cased in euphemistic
coat-of-mail; he grappled like a giant, face to face, heart to heart,
with the naked truth of things! That, after all, is the sort of man
for one. I plead guilty to valuing such a man beyond all other sorts
of men. Smooth-shaven Respectabilities not a few one finds, that are
not good for much. Small thanks to a man for keeping his hands clean,
who would not touch the work but with gloves on!

Neither, on the whole, does this constitutional tolerance of the
Eighteenth century for the other happier Puritans seem to be a very
great matter. One might say, it is but a piece of Formulism and
Scepticism, like the rest. They tell us, It was a sorrowful thing to
consider that the foundation of our English Liberties should have been
laid by 'Superstition.' These Puritans came forward with Calvinistic
incredible Creeds, Anti-Laudisms, Westminster Confessions; demanding,
chiefly of all, that they should have liberty to _worship_ in their
own way. Liberty to _tax_ themselves: that was the thing they should
have demanded! It was Superstition, Fanaticism, disgraceful Ignorance
of Constitutional Philosophy to insist on the other thing!--Liberty to
_tax_ oneself? Not to pay-out money from your pocket except on reason
shown? No century, I think, but a rather barren one would have fixed
on that as the first right of man! I should say, on the contrary, A
just man will generally have better cause than _money_ in what shape
soever, before deciding to revolt against his Government. Ours is a
most confused world; in which a good man will be thankful to see any
kind of Government maintain itself in a not insupportable manner; and
here in England, to this hour, if he is not ready to pay a great many
taxes which _he_ can see very small reason in, it will not go well
with him, I think! He must try some other climate than this.
Taxgatherer? Money? He will say: "Take my money, since you _can_, and
it is so desirable to you; take it,--and take yourself away with it;
and leave me alone to my work here. _I_ am still here; can still work,
after all the money you have taken from me!" But if they come to him,
and say, "Acknowledge a Lie; pretend to say you are worshipping God,
when you are not doing it: believe not the thing that _you_ find true,
but the thing that I find, or pretend to find true!" He will answer:
"No; by God's help, no! You may take my purse; but I cannot have my
moral Self annihilated. The purse is any Highwayman's