Time makes more converts than reason.

The revolutionary pamphleteer and prophet of liberty, Thomas Paine, declared with cutting simplicity: “Time makes more converts than reason.” In this sentence, he revealed the slow yet irresistible power of time—a force greater than argument, greater than persuasion, greater even than truth plainly spoken. For men are not always ready to hear reason when it is first uttered. They resist, they doubt, they cling to old ways. But time, patient and inexorable, erodes resistance, reshapes belief, and compels even the most stubborn hearts to acknowledge what they once rejected.

The origin of this quote comes from Paine’s Common Sense, the fiery pamphlet that awakened the American colonies to the cause of independence. He understood that bold ideas—freedom, equality, self-rule—do not win allegiance instantly. Reason may plant the seed, but it is time that allows it to grow. The passage of events, the unfolding of experience, the undeniable march of reality—these convert where mere logic fails. Thus Paine, strategist of both words and history, taught that time itself is the greatest teacher and persuader.

The ancients knew this truth long before Paine. Heraclitus said that “time is a child at play, moving the pieces of the world,” reminding us that even the strongest structures yield under its hand. The Stoic Seneca observed that what men resist today they may embrace tomorrow, for the passage of years strips illusions and reveals what reason alone cannot. So too did the Hebrew Preacher in Ecclesiastes declare, “To everything there is a season,” meaning that truth ripens only when time has prepared the soil. Paine’s insight echoes these timeless voices: reason may open the eyes, but time compels the heart.

History bears witness to this lesson. Consider the cause of abolition. For centuries, voices cried out against the evil of slavery. Philosophers reasoned, preachers thundered, reformers pleaded. Yet the chains endured. It was not reason alone that broke them, but time, working through the long accumulation of injustice, through wars and revolutions, through the gradual awakening of human conscience. What was once resisted as radical became, with time, undeniable truth. In Paine’s words, time made converts where reason could not.

The meaning of this teaching is both humbling and hopeful. Humbling, because it reminds us that truth does not always triumph swiftly. We may be right, yet still unheeded. We may reason well, yet find hearts unmoved. Hopeful, because it assures us that if truth is real, time itself will fight on its behalf. The lies of men, however loud, cannot withstand the patient pressure of unfolding years. Time is the ally of what is just, though its victories are often slow.

Therefore, the lesson is clear: be patient in the struggle for truth. Do not despair if reason alone does not persuade. Sow the seed faithfully, argue with clarity, stand with courage—but remember that time is the great harvester. It will bring about the change that men resist today. To demand instant conversion is to misunderstand the ways of history; to trust in time is to walk in the wisdom of the ages.

In practice, I counsel this: when you labor for what is right, balance urgency with patience. Do not grow weary when your words seem to fall on deaf ears. Live them out, hold them steady, and let time do its work. Remember that history itself is on the side of truth, though its victories are not always in our lifetime. Reason plants, but time ripens.

Thus, remember the eternal wisdom of Thomas Paine: “Time makes more converts than reason.” Let it strengthen your patience, deepen your resolve, and steady your heart. For in the slow turning of the years, time itself bears witness to truth—and those who resist today may yet be converted tomorrow by the teacher who never fails, the teacher who is time.