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  ...their ardour, and who dare never let their confidence outgrow their abilities.

No. 148. SATURDAY, AUGUST 17, 1751.
_Me pater saevis oneret catenis, Quod viro clemens misero peperci: Me vel extremis Numidarum in agros Classe releget._ HOR. Lib. iii. Od. xi. 45.
Me let my father load with chains, Or banish to Numidia's farthest plains! My crime, that I, a loyal wife, In kind compassion sav'd my husband's life. FRANCIS.
Politicians remark, that No oppression is so heavy or lasting as that which is inflicted by the perversion and exorbitance of legal authority.   The robber may be seized, and the invader repelled, whenever they are found; they who pretend no right but that of force, may by force be punished or suppressed. But when plunder bears the name of impost, and murder is perpetrated by a judicial sentence, fortitude is intimidated, and wisdom confounded: resistance shrinks from an alliance with rebellion, and the villain remains secure in the robes of the magistrate.
Equally dangerous and equally detestable are the cruelties...   Addison, Joseph

Excerpt from The Works of Samuel Johnson, Volume 03 The Rambler, Volume II · This quote is about authority · Search on Google Books to find all references and sources for this quotation.

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