Nelson's Encyclopedia, in its article on Paine, says: "It seems clear that his imprisonment was in part the result of a discreditable intrigue to which Gouverneur Morris, the American minister, was a party."
Madison, in a letter to Jefferson, dated January 10, 1796, referring to Paine's letter to Washington, says: "It appears that the neglect to claim him as an American citizen when confined by Robespierre, or even to interfere in any way whatever in his favor, has filled him with an indelible rancor against the President, to whom it appears he has written on the subject. His letter to me is in the style of a dying one, and we hear that he is since dead of the abscess in his side, brought on by his imprisonment."
Referring to his letter to Washington, Dr. Conway says: "It was the natural outcry of an ill and betrayed man to one whom we now know to have been also betrayed. Its bitterness and wrath measure the greatness of the love that was wounded."
Rev. Eugene Rodman Shippen: "That he was estranged from Washington through the malicious representations of others is one of the sad episodes of our national life."
M. Thibaudeau: "It yet remains for the Convention to perform an act of justice. I reclaim one of the most zealous defenders of liberty—Thomas Paine. My reclamation is for a man who has honored his age by his energy in defense of the rights of humanity, and who is so gloriously distinguished by his part in the American Revolution....I demand that he be recalled to the bosom of this Convention."
"He was unanimously restored to his seat in the Convention."—International Encyclopedia.
Samuel P. Putnam: "Paine was self-centered. He could stand alone, like a mighty rock, with seas and storms breaking upon him. Not Mirabeau, not Danton, shone with a more brilliant genius, nor towered with more rugged strength and grandeur.
"Paine represented the immortal part of the Revolution.... Voltaire emphasized justice, Rousseau emphasized liberty; Paine emphasized both liberty and justice."
One of the strongest proofs of Paine's transcendent greatness is the fact that while nearly all the leaders of the Revolution—even Danton—were swept from their moorings by this volcanic upheaval, Paine's career throughout was characterized by wisdom, moderation, and a moral courage that was truly sublime.
Thomas Curtis: