Edmund Burke and Thomas Paines Views on the French Revolution Essay

Edmund Burke and Thomas Paine's Views on the French Revolution Edmund Burke and Thomas Paine were two of the several strongly-opinionated individuals writing back-and-forth in response to what the others were saying about the French Revolution. Burke, a critic, writes first. Paine, a supporter, responds. In the excerpt from "Reflections on the Revolution in France", Burke argues in favor of King Louis XVI and his wife, Marie Antoinette. When Marie was murdered, Burke says, â€Å"As a man, it became him to feel for his wife and his children, and the faithful guards of his person, that were massacred in cold blood about him; as a prince, it became him to feel for the strange and frightful transformation of his civilized subjects, and to be more grieved for them, than solicitous for himself. It derogates little from his fortitude, while it adds infinitely to the honor of his humanity.† Burke also argues against the rising ignorance among the people. He emphasizes the importance of education and the keeping of tradition. He says â€Å"the age of chivalry is gone,† and if this...