Abstract

The works of Thomas Paine don't have yet a critical edition so, mostly for his early writings, we haven't an uncontestable attribution. Recently an article traditionally ascribed to Paine and regarded as a prelude to "Common Sense" hasn't overtaken a test of automated computer authorship attribution. This paper discusses the historiographical implications of this result. If the article wasn't written by Paine, he read it anyway and probably was stimulated by it to write "Common Sense".