The following is the second in a series of inside looks at the current exhibition in Princeton University Library’s Ellen and Leonard Milberg Gallery in Firestone Library: “The Most Formidable Weapon Against Errors: The Sid Lapidus ’59 Collection & the Age of Reason.” 

Curated by Steven A. Knowlton, Librarian for History and African American Studies, the exhibition celebrates the collecting achievements of Sid Lapidus, Class of 1959, who has devoted many years to the acquisition of rare books that trace the emergence of Enlightenment ideas and their influence on politics, medicine, and society, creating a powerful tool for understanding the ideas that have shaped modern American society. 

Thomas Paine made his name during the American Revolution with pro-independence sentiment. However, his political philosophy finds its most complete expression in Rights of Man, a treatise composed in Paris during the French Revolution. 

In response to conservative arguments, Paine argues that the rights of the individual originate in human nature and that governments exist to protect those rights. 

He rejects the authority of traditional structures of society such as aristocracy as unjustifiable privilege. In his second volume, Paine coined the phrase “The Age of Reason”, holding that the establishment of societies based on philosophical principles of the Enlightenment would usher in a new age free from oppression.

Paine was often ridiculed by conservatives. In this cartoon (at left "Wha Wants Me?), he is shown as bringing to any prospective employers a host of ills including rebellion, treason, anarchy, and “national & private ruin.” All the while, he is trampling upon loyalty, obedience to the laws, industry, inheritance, religion, and protection of property.

The exhibition is open through June 8, 2025 at the Milberg Gallery in Firestone Library. Please visit the website to view the gallery’s opening hours and for information about public tours and how to visit.