it's very deliberately written in the Plain Style of its era. the register is a lot less formal than, say, the Founding Documents because they deliberately utilize a much more formal (even ceremonial) style. Paine's works (especially "Common Sense") weren't bestsellers for no reason.
I suppose these parallels, which are very real, exist b…
it's very deliberately written in the Plain Style of its era. the register is a lot less formal than, say, the Founding Documents because they deliberately utilize a much more formal (even ceremonial) style. Paine's works (especially "Common Sense") weren't bestsellers for no reason.
I suppose these parallels, which are very real, exist because some of these questions were never settled in their time.
but the main takeaway for me every time I read Paine is that the greatest number of potential readers would have real difficulty with this very plain prose. most high school kids I'm exposed to today might be extremely "bright," but have received too much of their "training" as readers from screens. I know some very bright kids in their early twenties who are well-informed and well-read but can count the number of physical, printed-on-paper books in a codex format on one or two hands.
we've gone over this territory so many times (and it's LATE), there's no reason to do so again right now.
but thanks for the reminder of how it used to be, Tom.
it's very deliberately written in the Plain Style of its era. the register is a lot less formal than, say, the Founding Documents because they deliberately utilize a much more formal (even ceremonial) style. Paine's works (especially "Common Sense") weren't bestsellers for no reason.
I suppose these parallels, which are very real, exist because some of these questions were never settled in their time.
but the main takeaway for me every time I read Paine is that the greatest number of potential readers would have real difficulty with this very plain prose. most high school kids I'm exposed to today might be extremely "bright," but have received too much of their "training" as readers from screens. I know some very bright kids in their early twenties who are well-informed and well-read but can count the number of physical, printed-on-paper books in a codex format on one or two hands.
we've gone over this territory so many times (and it's LATE), there's no reason to do so again right now.
but thanks for the reminder of how it used to be, Tom.