"Were a man totally deprived of memory, he would be incapable of forming any just opinion; everything about him would seem a chaos; he would have even his own history to ask from everyone ; and by not knowing how the world went on in his absence, he would be at a loss to know how it 'ought' to go on when he recovered, or rather, returned to it again. In like manner, tho' in a less degree, a too great inattention to past occurrences retards and bewilders our judgment in everything; while, on the contrary , by comparing what is past with what is present, we frequently hit on the true character of both, and become wise with very little trouble . It is a kind of countermarch, by which we get into the rear of Time, and mark the movements and meaning of things as we make our return. There are certain circumstances , which, at the time of their happening, are kind of riddles, and every riddle is to be followed by its answer , so those kind of circumstances will be followed by their events, and those events are always the true solution . A considerable space of time may elapse between them, and unless we continue our observations from the one to the other, the harmony of them will pass away unnoticed: But the misfortune is, that partly from the pressing necessity of some instant things, and partly from the impatience of our own tempers, we are frequently in such a hurry to make out the meaning of everything as fast as it happens, that we thereby never truly understand it; and not only start new difficulties for ourselves by so doing, but , as it were, embarrass Providence in her good designs."
P. 116-117, "The American Crisis III," THOMAS PAINE (1955, 1984)

Sunday, December 4, 2016
"THE AMERICAN CRISIS III"
"Were a man totally deprived of memory, he would be incapable of forming any just opinion; everything about him would seem a chaos; he would have even his own history to ask from everyone ; and by not knowing how the world went on in his absence, he would be at a loss to know how it 'ought' to go on when he recovered, or rather, returned to it again. In like manner, tho' in a less degree, a too great inattention to past occurrences retards and bewilders our judgment in everything; while, on the contrary , by comparing what is past with what is present, we frequently hit on the true character of both, and become wise with very little trouble . It is a kind of countermarch, by which we get into the rear of Time, and mark the movements and meaning of things as we make our return. There are certain circumstances , which, at the time of their happening, are kind of riddles, and every riddle is to be followed by its answer , so those kind of circumstances will be followed by their events, and those events are always the true solution . A considerable space of time may elapse between them, and unless we continue our observations from the one to the other, the harmony of them will pass away unnoticed: But the misfortune is, that partly from the pressing necessity of some instant things, and partly from the impatience of our own tempers, we are frequently in such a hurry to make out the meaning of everything as fast as it happens, that we thereby never truly understand it; and not only start new difficulties for ourselves by so doing, but , as it were, embarrass Providence in her good designs."
P. 116-117, "The American Crisis III," THOMAS PAINE (1955, 1984)