luminous bnrit Of thought, the mind
bends under the graip Of their cloq1ence ;
while generation and gratitude for the artiit
t'rb'i us 70 quettion the juAiceof theiikenefs.
Bat; in MIR Paine, we find nothing of all
this. When he.s to ipeak about himieis he
always falls below hilnialf The boaaer
neither gldes upon your confidence with the
tweetneis OF Cicero, nor forms your conyic-
ton with the grandeur Oh Dcmollhefes. Il
IS the erofee and mott vulgar vanity, Rrip-
ping itfelf naked, and itrurting on tip4toe
round itage of ITS own erection. MIR. Paine
affects 10 deipfc newspapers ;.Land, as an
avenue TO public notice, &c Aag ehoien one OF
the mot defpicahle::ss He fsssthat his ARRIVAL
has alarmed the fcdetals.ft has at leaf alarm
ed and dilgliite3zaii inimenie humber ofrcpub-
Iicans. lhIii examine the faCts and prin
ciplcS that Mr.. Paine has aderted and aGumed.
As for his biography, and " his horlc batton,' -
with 70 have no concern with the one or
the other.
/ Pafs over a long ranting extract of for-
mer letter, that Mr.. Paine gives US, and which
contains nothing but noife. For thirteen
years, he had luipe6ted that e the principles of
the revolution were expiring On the foil that
" produced thcn1.''-" now iays he,
g know from the Information eLsaia apoN
" f9t .ib7t, that the inpreRions that then di(-
* trctied me, .or ! was proud o. America,
6 ayere but too well founded. She was turns
g ing her back on her own glory, and making
& haity itrides in the retrograde path OF obi
g Won, But fpArk from tlte Altar of Sc :
s. VEN Il Y-StX, unextinguifhed and une7,
: tinguiihable through hat long night of err
:" for,ls again lightingup, in every part Of the
I" union, the genuinc fame Of rational liber-
C ty''
When Mr.. Paine wrote this letter, he had
icafceiy been ten days in the country. He
had been surrounded By the prefdent and
other leaders OF that party.* They had told
ilIn whatever they thought proper Bat Mr..
Fame might have known that, after fifteen
years otabfence from America, nc could rot.
IN ten @9Ji, become mater Of her intervenine
hiitory. The Auency of his afertons may
excite iaipicion that he is credulous and
PrcctPitate. II the principles of freedom are
or 10 brittle d ra,ure, or 70 WORTHLESS frame.
Il they arc 10 apt 10 tbru f5fir 6atk on their
avn gfo'J, and 90 fall dead of IN apoplexy, this,
OF ltielt, would prciens an invincible objection
againit AL future revolutions. Sc The retro
grade path OF obiiVi0n'' is pirate without
meaning, America may be endavcd or dif-
graced; but The cannot be forgotten. During
tins period OF turning her 5ack, America re-
ceifcd an addition Of two millions of people,
f1eT commerce, her tonnage, and her wealth,
multiplied with a rapidly that the world had
never icen before, II was during this period
Of turning hack that Philadelphia, after lo|;ro
fifteen rhonland lives by the peftdence, doubled
her population; and that Baltimore, from a
dirty village, became wealthy, populous,
ard veil built city. IT was in this botb Of
obI'0ioa that fifty t1oYfand families cut their
way through the boEoln Of tic forca and the
bottom Of the marih, and pcopled the fsvsoc
iollrudes Of the Ohio, and the MiAiffpi.
As for f6e jbark fbat is ugajn Hgbtjag pb,
Il WI be ha-d 70 grove thar lhc nreient CO