Read the excerpt from Common Sense. "Some Massanello may hereafter arise, who, laying hold of popular disquietudes, may collect together the desperate and the discontented, and by assuming to themselves the powers of government may sweep away the liberties of the continent like a deluge." In the excerpt, Paine compares a deluge—a torrential downpour—to the actions of a group of men to illustrate their force. intentions. numbers. pride.