Therefore, he didn’t receive as much schooling as someone would expect given what he would do in his life. Paine could have had some knowledge of corset-making from his father, but that isn’t significant to his career or education. He was mentored by Benjamin Franklin and self-educated in the art of journalism. Thomas Paine was also inspired by scholars and philosophers, such as Voltaire. Paine started his journalism career as the managing editor of Philadelphia Magazine and also wrote in the magazine, mocking the pacifistic lifestyle of Quakers. Thomas Paine was inspired by many influential figures from the Age of Enlightenment. One of Paine’s greatest influences was Voltaire, the famous line of, “all men are created equal” inspired by Voltaire’s own ideas. Another man from the Enlightenment that inspired Common Sense was Benjamin Rush, who gave Paine the idea to write the essay in the first place. While the writing was all Paine’s, Rush did come up with the name Common Sense to replace Thomas Paine’s name, Plain Truth. Paine resonated with John Locke’s statement of humans needing independence; both men had similar