Mr. Paine was bold enough to transcend the minor rules of grammar whenever he found them cumbersome to his style. In this he is consistent with Junius.
There is a majesty of manner, and a grandeur of style, which strike the mind of the reader with great force. Take, for example, the following:
| Paine. | Junius. |
|
"It was not Newton's
honor, neither could it be
his pride, that he was an
Englishman, but that he
was a philosopher; the
heavens had liberated him
from the prejudices of an
island, and science had expanded
his soul as boundless
as his studies."—Crisis,
viii.
"The heart that feels not
now is dead; the blood of
his children will curse his
cowardice who shrinks back
at a time when a little
might have saved the
whole, and made them happy.
I love the man that
can smile in trouble, that
can gather strength from
distress, and grow brave by
reflection."... Speaking
of the principles of war,
he continues: "What signifies
it to me whether he
who does it is a king or a
common man; my countryman
or not my countryman;
whether it be done
by an individual villain or
an army of them?...
Let them call me rebel and
welcome; I feel no concern
from it, but I should suffer
the misery of devils were I
to make a whore of my
soul by swearing allegiance
to one whose character is
that of a sottish, stupid,
stubborn, worthless, brutish
man!... There are
cases which can not be overdone
by language, and this
is one."—Crisis, i. |
"You have still an honorable
part to act. The affections
of your subjects
may still be recovered; but,
before you subdue their
hearts, you must gain a noble
victory over your own.
Discard those little personal
resentments which have too
long directed your public
conduct. Pardon this man
the remainder of his punishment;
and, if resentment
still prevails, make it what
it should have been long
since—an act, not of mercy,
but of contempt. He will
soon fall back into his natural
station, a silent senator,
and hardly supporting
the weekly eloquence of
a newspaper. The gentle
breath of peace would leave
him on the surface neglected
and unremoved; it is
only the tempest that lifts
him from his place.
"Without consulting
your ministers, call together
your whole council. Let it
appear to the public that
you can determine and act
for yourself. Come forward
to your people. Lay aside
the wretched formalities of
a king, and speak to your
subjects with the spirit of
a man, and in the language
of a gentleman....
These sentiments, sir, and
the style they are conveyed
in, may be offensive, perhaps,
because they are new
to you."—Let. 35.
|
In the following, diminutives are handled with telling effect:
| Paine. | Junius. |
|
"Indolence and inability
have too large a share in
your composition ever to
suffer you to be any thing
more than the hero of little
villainies and unfinished
adventures."—To Lord
Howe, Crisis, v.
"That a man whose soul
is absorbed in the low traffic
of vulgar vice, is incapable
of moving in any superior
region, is clearly
shown in you by the event
of every campaign."—To
Lord Howe, Crisis, v.
"You may plan and execute
little mischiefs, but
are they worth the expense
they cost you, or will such
partial evils have any effect
on the general cause?
Your expedition to Egg
Harbor will be felt at a
distance like an attack upon
a hen-roost, and expose
you in Europe with a sort
of childish frenzy."—Crisis,
vi. |
"About this time the
courtiers talked of nothing
but a bill of pains and penalties
against the lord
mayor and sheriffs, or impeachment at the least.
Little Mannikin Ellis told
the king that if the business
were left to his management
he would engage
to do wonders. It was
thought very odd that a
business of so much importance
should be intrusted
to the most contemptible
little piece of machinery
in the whole kingdom.
His honest zeal, however,
was disappointed. The
minister took fright, and at
the very instant that little
Ellis was going to open,
sent him an order to sit
down. All their magnanimous
threats ended in a
ridiculous vote of censure,
and a still more ridiculous
address to the king."—Note,
Let. 38. |
The reader will observe that the method also of ridicule is the same. A hundred examples of this might be selected from both; and he has, doubtless, already noticed the biting satire of both. The Letters of Junius are among the finest specimens of satire in the English language, and are only equaled by Mr. Paine's Letters to Lord Howe, and passages in his Rights of Man to Mr. Burke. I will give a few extracts. It will be remembered how Junius called the king not only a "ruffian," but said "nature only intended him for a good humored fool," and that if he ever retired to America he would get a severe covenant to digest from a people who united in detesting the pageantry of a king and the supercilious hypocrisy of a bishop. With this remembrance I will submit the following piece of satire from Crisis, No. vi:
"Your rightful sovereign, as you call him, may do well enough for you, who dare not inquire into the humble capacities of the man; but we, who estimate persons and things by their real worth, can not suffer our judgment to be so imposed upon; and unless it is your wish to see him exposed, it ought to be your endeavor to keep him out of sight. The less you have to say about him the better. We have done with him, and that ought to be answer enough. You have been often told so. Strange! that the answer must be so often repeated. You go a begging with your king as with a brat, or with some unsalable commodity you are tired of; and though every body tells you no, no, still you keep hawking him about. But there is one that will have him in a little time, and as we have no inclination to disappoint you of a customer, we bid nothing for him."
Many passages of similar severity could be collected. In fact, the two Letters addressed to Lord Howe are not equaled in force or severity by the most savage of Junius' productions. I now call attention to other parallel peculiarities.