When one thinks of the literature influential in the founding of this nation and the War of Independence, one's mind (especially if he or she has been educated in the State-controlled institutions of learning) automatically runs to Thomas Paine's little pamphlet Common Sense. This, according to modern historiography, was the spark which ignited the flame of the American Revolution. One gets the impression had Mr. Paine not written his essay, we would still be pausing in the mid-afternoon for tea and singing "God Save our Queen."