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<v Speaker 1>Part two of common Sense. This is a LibriVox recording.

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<v Speaker 1>All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more

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<v Speaker 1>information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org. Read

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<v Speaker 1>by Bobnefeld. Common Sense by Thomas Paine, Part two of

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<v Speaker 1>Monarchy and hereditary succession. Mankind being originally equals in the

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<v Speaker 1>order of creation, the equality could only be destroyed by

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<v Speaker 1>some subsequent circumstance. The distinctions of rich and poor may,

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<v Speaker 1>in the great measure, be accounted for, and that without

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<v Speaker 1>having recourse to the harsh, ill sounding names of oppression

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<v Speaker 1>and avarice. Oppression is often the consequence, but seldom or

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<v Speaker 1>never the means of riches. And though avarice will preserve

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<v Speaker 1>a man from being necessitously poor, it generally makes him

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<v Speaker 1>too timorous to be wealthy. But there is another and

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<v Speaker 1>greater distinction for which no truly natural or religious reason

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<v Speaker 1>can be assigned, and that is the distinction of men

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<v Speaker 1>into kings and subjects. Male and female are the distinctions

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<v Speaker 1>of nature, good and bad, the distinctions of heaven. But

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<v Speaker 1>how a race of men came into the world so

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<v Speaker 1>exalted above the rest and distinguished like some new species,

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<v Speaker 1>is worth inquiring into and whether they are the means

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<v Speaker 1>of happiness or of misery to mankind. In the early

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<v Speaker 1>ages of the world, according to the Scripture chronology, there

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<v Speaker 1>were no kings, the consequence of which was there were

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<v Speaker 1>no wars. It is the pride of kings which throw

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<v Speaker 1>mankind into confusion. Holland without a king, hath enjoyed more

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<v Speaker 1>peace for this last century than any of the monarchial

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<v Speaker 1>governments in Europe. Antiquity favors the same remark, for the

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<v Speaker 1>quiet and rural lives of the first patriarchs have a

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<v Speaker 1>happy something in them which vanishes away. When we come

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<v Speaker 1>to the history of Jewish royalty. Government by kings was

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<v Speaker 1>first introduced into the world by the Heathens, from whom

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<v Speaker 1>the children of Israel copied the custom. It was the

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<v Speaker 1>most prosperous invention the devil ever set on foot for

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<v Speaker 1>the promotion of idolatry. The Heathens paid divine honors to

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<v Speaker 1>their deceased kings, and the Christian world hath improved on

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<v Speaker 1>the plan by doing the same to their living ones.

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<v Speaker 1>How impious is the title of sacred majesty applied to

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<v Speaker 1>the worm, who, in the midst of his splendor, is

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<v Speaker 1>crumbling into dust, as the exalting one man so greatly

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<v Speaker 1>above the rest cannot be justified on the equal rights

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<v Speaker 1>of nature, So neither can it be defended on the

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<v Speaker 1>authority of scripture. For the will of the Almighty, as

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<v Speaker 1>declared by Gideon and the prophet Samuel, expressly disapproves of

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<v Speaker 1>government by kings. All anti monarchical parts of scripture have

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<v Speaker 1>been very smoothly glossed over in monarchical governments. But they

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<v Speaker 1>undoubtedly merit the attention of countries which have their governments

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<v Speaker 1>yet to form. Render unto Caesar, the things which are

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<v Speaker 1>Caesar's is the scriptured doctrine of courts. Yet it is

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<v Speaker 1>no support of monarchical government, for the Jews at that

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<v Speaker 1>time were without a king and in a state of

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<v Speaker 1>vassalage to the Romans. Now three thousand years passed away

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<v Speaker 1>from the mosaic account of the creation till the Jews,

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<v Speaker 1>under the national delusion, requested a king. Till then their

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<v Speaker 1>form of government, except in extraordinary cases where the Almighty interposed,

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<v Speaker 1>was a kind of republic administered by a judge and

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<v Speaker 1>the elders of the tribes king, they had none, and

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<v Speaker 1>it was held sinful to acknowledge any being under that

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<v Speaker 1>title but the Lord of Hosts. And when a man

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<v Speaker 1>seriously reflects on the idolatrous homage which is paid to

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<v Speaker 1>the persons of kings, he need not wonder that the Almighty,

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<v Speaker 1>ever jealous of his honor, should disapprove of a form

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<v Speaker 1>of government which so impiously invades the prerogative of heaven.

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<v Speaker 1>Monarchy is ranked in scripture as one of the sins

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<v Speaker 1>of the Jews, for which a curse in reserve is

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<v Speaker 1>denounced against them. The history of that transaction is worth attending.

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<v Speaker 1>To the children of Israel being oppressed by the Midianites,

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<v Speaker 1>Gideon marched against them with a small army, and victory

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<v Speaker 1>through the divine into position decided in his favor. The

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<v Speaker 1>Jews elate with success, and attributing it to the generalship

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<v Speaker 1>of Gideon, propose making him a king. Rule thou over us,

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<v Speaker 1>thou and thy son and thy son's son. Here was

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<v Speaker 1>temptation in its fullest extent, not a kingdom only, but

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<v Speaker 1>an hereditary one. But Gideon, in the piety of his soul, replied,

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<v Speaker 1>I will not rule over you, neither shall my son

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<v Speaker 1>rule over you. The Lord shall rule over you. Words

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<v Speaker 1>need not be more explicit. Gideon doth not decline the honor,

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<v Speaker 1>but denieth their right to give it. Neither doth he

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<v Speaker 1>compliment them with invented decorations of their thanks, but in

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<v Speaker 1>the positive style of a prophet, charges them with disaffection

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<v Speaker 1>to their proper sovereign, the King of Heaven. About one

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<v Speaker 1>hundred and thirty years after this, they fell again into

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<v Speaker 1>the same error. The hankering which the Jews had for

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<v Speaker 1>the idolatrous customs of the Heathens is something exceedingly unaccountable.

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<v Speaker 1>But so it was that, laying hold of the misconduct

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<v Speaker 1>of Samuel's two sons, who were entrusted with some secular concerns,

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<v Speaker 1>they came in an abrupt and clamorous manner to Samuel, saying, behold,

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<v Speaker 1>thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways.

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<v Speaker 1>Now make us a king to judge us like all

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<v Speaker 1>other nations. And here we cannot but observe that their

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<v Speaker 1>motives were bad, that is, that they might be like

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<v Speaker 1>unto other nations, in other words, the Heathens, whereas their

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<v Speaker 1>true glory laid in being as much unlike them as possible.

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<v Speaker 1>But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, give us

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<v Speaker 1>a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the Lord,

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<v Speaker 1>and the Lord said, unto Samuel, hearken unto the voice

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<v Speaker 1>of the people in all that they say unto thee.

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<v Speaker 1>For they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me,

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<v Speaker 1>that I should not reign over them, according to all

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<v Speaker 1>the world works which they have since the day that

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<v Speaker 1>I brought them out of Egypt, even unto this day,

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<v Speaker 1>wherewith they have forsaken me and served other gods. So

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<v Speaker 1>do they also unto thee. Now therefore hearken unto their voice,

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<v Speaker 1>howbeit protests solemnly unto them, and show them the manner

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<v Speaker 1>of the king that shall reign over them, not of

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<v Speaker 1>any particular king, but the general manner of the kings

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<v Speaker 1>of the earth, whom Israel was so eagerly copying after

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<v Speaker 1>and notwithstanding the great distance of time and difference of manners,

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<v Speaker 1>the character is still in fashion. And Samuel told all

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<v Speaker 1>the words of the Lord unto the people that asked

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<v Speaker 1>of him a king. And he said, this shall be

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<v Speaker 1>the manner of the king that shall reign over you.

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<v Speaker 1>He will take your sons and appoint them for himself

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<v Speaker 1>for his chariots and be his horsemen, and some shall

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<v Speaker 1>run before his chariots. This description agrees with the present

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<v Speaker 1>mode of impressing men. And he will appoint him captains

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<v Speaker 1>over thousands, and captains over fifties, and will set them

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<v Speaker 1>to ear his ground and reap his harvest, and to

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<v Speaker 1>make his instruments of war and instruments of his chariots.

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<v Speaker 1>And he will take your daughters to be confectioneries, and

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<v Speaker 1>to be cooks, and to be beggars. This describes the

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<v Speaker 1>expense and luxury, as well as the oppression of kings.

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<v Speaker 1>And he will take your fields and your olive yards,

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<v Speaker 1>even the best of them, and give them to his servants.

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<v Speaker 1>And he will take the tenth of your seed and

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<v Speaker 1>of your vineyards, and give them to his officers and

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<v Speaker 1>to his servants, by which we see that bribery, corruption,

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<v Speaker 1>and favoritism are the standing vices of kings. And he

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<v Speaker 1>will take the tenth of your men servants, and your

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<v Speaker 1>maid servants, and your goodliest young men, and your asses,

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<v Speaker 1>and put them to his work. And he will take

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<v Speaker 1>the tenth of your sheep, and ye shall be his servants.

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<v Speaker 1>And ye shall cry out in that day because of

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<v Speaker 1>your king, which ye shall have chosen, and the Lord

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<v Speaker 1>will not hear you in that day. This accounts for

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<v Speaker 1>the continuation of monarchy. Neither do the characters of the

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<v Speaker 1>few good kings which have lived since either sanctify the

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<v Speaker 1>title or blot out the sinfulness of the origin. The

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<v Speaker 1>high Encomian given of David takes no notice of him

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<v Speaker 1>officially as a king, but only as a man after

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<v Speaker 1>God's own heart. Nevertheless, the people refuse to obey the

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<v Speaker 1>voice of Samuel, and they said, nay, but we will

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<v Speaker 1>have a king over us, that we may be like

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<v Speaker 1>all other nations, that our king may judge us and

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<v Speaker 1>go out before us and fight our battles. Samuel continued

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<v Speaker 1>to reason with them, but to no purpose. He set

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<v Speaker 1>before them their ingratitude, but all would not a veil,

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<v Speaker 1>and seeing them bent fully on their folly, he cried out,

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<v Speaker 1>I will call under the Lord, and he shall send

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<v Speaker 1>thunder and reign, which then was a punishment, being in

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<v Speaker 1>the time of wheat harvest, that ye may perceive and

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<v Speaker 1>see that your wickedness is great, which ye have done

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<v Speaker 1>in the sight of the Lord. And the Lord sent

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<v Speaker 1>thunder and reigned that day, and all the people greatly

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<v Speaker 1>feared the Lord and Samuel, and all the people said,

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<v Speaker 1>unto Samuel, pray for thy servants, unto the Lord thy God,

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<v Speaker 1>that we die not, for we have added, unto our

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<v Speaker 1>sins this evil to ask a king. These portions of

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<v Speaker 1>scripture are direct and positive. They admit of no equivocal construction.

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<v Speaker 1>That the Almighty hath here entered. His protest against monarchical

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<v Speaker 1>government is true, for the scripture is false, And a

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<v Speaker 1>man have good reason to believe that there is as

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<v Speaker 1>much of kingcraft as priestcraft withholding the scripture from the

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<v Speaker 1>public in popish countries. For monarchy, in every instance is

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<v Speaker 1>the popery of government. To the evil of monarchy, we

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<v Speaker 1>have added that of hereditary succession. And as the first

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<v Speaker 1>as a degradation and lessening of ourselves, so the second,

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<v Speaker 1>claimed as a matter of right, is an insult and

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<v Speaker 1>an imposition on posterity. For all men being originally equals,

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<v Speaker 1>no one by birth could have a right to set

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<v Speaker 1>up his own family in perpetual preference to all others forever.

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<v Speaker 1>And though himself might deserve some decent degree of honors

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<v Speaker 1>of his contemporaries, yet his descendants might be far too

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<v Speaker 1>unworthy to inherit them. One of the strongest natural proofs

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<v Speaker 1>of the folly of hereditary right in kings is that

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<v Speaker 1>nature disapproves it, Otherwise she would not so frequently turn

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<v Speaker 1>it into ridicule by giving mankind and asks for a lion. Secondly,

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<v Speaker 1>as no man at first could possess any other public

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<v Speaker 1>honors than were bestowed upon him, so the givers of

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<v Speaker 1>those honors could have no power to give away the

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<v Speaker 1>right of posterity. And though they might say, we choose

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<v Speaker 1>you for our head, they could not, without manifest injustice

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<v Speaker 1>to their children, say that your children and your children's

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<v Speaker 1>children shall reign over ours forever, because such an unwise, unjust,

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<v Speaker 1>unnatural compact might perhaps, in the next succession, put them

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<v Speaker 1>under the government of a rogue or a fool. Most wise,

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<v Speaker 1>men in their private sentiments have ever treated heredity right

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<v Speaker 1>with contempt. Yet it is one of those evils which,

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<v Speaker 1>when once established, is not easily removed. Many submit from fear,

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<v Speaker 1>others from superstition, and the more powerful part shares with

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<v Speaker 1>the king the plunder of the rest. This is supposing

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<v Speaker 1>the present race of kings in the world to have

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<v Speaker 1>had an honorable origin, whereas it is more than probable that,

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<v Speaker 1>could we take off the dark covering of antiquities and

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<v Speaker 1>trace them to their first rise, that we should find

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<v Speaker 1>the first of them nothing better than the principal ruffian

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<v Speaker 1>of some restless gang, whose savage manners or pre eminence

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<v Speaker 1>in subtlety obtained the title of chief among plunderers, and who,

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<v Speaker 1>by increasing in power and extending his depredations, overawed the

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<v Speaker 1>quiet and defenseless to purchase their safety by frequent contributions.

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<v Speaker 1>Yet his electors could have no idea of giving hereditary

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<v Speaker 1>right to his descendants, because such a perpetual exclusion of

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<v Speaker 1>themselves was incompatible with the free and unrestrained principles they

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<v Speaker 1>professed to live by. Wherefore, hereditary succession in the early

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<v Speaker 1>ages of monarchy could not take place as a matter

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<v Speaker 1>of lame, but as something casual or complemental. But as

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<v Speaker 1>few or no records were extant in those days, and

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<v Speaker 1>traditional history stuffed with fables, it was very easy, after

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<v Speaker 1>the lapse of a few generations, to trump up some

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<v Speaker 1>superstitious tale, conveniently timed mohammet like to cram hereditary rights

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<v Speaker 1>down the throats of the vulgar. Perhaps the disorders which

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<v Speaker 1>threatened or seemed to threaten on the decease of a leader,

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<v Speaker 1>and the choice of a new one for elections among

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<v Speaker 1>Ruffians could not be very orderly induced many at first

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<v Speaker 1>to favor hereditary pretensions, by which means it happened as

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<v Speaker 1>it hath happened, since that what at first was submitted

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<v Speaker 1>to as a convenience was afterwards claimed as a right.

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<v Speaker 1>England since the conquest hath known some few good monarchs,

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<v Speaker 1>but groaned beneath them much larger number of bad ones.

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<v Speaker 1>Yet no man in his senses can say that their

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<v Speaker 1>claim under William the conqueror is a very honorable one.

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<v Speaker 1>A French bastard landing with an armed banditi and establishing

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<v Speaker 1>himself king of England against the consent of the natives is,

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<v Speaker 1>in plain terms, a very paltry, rascally original. It certainly

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<v Speaker 1>hath no divinity in it. However, it is needless to

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<v Speaker 1>spend much time in exposing the folly of hereditary right.

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<v Speaker 1>If there are any so weak as to believe it,

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<v Speaker 1>Let them promiscuously worship the ass and Lion, and welcome.

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<v Speaker 1>I shall neither copy their humility nor disturb their devotion.

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<v Speaker 1>The most plausible plea which hath ever been offered in

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<v Speaker 1>favor of hereditary succession, is that it preserves a nation

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<v Speaker 1>from civil wars. And were this true, it would be weighty.

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<v Speaker 1>Whereas it is the most bare faced falsity ever imposed

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<v Speaker 1>upon mankind. The whole history of England disowns the fact

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<v Speaker 1>thirty kings and two miners have reigned in that distracted

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<v Speaker 1>kingdom since the Conquest, in which time there have been,

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<v Speaker 1>including the Revolution, no less than eight civil wars and

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<v Speaker 1>nineteen rebellions. Wherefore, instead of making for peace, it makes

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<v Speaker 1>against it and destroys the very foundation it seems to

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<v Speaker 1>stand on. The contest for monarchy and succession between the

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<v Speaker 1>Houses of York and Lancaster laid England in a scene

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<v Speaker 1>of blood. For many years, twelve pitched battles, besides skirmishes

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<v Speaker 1>and sieges, were fought between Henry and Edward. Twice was

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<v Speaker 1>Henry prisoner to Edward, who in his turn was prisoner

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<v Speaker 1>to Henry. And so uncertain is the fate of war

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<v Speaker 1>and the temper of a nation, when nothing but personal

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<v Speaker 1>matters are the ground of the quarrel. That Henry was

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<v Speaker 1>taken in triumph from a prison to a palace and

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<v Speaker 1>Edward obliged to fly from a palace to a foreign land. Yes,

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<v Speaker 1>as sudden transitions of temper are seldom lasting. Henry, in

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<v Speaker 1>his turn, was driven from the throne, and Edward recalled

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<v Speaker 1>to succeed him, the Parliament always following the strongest side.

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<v Speaker 1>This contest began in the reign of Henry the sixth

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<v Speaker 1>and was not entirely extinguished till Henry the seventh, in

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<v Speaker 1>whom the families were united, including a period of sixty

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<v Speaker 1>seven years, that is, from fourteen twenty two to fourteen

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<v Speaker 1>eighty nine. In short, monarchy and succession have laid not

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<v Speaker 1>this or that kingdom only, but the world in blood

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<v Speaker 1>and ashes. Tis a form of government which the word

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<v Speaker 1>of God bears testimony against, and blood will attend it.

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<v Speaker 1>If we inquire into the business of a king, we

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<v Speaker 1>shall find that in some countries they have none, and,

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<v Speaker 1>after sauntering away their lives, without pleasure to themselves or

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<v Speaker 1>advantage to the nation, withdraw from the scene and leave

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<v Speaker 1>their successors to tread the same idle ground. In absolute monarchies,

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<v Speaker 1>the whole weight of business, civil and military lies on

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<v Speaker 1>the king. The children of Israel, in their request for

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<v Speaker 1>a king urge this plea, that he might judge us,

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<v Speaker 1>and go out before us and fight our battles. But

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<v Speaker 1>in countries where he is neither a judge nor a general,

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<v Speaker 1>as in England, a man would be puzzled to know

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<v Speaker 1>what is his business. The nearer any government approaches to

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<v Speaker 1>a republic, the less business there is for a king.

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<v Speaker 1>It is somewhat difficult to find a proper name for

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<v Speaker 1>the government of England. Sir William Meredith calls it a republic,

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<v Speaker 1>but in its present state it is unworthy of the name,

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<v Speaker 1>because the corrupt influence of the Crown, by having all

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<v Speaker 1>the places in its disposal, hath so effectually swallowed up

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<v Speaker 1>the power and eaten out the virtue of the House

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<v Speaker 1>of Commons, the republican part in the Constitution, that the

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<v Speaker 1>government of England is nearly as monarchical as that of

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<v Speaker 1>France or Spain. Men fall out with names without understanding them,

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<v Speaker 1>for it is the republican and not the monarchical part

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<v Speaker 1>of the Constitution of England which Englishmen glory in. That

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<v Speaker 1>is the liberty of choosing an House of Commons from

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<v Speaker 1>out of their own body. And it is easy to

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<v Speaker 1>see that when republican virtue fails, slavery ensues. Why is

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<v Speaker 1>the constitution of England sickly? But because monarchy hath poisoned

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<v Speaker 1>the republic. The crown hath engrossed the commons in England.

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<v Speaker 1>The King hath little more to do than to make

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<v Speaker 1>war and give away places, which in plain terms is

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<v Speaker 1>to impoverish the nation and set it together by the ears.

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<v Speaker 1>A pretty business. Indeed, for a man to be allowed

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<v Speaker 1>eight hundred thousand sterling a year for and worshiped into

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<v Speaker 1>the bargain of more Worth, is one honest man in

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<v Speaker 1>society and in the sight of God, than all the

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<v Speaker 1>crowned Ruffians that ever lived. And of Part two