Source identified
Read & copy the quotation
“It is necessary to the happiness of man, that he be mentally faithful to himself.”
- Source
- The Age of Reason
- Date
- 1794–1796
Meaning of “It is necessary to the happiness of man,…”
Paine connects intellectual integrity with well-being: professing beliefs one does not actually hold creates an inward conflict between conscience and public conformity.
Where does it come from?
The Age of Reason, Part I, Chapter I, “The Author’s Profession of Faith”; Moncure Daniel Conway collected/edited text represented by Project Gutenberg #3743 and cross-checked against Wikisource. “It is necessary to the happiness of man, that he be mentally faithful to himself” introduces Paine’s argument that infidelity consists in professing a belief one does not actually hold. It remains historical moral/religious argument about conscience and sincerity rather than modern clinical guidance about happiness.
