The circumstances of the world are continually changing, and the opinions of man change also; and as government is for the living, and not for the de… - Thomas Paine

As in my political works my motive and object have been to give man an elevated sense of his own character, and to free him from the slavish and superstitious absurdity of monarchy and hereditary government; so in my publications on religious subjects, my endeavors have been directed to bring man to a right use of the reason that God has given him; to impress on him the great principles of divine morality, justice, mercy, and a benevolent disposition to all men, and to all creatures, and to inspire in him a spirit of trust, confidence, and consolation in his Creator, unshackled by the fables of books pretending to be the word of God.

Yaratılan her şey bu bağlamda bir gizemse, bu kelime karanlığın aydınlığın yerine kullanılamayacağı gibi ahlaki gerçek yerine kullanılamaz. İnandığımız Tanrı, karanlığın ya da gizemin değil gerçeğin Tanrı'sıdır. Gizem gerçeğin karşıtıdır. Gizem, gerçeği karanlığa iten, onu bozan, insanın yarattığı bir sistir. Gerçek hiçbir zaman gizemle sarmalanamaz; eğer sarmalanırsa bu gerçeğin değil karşıtının suçudur.

The more simple any thing is, the less liable it is to be disordered, and the easier repaired when disordered . . . Absolute governments, (tho' the disgrace of human nature) have this advantage with them, they are simple; if the people suffer, they know the head from which their suffering springs; know likewise the remedy; and are not bewildered by a variety of causes and cures.