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Who really said it

I love those who can smile in trouble

Not Leonardo da Vinci — actually Thomas Paine Thomas Paine 1737–1809 · Anglo-American revolutionary pamphleteer
Disputed Free to reuse

The line is a reworded excerpt from Thomas Paine’s “The American Crisis,” No. I, published December 1776. Paine actually wrote “I love the man that can smile in trouble” — the internet softened it to “those who” and re-credited it to Leonardo da Vinci, who never wrote it.

Last verified 16 Jul 2026 · how we verify · spot an error?

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Disputed — copy with the correction

“I love those who can smile in trouble” Thomas Paine, The American Crisis, No. I (1776) — original wording: "I love the man that can smile in trouble, that can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection."

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In context

Evoking the world of Thomas Paine — Anglo-American revolutionary pamphleteer. Theme: "I love those who can smile in trouble". Atmospheric and restrained, cinematic directional light, a muted period-appropriate palette, fine grain and texture. Compose with generous empty space for the quote and a small credit line. No lettering in the image itself.

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Minimalist editorial slide for the quote "I love those who can smile in trouble". Clean background, a single muted accent color, generous negative space, subtle paper or linen texture, no literal illustration — let the words carry it. Reserve clear space for a serif quote and a small credit line. No lettering in the image itself.

Provenance

The real source

Work
The American Crisis, No. I
Author
Thomas Paine
First published
December 1776
Original wording
“I love the man that can smile in trouble”

I love the man that can smile in trouble, that can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection. ’Tis the business of little minds to shrink; but he whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves his conduct, will pursue his principles unto death.

Paine’s original text. The viral “Leonardo” version rewrites “the man that” as “those who” and pluralizes the rest.

The American Crisis, No. I (Project Gutenberg)

How we verified this

Public domain

Thomas Paine wrote “The American Crisis,” No. I in English and first published it in December 1776 — far earlier than 1931, so the text is in the public domain in the United States.

Fact-check

How Leonardo got the credit

This is a textbook “magnet name” swap: a stirring line by a real author gets softened and re-credited to a more glamorous one.

Leonardo da Vinci Misattributed

Countless quote sites (BrainyQuote, Goodreads) pin this on Leonardo, but none cite any notebook, treatise, or letter of his — because the words are Paine’s, written more than 250 years after Leonardo’s death.

The line is Thomas Paine’s, from The American Crisis, No. I (1776) — and his original reads “I love the man that can smile in trouble,” not “those who.”

Context

Why it mattered

Paine wrote the first Crisis paper in the darkest weeks of 1776, as Washington’s army retreated across New Jersey. The “smile in trouble” sentence sits a few lines below its famous opening, “These are the times that try men’s souls.”

Stripped of that revolutionary context and softened into a gentle life-coach maxim, the line reads like timeless Renaissance wisdom — which is likely why it drifted onto Leonardo da Vinci’s name.

“I love the man that can smile in trouble… and grow brave by reflection.”

Explore

Filed under

More provenance-checked quotes on the same theme, each with its reuse status.

Resilience Courage

Go further

Dig deeper

Trusted places to keep pulling the thread — primary archives, fact-checks, and scholarship. We show how we used each one before you leave.

The Writings of Thomas Paine, Vol. Igutenberg.org

Full public-domain text of The American Crisis, No. I, containing the original line.
The American Crisis (sourced)en.wikiquote.org

Wikiquote's sourced transcription confirming Paine's exact wording.
The American Crisisamrevmuseum.org

Museum of the American Revolution context on the pamphlet and its 1776 publication.
The American Crisis — full textamericanliterature.com

Readable full text of all Crisis papers for cross-checking the passage.
Quote by Leonardo da Vinci (misattribution)goodreads.com

Example of the reworded line circulating under Leonardo's name.

The author

About Thomas Paine

Thomas Paine

1737–1809 · Anglo-American revolutionary pamphleteer

Thomas Paine was an English-born writer whose pamphlets helped ignite the American Revolution. Common Sense (1776) argued for independence, and The American Crisis (begun December 1776) rallied a faltering Continental Army — Washington had its first number read aloud to his troops before the crossing of the Delaware. The “smile in trouble” line is Paine’s, not Leonardo’s.

For writers & researchers

Cite this

Primary source

Thomas Paine, “The American Crisis,” No. I (Philadelphia, December 1776), in The Writings of Thomas Paine, Vol. I, ed. Moncure Daniel Conway (New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1894).

This verification page

Quotle.info. “Who really said ‘I love those who can smile in trouble’?” Last verified 16 Jul 2026. https://quotle.info/who-said/i-love-those-who-can-smile-in-trouble

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