Quote#Wisdom
[M]en who prefer any load of infamy, however great, to any pressure…
Quote bySydney Smith · 1771–1845
Commonly attributed — not confirmed in an authoritative edition. Cited on Wikiquote to: "The Humble Petition of the Rev. Sydney Smith to the House of Congress at Washington" (May 18, 1843), in Letters on American Debts (London: Longman, Brown, Green, & Longmans, 1843), p. 9.
English (original)
[M]en who prefer any load of infamy, however great, to any pressure of taxation, however light.
— Sydney Smith
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When I hear any man talk of an unalterable law, the only effect it produces upon me is to convince me that he is an unalterable fool.
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In the four quarters of the globe, who reads an American book? Or goes to an American play? or looks at an American picture or statue?