The Works of Samuel Johnson, Ll D

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: Taxation no Tyranny; ANSWER TO THE RESOLUTIONS And ADDRESS OF THE AMERICAN CONGRESS. ['775-1 IN all the parts of human knowledge, whether terminating in feience merely fpeculative, or operating upon life private or civil, are admitted fome fundamental principles, or common axioms, which being generally received are little doubted, and being little doubted have been rarely proved. Of thefe gratuitous and acknowledged truths it is often the fate to become lefs evident by endea- vous to explain them, however neceflary fuch endeavours may be made by the mifapprehenfions of abfurdity, or the fophiftries of intereft. It is difficult to prove the principles of feience, becaufe notions cannot always be found more intelligible thanthan thofe which are queftioncd. It is difficult td prove the principles of practice, becaufe they have for the moft part not been difcovered by inveftiga- tion, but obtruded by experience, and the de- monftrator will find, after an opcrofe deduction, that he has been trying to make that fcen which can be only felt. Of this kind is the pofition, that the fufreme power of ei'ery community has the right of requiring from all itsfubjetts, fitch contributions as are necejfary to the ful'lick Jafety or fullick profperily, which was confidered by all mankind as comprifing the primary and eflential condition of all political fociety, till it became difputed by thofe zealots of anarchy, who have denied to the parliament of Britain the right of taxing the American Colonies. In favour of this exemption of the Americans from the authority of their lawful fovereign, and the dominion of their mother-country, very loud clamours have been raifed, and many wild afiertions advanced, which by fuch as borrow their opinions from the reigning fafhion ...