“ Those who, while they disapprove of the character and measures of a government, yield to it their allegiance and support, are undoubtedly its most conscientious supporters, and so frequently the most serious obstacles to reform. ”
Henry David Thoreau, Walden (1854). copy citation
| Author | Henry David Thoreau |
|---|---|
| Source | Walden |
| Topic | government support |
| Date | 1854 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | |
| Weblink | https://www.gutenberg.org/files/205/205-h/205-h.htm |
Context
“The broadest and most prevalent error requires the most disinterested virtue to sustain it. The slight reproach to which the virtue of patriotism is commonly liable, the noble are most likely to incur. Those who, while they disapprove of the character and measures of a government, yield to it their allegiance and support, are undoubtedly its most conscientious supporters, and so frequently the most serious obstacles to reform. Some are petitioning the State to dissolve the Union, to disregard the requisitions of the President. Why do they not dissolve it themselves,—the union between themselves and the State,—and refuse to pay their quota into its treasury?”
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