I have always regarded as one of the greatest of all Americans. ... It was my good fortune to encounter 's works in my boyhood ... it was, indeed, a revelation to me to read that great thinker's views on political and theological subjects. Paine educated me, then, about many matters of which I had never before thought. I remember, very vividly, the flash of enlightenment that shone from 's writings, and I recall thinking, at that time, 'What a pity these works are not today the schoolbooks for all children!' My interest in was not satisfied by my first reading of his works. I went back to them time and again, just as I have done since my boyhood days.