"Common Sense and Other Writings" by Thomas Paine

"A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong, gives it a superficial appearance of being right... Time makes more converts that reason." p.5

"Some writers have so confounded society with government as to leave little or no distinction between them... Society is produced by our wants, and government by our wickedness; the former promotes our happiness positively by uniting our affections, the latter negatively by restraining our vices." p. 6

The King equals a worm. "How impious is the title of sacred majesty applied to a worm, who in the midst of his slendor is crumbling into dust!" p. 12

"When a man seriously reflects on the idolatrous homage which is paid to the persons of Kings, he need not wonder, that the Almighty, ever jealous of his honor, should disapprove of a form of government which so impiously invades the prerogative of heaven." p. 12

Expounds on the story of Gideon in the Old Testament by saying, "The Jews...proposed making him king, saying, Rule thou over us, thou and thy son and thy son's son. Here was temptation in its fullest extent; not a kingdom only, but an hereditary one, but Gideon in the piety of should soul replied, I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you, THE LORD SHALL RULE OVER YOU. Words need not be more explicit; Gideon doth not decline the honor, but denieth their right to give it; neither doth he compliment them with invented declarations of his thanks, but in the positive stile of a prophet charges them with disaffection to their proper Sovereign, the King of heaven." p. 13

King equals the Pope. "For monarchy in every instance is the Popery of government." p. 14

King equals an ass. "One of the strongest natural proofs of the folly of hereditary right in kings, is, that nature disapproves it, otherwise she would not so frequently turn it into ridicule by giving mankind an ass for a lion." p. 15

King equals a ruffian and plunderer. "Could we take off the dark covering of antiquity, and trace [kings] to their first rise, that we should find the first of them nothing better than the principle ruffian of some restless gang, whose savage manners or pre-eminence in subtility obtained him the title of chief among plunderers." p. 15

King equals a bastard. "A French bastard landing with an armed banditti, and establishing himself king of England against the consent of the natives, is in plain terms a very paltry rascally original. - It certainly hath no divinity in it." p. 16

Hereditary monarchy "opens the door to the foolish, the wicked, and the improper, it hath in it the nature of oppression." p. 17

A regent acting for a minor king would "have every opportunity and inducement to betray their trust." p. 17

Monarchy " 'tis a form of government which the word of God bears testimony against, and blood will attend it." p. 18 20