The above parallel, like the preceding one, arises primarily in the mind from the association of ideas. The definition of national honor is the same, and arose out of the same transaction. Taking away the rudder from an English frigate was a national insult, but instead of demanding reparation of the king of Spain, the king of England would satisfy his honor by attacking a king's servant, which furnishes the materials for the censure of Junius, and Admiral Saunders would be satisfied to see the city of Madrid laid in ashes, which furnishes the just ground for the aspersions of Mr. Paine; and from thence they define national honor to be that deportment which is best suited to an individual. They both state the case, and then define; the method and figures are the same. But there is another parallel in these two pieces, and in the same connection. Mr. Paine and Junius both use very harsh language in commenting on the facts in the case, and when they close their censure they say:

This apology taken in the same connection, shows the same mind, for it is a law of nature, whether exhibited in mind or matter, that when given the same conditions the same results follow. Now if Thomas Paine be not Junius, then would no such parallels be found; for, as before remarked, literary theft is impossible, inasmuch as conditions can not be stolen, and more especially the most important condition in the above case, mental constitution. In other words the case is stated by the same person, in the same style, but not in the same language.

In the above Mr. Paine applies this figure of political chemistry to the causes which led to the separation of the colonies from England. Junius is speaking to the Duke of Grafton. "Menstruum" and "Caput mortuum," are old chemical terms. The former means that which will dissolve, and the latter the worthless matter which is left. They are both figures of analysis, and show the writer to have given his attention to chemistry. Mr. Paine, it is well known, in 1775, shortly after arriving in America, "set his talents to work" to make saltpeter by some cheap and expeditious method, and formed an association to supply gratuitously the national magazines with powder. This fact also shows that Mr. Paine came to America to fight England; for it was before he had written his Common Sense. His object was, to be prepared; his method was, first the powder and then the Declaration of Independence, which last was produced by the pamphlet Common Sense.

Mr. Paine and Junius both reasoned, and this very often, from the nature of man, and especially his passions. The following are parallels:

The last parallel above will bear a moment's thought and study. Paine says: "Without the least merit in the man." Junius says: "We owe it to the bounty of Providence." They were both deeply read in the history of the human heart. The following is of the same nature, showing the same mental philosophy:

The above are a few of the similar figures which have come under my eye. The careful reader will, doubtless, find many more, as I have given my attention to a multiplicity of subjects in this investigation, and many parallels would thus escape me. But I have given more than sixty, which ought to arrest the attention of any thinking man. Together with the above may be taken parallel phrases frequently used by both; for example: "I affirm," "Excess of folly," "In point of," "Give the lie to," "For several reasons," "Branded with," "It signifies not," "Circumstanced," "For my own part," "In short," "Forever," "Common cause."

I now pass on to those figures of speech which come in the form of argumentation, as antithesis and interrogation.

Antithesis is a species of word painting. It is to an argument what light and shade are to a painting. There can, therefore, be no argument without antithesis in some form. It may be defined, contrasting or placing in opposition opinions, sentiments, and ideas. The following are examples:

As would naturally be expected from what has already been brought forward, in regard to the mental constitution of Mr. Paine, he abounds in this figure and style of argumentation; and it is the same with Junius. Sentence after sentence, and period after period, are in antithesis. The expressions, "On the one hand, and on the other," "At home and abroad," "On this side, and on that," are the constant companions of both. Hence the method, also, in both, of bringing forward contradictions in the conduct and character of individuals, or in any proposition they are attacking. This is the language, also, of ridicule; the contradiction makes it absurd, the incongruity ridiculous. Antithesis is, therefore, an argumentative figure of speech, in which contrast or comparison is made to present an image of things or principles to the mind. It is to rhetoric what light and shade are to painting. In no other way can a writer paint a picture. Hence, when Mr. Paine says, "Were I disposed to paint a contrast," and when Junius says, "Imagine what you might be, and then reflect upon what you are," they reveal the gift of that tremendous power they exhibit in their productions.

It is from this constitutional arrangement of the mind which makes a man a good mathematician. For, if one will trace a mathematical process of reasoning, he will find it to be a system of comparisons or antitheses—and nothing else—having foundation primarily in equality. The idea of equality is the origin of mathematics. It was, therefore, a mathematician who wrote Junius. We can not go wrong in this conclusion, for we reason from first principles, and we would expect to find his style and language assuming mathematical preciseness, and only equaled by Mr. Paine in argumentation.

From what has already been said, we would expect to find the frequent use of the dilemma, and the reductio ad absurdum—or, that the contrary of what is true leads to the absurd.

I give the following dilemmas:

But those methods of argumentation are only a species of antithesis, and may all be reduced to the one fundamental form of comparison. This may remind us of the fact that all improvement arises from comparison, whether in language, government, or personal experience.

I have one marked feature of argumentative figure to point out, and this is, interrogation. This is insinuation without direct attack, a sort of flank movement, when charges are made that can not be proven, or when too evident to need proof. This style is also not only common to both Mr. Paine and Junius, but so prominent that it attracts attention at once.

It is frequently the case with Mr. Paine and Junius that "language fails," that is, it is poured forth in such torrents of abuse that the reader is made painfully aware of it, and to recapture the mind of the reader, they artfully charge it to the impossibility of doing justice to so bad a subject. For example:

In the last parallel above, it will be noticed, the strong terms were called forth by a sacrifice of national honor with Great Britain, and a prospect of it in the United States. I call attention to this in this place to save repetition of proofs, showing that proud spirit of personal honor so prominent in Paine and Junius, and from which they both say: national honor is governed by the same rules as personal honor. I now pass to notice the most prominent mental characteristics.

MENTAL CHARACTERISTICS.

If the reader will carry forward in his mind what I have already said on style and the object for which Mr. Paine and Junius wrote, it will greatly aid me in reducing the size of this book. I shall act on the principle of this suggestion, and while I give new matter upon new subjects, the reader will find the parallels greatly strengthened by what has already been said. The reader will also apply the facts already brought forward to the passages I shall hereafter present, so that, like a two-edged sword, it may be made to cut both ways. And first of avarice and the miser:

I call attention to that pride of character and personal honor, so conspicuous in both Paine and Junius:

A thousand passages might be selected from both to show this riding trait of character. The proud, imposing spirit that would dare to undertake the business of a world for the good of mankind, and to tread on the pride of courtiers, and to tell the king, who ruled over the greatest nation on earth, that nature had only intended him for a good-humored fool, is pre-eminently the leading trait in Junius and Paine. No one can mistake it; no one can fail in finding it; no one can help feeling the force of it. It has never been produced in any other man. The world's history has given us but the one example of it. We search in vain for another parallel. And if Mr. Paine did not write Junius, nature produced twins of the same mental type to do the same work for mankind, and then defeated all her arts and gave the lie to all her laws, by exhibiting the one and forever concealing the other. But surely nature can conceal nothing. Her method is to reveal, not to conceal. She writes the character of man on all he touches, and reveals it in the very language he would employ to conceal it.

It was this proud spirit which gave Paine that contempt for monarchy which he so often expressed. "I have an aversion to monarchy," he says, "as being too debasing to the dignity of man." This is a language which courtiers could not understand, and they would consider it the vain babbling of a mad-man; but it is the very basis of that government which he labored to establish in America and France. This is also the spirit of Junius when he says with such withering sarcasm: "It may be matter of curious speculation to consider, if an honest man were permitted to approach a king, in what terms he would address himself to his sovereign." And after having gained the ear of the king, when he says: "Let it be imagined, no matter how improbable, that he has spirit enough to bid him speak freely and understanding enough to listen to him with attention. Unacquainted with the vain impertinence of forms, he would deliver his sentiments with dignity and firmness." Here Junius, also, fortified with that proud integrity of character which he held in common with all who would not be enslaved, and which he possessed as the birthright of man, was free to place the dignity of an honest man in antithesis to a weak understanding in a king only supported by the vain impertinence of forms. Paine was too proud to be vain; his pride came up from nature; it was the pride of human worth, and opposed to that vanity of art which always makes pretentions to more worth than nature has conferred. Nature gives us pride, art makes us vain. It was this pride, in opposition to vanity, which Junius expressed in his great battle against the usurpations of government, when he says: "Both liberty and property are precarious unless the possessors have sense and spirit enough to defend them. This is not the language of vanity. If I am a vain man my gratification lies within a narrow circle." That is, "to write for fame and be unknown."

From this pride of character, so strong and peculiar, we may draw no weak conclusion in regard to the authorship of Junius, for the parallel is perfect, and the age in which he wrote gave us nothing like it in any one but Paine. This characteristic gives tone to the whole mind, and a shade of coloring to every faculty. It reflects itself upon the people, and draws therefrom the conclusion that they have more "sense and spirit" than they really possess. It gives a double coloring to hope, paints two bows instead of one, and reduces the time for the establishment of right. It thus produces more faith in the people than facts will sustain. For example:

But Paine and Junius were both mistaken. Reason will, perhaps, forever fail to produce a revolution without bloodshed. Reason only prepares for war, and when time has slowly accomplished the work of reason in any reform, it terminates that work in convulsions of war. The political corruptions, also, which Junius was so hopeful would soon be resisted by the English people, still exist, and the reforms he advocated, although partly accomplished, fail to produce any better result. The reason is, the people never resist tyranny till scourged into it, from self-interest; and, besides, they must worship a tyrant of some political form, bending the knee to king or party, and baring the back to the lash. A leader the people must have, under whose banner they can rally, and which they consider it treason to desert, and whether they vote for a president or bow to a king, is all the same. The political prayer of royalty or republicanism, if not in the same words, expresses the same fact. The one is, "Oh, Lord! to the king I bow, thou knowest he can do no wrong." The other is, "Oh, Lord! to the party I bow, thou knowest I never scratched a ticket."

Although Paine and Junius were thoroughly read in the history of the human heart, they failed to place a proper estimate on the character of mankind. They failed because they reasoned from their own pride of character, their own feelings, hopes, and desires, and these far exceeded the mass of mankind.

They were both too proud to flatter.

The above characteristic is quite peculiar. I do not remember of ever seeing the like of it in any other writer, and as there is a perfect parallel here, the fact that it stands almost alone gives it great weight.

They were both enthusiasts, as the following parallel on moderation will show:

Paine and Junius both had the same opinion of moderate men.

They both, also, had secretiveness large. That Junius never revealed himself to the world, and that he baffled all the king's spies, is evidence enough on his side. I will now present a few evidences in regard to Mr. Paine. First, in regard to his wife. No one knows why they parted, and, when interrogated, he would make the evasive answer, "I had a cause." But, if pressed, he would bluntly respond, "It was a private affair, and nobody's business." He also sent her money without letting her know the source of it. Secondly: His Common Sense was kept a secret from Dr. Franklin till published, and this when the doctor had placed the materials in his hands toward completing a history of colonial affairs. He says: "I expected to surprise him with a production on that subject much earlier than he thought of, and, without informing him what I was doing, got it ready for the press as fast as I conveniently could, and sent him the first pamphlet that was printed off." Thirdly: He projected a plan of going to England in disguise, and getting out a pamphlet in secret, to rouse the English people. See what he says about it on page 66 of this book. Fourthly: "The Address and Declaration" of the gentlemen who met at the Thatched House tavern in 1791, in England, was written by Mr. Paine, although he was not known, and took no part in the meeting. He only revealed himself as the author of it after Horne Tooke, the supposed author, had stated that Mr. Paine was the author. But this is what he says about it: "The gentleman who signed the address and declaration as chairman of the meeting, Mr. Horne Tooke, being generally supposed to be the person who drew it up, and having spoken much in commendation of it, has been jocularly accused of praising his own work. To free him from this embarrassment, and to save him the repeated trouble of mentioning the author, as he has not failed to do, I make no hesitation in saying, I drew up the publication in question," etc.—Rights of Man, note.

This is sufficient to show a trait of character which made Junius, as a secret, a success. Without this strong ruling passion there could have been no Junius to spring like a tiger upon king and court. But, if it can be shown in any mental characteristic that Mr. Paine is incompatible with that character which is stamped upon Junius and made him a success, I will surrender the argument.

Mr. Paine says, as Horne Tooke had not failed to declare him the author, he then acknowledged it as his own. Had Mr. Tooke been silent, you may well be assured Mr. Paine would never have divulged it to friend or foe of either. Since Mr. Paine above has used the expression, "Jocularly accused of praising his own work," the reader will not fail to remember the same characteristic in Junius, when he says of Philo Junius, and who was also the real Junius himself, that "the subordinate character was never guilty of the indecorum of praising his principal." This again reminds us of Mr. Paine, when speaking of that passage in Numbers: "Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were on the face of the earth." Paine bluntly responds: "If Moses said this of himself, instead of being the meekest of men, he was one of the most vain and arrogant of coxcombs."

I now call attention to the fact that Mr. Paine and Junius, when attacking the private character of men, both seem to delight, when the fact would fit, in charging bastardy:

In their appeals to posterity they were both equal and frequent. Mr. Paine says, in closing his first Crisis: "By perseverance and fortitude we have the prospect of a glorious issue; by cowardice and submission the sad choice of a variety of evils, a ravaged country, a depopulated city, habitations without safety, and slavery without hope; our homes turned into barracks and bawdy-houses for Hessians and a future race to provide for, whose fathers we shall doubt of. Look on this picture and weep over it! and if there yet remains one thoughtless wretch who believes it not, let him suffer it unlamented." Junius also says in strains as pathetic and patriotic: "We owe it to posterity not to suffer their dearest inheritance to be destroyed. But if it were possible for us to be insensible of these sacred claims, there is yet an obligation binding on ourselves, from which nothing can acquit us, a personal interest which we can not surrender. To alienate even our own rights would be a crime as much more enormous than suicide as a life of civil security and freedom is superior to a bare existence; and if life be the bounty of Heaven, we scornfully reject the noblest part of the gift, if we consent to surrender that certain rule of living, without which the condition of human nature is not only miserable, but contemptible."—Let. 20.

In the study of the human heart, and in a knowledge of the secret workings of the mind they were both masters. And, had it not been that they overapplied the nobler virtues in the common people, they would never have gone wrong in their conclusions. They failed not in the knowledge, but in the application of the thing. They thought it existed where it did not. But this is the law, which they laid down as follows:

The mental constitution of Mr. Paine made him practical. What he knew he considered of no use to himself unless he could apply it in some way. He finds the people oppressed by the usurpations of government, and he urges to rebellion. He finds in America, Britain had prohibited the importation of powder, and his knowledge of chemistry immediately supplies the national magazines. His mechanical thought was not satisfied until it had taken the form of an iron bridge. It was the same disposition in Junius which kept him forever talking of "experience," and the "evidence of facts." I give a single parallel out of hundreds:

I merely call attention to the above fact as a practical feature of the mind common to both. In the same manner both make frequent mention of "reason" and "common sense." Examples of this kind it is useless to give, for they look out from every page.

I now pass to consider their doctrines and private opinions; and first of politics:

I have heretofore proven that they were not partisans in the strict sense of the term, yet they both had party proclivities:

They both declare Law to be king:

They both express themselves on the game laws of England as follows:

Both express themselves the same on laws in general:

I would have the reader mark the fact that the above sentiment of Junius is the first he proclaims in his book. This, it will readily be seen, contains in itself the whole system of politics which Junius and Paine labored to establish. From this sentiment arose the frequent expressions of Junius, "Original rights;" "First rights;" "Sacred original rights of the people;" "The meanest mechanic is equal to the noblest peer;" and which Paine embodied in the expression, "Mankind are originally equal in the order of creation." Herein also we find the foundation for that method of both in tracing the rights of man back to their origin, and the easy manner in distinguishing original right from usurpation. A parallel here will make this plain:

In regard to America, I have shown their views to run parallel. Mr. Paine says in Crisis vii: "The ministry and minority have both been wrong." And Junius says in his first Letter: "But unfortunately for his country, Mr. Grenville was at any rate to be distressed because he was minister, and Mr. Pitt and Lord Camden were to be the patrons of America because they were in opposition." The minority here meant no more than the ruin of a minister and split the nation, without doing the colonies any good. Mr. Paine also says of Lord Chatham on this same point in Crisis viii: "An opinion hangs about the gentlemen of the minority, that America would relish measures under their administration which she would not from the present cabinet. On this rock Lord Chatham would have split had he gained the helm."

I bring forward this parallel to show three things, the same political opinions, the same views of the parties in England, and the same figures of speech, all thrown into the same subject-matter. This, together with the same resemblance in style, surely point to the same author.

This leads me on to speak of other private opinions. And first of lawyers, and especially Lord Mansfield:

The above parallel in regard to Lord Mansfield is most remarkable. Let us consider it. Whether the statements be true or not, is immaterial. Mr. Paine said he knew no other influence than corruption; that his talents were those of a sophist, and that he understood the subtleties of nature, not its elegance. Reference is here had to the Athenian sophists, whose art it was "to make the worse appear the better reason." This art made them talented in a certain direction, and in the employment of it they became renowned and rich. Paine affirms that the law had corrupted him. Junius says the practice of the law makes a bad man, and that Mansfield was, considering the conditions, the worst man in the kingdom. This is an opinion so singular and prominent, so rare among men, and expressed so boldly and unqualifiedly, by both Paine and Junius, that it furnishes a parallel which comes with positive and telling force. Perhaps Paine and Junius were the only two writers at the time who held this opinion. And that they should express it in the same manner, with all the fine shades and attending peculiarities the same, and be at the same time two persons, is a phenomenon which nature never exhibited but once, and never will again among mankind. To remove the weight of this evidence, something positive must be brought forward to rebut it.

It will be noticed above that Mr. Paine spoke of "precedent" being the basis of reckoning all their probabilities, and that a new case was a new world. Here we find another parallel in opinion:

Many examples could be given of the above likeness, but these are sufficient.

I submit the following in regard to Lord North:

Mr. Paine, no doubt, had in his mind this passage of Junius when he described him as a twirling top, a good arithmetician in politics, but in every thing else nothing at all.

In speaking of the misconduct of England, they both make it commence at the termination of the Seven Years' War, and speak of the time reckoned from the beginning of the year 1763. I will notice Junius first, so as to present this parallel in chronological order. He says in his first Letter, written Jan. 21, 1769: "Outraged and oppressed as we are, this nation will not bear, after a six years' peace, to see new millions," etc. On February 14, 1770, he says: "At the end of seven years we are loaded with a debt," etc. This is the method, in regard to time Junius always employs when speaking of the distress and calamities of England.

Let us now pass over to America, and we find, near the close of 1778, Mr. Paine uses the same method and language, when addressing the people of England in Crisis, vii: "A period of sixteen years of misconduct and misfortune is certainly long enough for any one nation to suffer under." He elsewhere uses the same language in the same way, which shows a mental habit peculiar to both.

The same opinion of court and courtier has elsewhere been shown, but a definite parallel or two may not be out of place:

They held the same opinion of oaths:

They place personal interest above strict moral right, as a means of improvement:

The reader will here see a mental characteristic the same, and a philosophy growing therefrom which is boldly affirmed by both.

That we gather strength by antagonism, and in this way the vicious are often brought into notice and become successful, is a prominent fact noticed by both.

I have heretofore given examples of the above to prove another fact.

I now call attention to the passion of suspicion:

The above is strong language in regard to suspicion. Paine thinks it mean and cowardly if not well founded, and Junius thinks it is justifiable when the safety of a nation is at stake. This is an uncommon sentiment, and, if Mr. Paine was Junius, he is found repeating himself after an interval of thirty-four years.

In regard to thinking for one's self, Junius says of Benson, in withering rebuke to Lord Mansfield, who had committed him for contempt: "He had the impudence to pretend to think for himself." Paine exclaims: "Why is man afraid to think?"

There is a fact now in regard to the English army which is of great weight in my argument relative to a change of opinion. Junius always spoke highly of the army, while he sometimes censured individual officers. Speaking of the regiments of the guards, he says: "Far be it from me to insinuate the most distant reflection upon the army. On the contrary, I honor and esteem the profession, and if these gentlemen were better soldiers I am sure they would be better subjects." Mr. Paine, just nine years afterward, when in America, and fighting against the English army, says of the English people: "They are made to believe that their generals and armies differ from those of other nations, and have nothing of rudeness or barbarity in them. They suppose them what they wish them to be; they feel a disgrace in thinking otherwise. There was a time when I felt the same prejudices, and reasoned from the same errors; but experience—sad and painful experience—has taught me better. What the conduct of former armies was I know not, but what the conduct of the present is I well know—it is low, cruel, indolent, and profligate."—Crisis, vii. This is a species of dovetailing the life and opinions of Junius into those of Mr. Paine. But the reader will see there is no effort on my part. All I ask is for truth to take its course. It would be beneath the dignity of a scientific criticism to stoop to artifice.

I wish now to bring forward a complex parallel, to show that pride of character which would not stoop to the meanness of party politics, and to show, also, their opinion of bribery at elections, and the origin of "military governments" in England.

"It is difficult," says Mr. Paine, "to account for the origin of charter and corporation towns, unless we suppose them to have arisen out of, or having been connected with, some species of garrison service. The times in which they began justify this idea. The generality of these towns have been garrisons, and the corporations were charged with the care of the gates of the town when no military garrison was present. Their refusing or granting admission to strangers, which has produced the custom of giving, selling, and buying freedom, has more of the nature of garrison authority than civil government."—Rights of Man, part ii, chap. 5, note.

I am now prepared to give the parallels:

Says Mr. Paine: "I love method." This, every action proved. His business transactions, his political plans, the productions of his pen, were all in design and execution methodical. In dedicating his life to the good of mankind, he studied method in the use of his great mental powers. He never set about doing any thing without a plan and specifications. He carried in the brain the ideal of the work he was to give material shape and substance. His plans were always well-digested and often long in maturing. He, for example, anticipated the revolution, and proceeded to fill the public arsenals with powder. He then brought out Common Sense, when public opinion was decidedly against a declaration of independence, to educate that public sentiment in favor of it. This produced the desired effect, and when war was fairly begun upon a proper basis and plan, he struck the enemy at the proper time and place with an occasional Crisis. The first Crisis he wrote, for example, won a battle for the Union. After the war was over, he went to England and brought out his Rights of Man, laboring in the same lines and advocating the very principles of Junius. There is not a political principle expressed in Junius which was not again reproduced in Rights of Man. But method is stamped upon every production of his pen. Take, for example, Common Sense. The design was to bring public sentiment up to a declaration of independence. Now if we examine the method of the work, we will find the steps like a geometrical demonstration, from first principles to conclusion. In Common Sense he first convinces the reason, then inflames the passions, and lastly destroys dissension by a stirring, manly, patriotic appeal. The work proper is divided into four parts.