Paine asserts that mankind was originally in a state of equality, and, therefore, present inequalities must have been brought about by some circumstance. Paine says that a common distinction that lacks any natural or religious basis, is the division between kings and their subjects. This distinction, unlike those between male and female or good and evil, is not one "of heaven," and Paine wishes to inquire into its origin and its consequences.
Even as he revels in the thought that “his name will live,” he is aware of the incongruity that he, a debt-ridden pig farmer, should now be standing “at the very edge of the world.
