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From: Thomas Paine
Date: December 1776
In December 1776, the American cause seemed lost, Washington's troops were in full retreat, and Thomas Paine penned the stirring "These are the times that try men's souls" in the opening paragraph of the first of "The American Crisis" papers, and followed it with his "Price of Freedom" phrase:
"What we obtain to cheap, we esteem too lightly:
it is dearness only that gives every thing its value."
It should be noted in the same paragraph he uses another phrase in description of the British tyranny:
"(not only to TAX) but 'TO BIND us in ALL CASES WHATSOEVER' "
How sad if his eloquence could be used to describe the activities of those who would charge a second time for access to court/case information when the public has previously paid "dearly" for the information with taxes.
He concludes the phrase with "..and if being bound in that manner, is not slavery, then there is no such thing as slavery upon earth."
Full text of Thomas Paine's article