But now persecution is good, because it exists; every law which originated in ignorance and malice, and gratifies the passions from whence it sprang, we call the wisdom of our ancestors: when such laws are repealed, they will be cruelty and madness; till they are repealed, they are policy and caution.

Sydney Smith (1771-1845) English clergyman, essayist, wit

The Letters of Peter Plymley, Letter 5 (1807)
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