--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We have taxes upon every article that…" description: "\"“We have taxes upon every article that enters into the mouth, or covers the back, or is placed under the foot; taxes upon everything which it is pleasa..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/640/sydney-smith-6523_excessive_we-have-taxes-upon-every-article-that-en_2416672.png" --- # We have taxes upon every article that enters into the… ![“We have taxes upon every article that enters into the mouth, or covers the back, or is placed under the foot; taxes upon everything which it is pleasant to feel, smell, or taste; taxes on everything in the earth, or in the waters under the earth; on everything that comes from abroad or that is…” quote by Sydney Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/640/sydney-smith-6523_excessive_we-have-taxes-upon-every-article-that-en_2416672.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/640/sydney-smith-6523_excessive_we-have-taxes-upon-every-article-that-en_2416672.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/640/sydney-smith-6523_excessive_we-have-taxes-upon-every-article-that-en_2416672.png) > ““We have taxes upon every article that enters into the mouth, or covers the back, or is placed under the foot; taxes upon everything which it is pleasant to feel, smell, or taste; taxes on everything in the earth, or in the waters under the earth; on everything that comes from abroad or that is grown at home ; taxes on the raw material; taxes on every value that is added to it by the industry of man ; taxes on the sauce which pampers man's appetite, and on the drug which restores him to health ; on the ermine which covers the judge, and the rope that hangs the criminal; on the poor man's salt, and the rich man's spice; on the brass nails of the coffin, and the ribbons of the bride; — on bed and board — couchant or levant — we must pay. The schoolboy whips his taxed top; the beardless youth manages a taxed horse, with a taxed bridle, on a taxed road; and the dying Englishman, pouring his medicine, which has paid seven per cent, into a spoon which has paid fifteen per cent, flings himself back upon his chintz bed, which has paid twenty-two per cent, and expires in the arms of an apothecary who has paid a license of one hundred pounds for the privilege of presiding at his death-bed. His whole property is then taxed from two to twenty per cent. Besides the probate, large fees are demanded for burying him in the chancel ; his virtues are handed down to posterity on taxed marble, and he is gathered to his fathers to be taxed no more.”” [Sydney Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-smith/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A satirical critique of pervasive taxation on all aspects of life, highlighting its absurdity and burden on individuals. **In simple terms:** Taxes are everywhere, even on basic needs and life's moments. Key Takeaway Recognize and challenge excessive taxation. Themes taxation satire society economics justice Mood cynical ironic critical Type satirical political historical When to use this quote - Everyday purchases - healthcare costs - legal fees - burial expenses - government licensing Key Concepts Fiscal policy government overreach social critique Questions to Reflect On - How do modern taxes compare to this hyperbole? - What taxes feel most unjust today? A Different Perspective The quote exaggerates for effect; not all taxes are as intrusive as described. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Taxes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taxes/) ## Related quotes > [Philosophy teaches a man that he can't take it with him; taxes teach him he can't leave it behind either.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mignon-mclaughlin/philosophy-teaches-a-man-that-he-can-t-take-it-with-him-taxes-teach/) [Mignon McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mignon-mclaughlin/) > [“Fear is something akin to catching a mouse in a bear trap. We mistakenly thought that the thing that we were trying to kill…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/fear-is-something-akin-to-catching-a-mouse-in-a-bear-trap-we/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [The idea of excessive diversification is madness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/the-idea-of-excessive-diversification-is-madness/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [Too often, governments are quick to use excessive force and even pervert the course of justice to keep oil and gas flowing, forests logged,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-suzuki/too-often-governments-are-quick-to-use-excessive-force-and-even/) [David Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-suzuki/) > [I think it's true that the 1 Percent or the elite are living in a world of, maybe, excessive privilege, and they don't fully…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nouriel-roubini/i-think-it-s-true-that-the-1-percent-or-the-elite-are-living-in-a/) [Nouriel Roubini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nouriel-roubini/) > [“Leaders don’t give excessive vocal orders. They humbly involve people and together cooperate with them to make a change happen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/leaders-don-t-give-excessive-vocal-orders-they-humbly-involve-people/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [I used to suffer from excessive pride. Well, I got over that one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francesca-annis/i-used-to-suffer-from-excessive-pride-well-i-got-over-that-one/) [Francesca Annis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francesca-annis/) > [We must never expect discretion in first love: it is accompanied by such excessive joy that unless the joy is allowed to overflow, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/we-must-never-expect-discretion-in-first-love-it-is-accompanied-by/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) > [Don't keep excessive amounts of anything. Those glass vases that come from florists. Those ketchup packets that come with take-out food. A house with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretchen-rubin/don-t-keep-excessive-amounts-of-anything-those-glass-vases-that-come/) [Gretchen Rubin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretchen-rubin/) > [I would absolutely recommend against excessive positivity and optimism. Any positive emotion that you're infusing into a workplace needs to be grounded in reality.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-rath/i-would-absolutely-recommend-against-excessive-positivity-and/) [Tom Rath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-rath/) > [“I had a really fat friend. The next time I saw him he looked like me! He said he lost the weight by eating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/i-had-a-really-fat-friend-the-next-time-i-saw-him-he-looked-like-me/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [The retouching is excessive. I do not look like that and more importantly, I don't desire to look like that,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-winslet/the-retouching-is-excessive-i-do-not-look-like-that-and-more/) [Kate Winslet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-winslet/) > [When fear is excessive it can make many a man despair.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-aquinas/when-fear-is-excessive-it-can-make-many-a-man-despair/) [Thomas Aquinas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-aquinas/) > [Spiritual infirmities such as tepidity are caused, not only by chills but also by fevers, that is, by excessive zeal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/spiritual-infirmities-such-as-tepidity-are-caused-not-only-by-chills/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [My illness is one often characterized by dramatic overspending - in my case through frenzied shopping sprees, credit card abuse, excessive hoarding of unnecessary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-behrman/my-illness-is-one-often-characterized-by-dramatic-overspending-in-my/) [Andy Behrman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-behrman/) ## More by Sydney Smith > [Live always in the best company when you read.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-smith/live-always-in-the-best-company-when-you-read/) [Sydney Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-smith/) > [Scotland: That garret of the earth - that knuckle-end of England - that land of Calvin, oatcakes, and sulfur.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-smith/scotland-that-garret-of-the-earth-that-knuckle-end-of-england-that/) [Sydney Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-smith/) > [My living in Yorkshire was so far out of the way, that it was eleven miles away from a lemon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-smith/my-living-in-yorkshire-was-so-far-out-of-the-way-that-it-was-eleven/) [Sydney Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-smith/) > [Poverty is no disgrace to a man, but it is confoundedly inconvenient](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-smith/poverty-is-no-disgrace-to-a-man-but-it-is-confoundedly-inconvenient/) [Sydney Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-smith/) > [A comfortable house is a great source of happiness. It ranks immediately after health and a good conscience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-smith/a-comfortable-house-is-a-great-source-of-happiness-it-ranks/) [Sydney Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-smith/) > [How can a bishop marry? How can he flirt? The most he can say is "I will see you in the vestry after service."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-smith/how-can-a-bishop-marry-how-can-he-flirt-the-most-he-can-say-is-i-will/) [Sydney Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-smith/) > [It is the greatest of all mistakes to do nothing because you can only do little - do what you can.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-smith/it-is-the-greatest-of-all-mistakes-to-do-nothing-because-you-can-only/) [Sydney Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-smith/) > [Silence is a girl's loudest shout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-smith/silence-is-a-girl-s-loudest-shout/) [Sydney Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-smith/) > [A great deal of talent is lost to the world for want of a little courage. Every day sends to their graves obscure men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-smith/a-great-deal-of-talent-is-lost-to-the-world-for-want-of-a-little/) [Sydney Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-smith/) > [A man who wishes to make his way in life could do no better than go through the world with a boiling tea-kettle in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-smith/a-man-who-wishes-to-make-his-way-in-life-could-do-no-better-than-go/) [Sydney Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-smith/) > [ \[T\]he 47th proposition in Euclid might now be voted down with as much ease as any proposition in politics; and therefore if Lord Hawkesbury… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-smith/t-he-47th-proposition-in-euclid-might-now-be-voted-down-with-as-much/) [Sydney Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-smith/) > [Be what nature intended you for, and you will succeed; be anything else and you will be ten thousand times worse than nothing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-smith/be-what-nature-intended-you-for-and-you-will-succeed-be-anything-else/) [Sydney Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-smith/) > [To business that we love we rise bedtime, and go to't with delight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-smith/to-business-that-we-love-we-rise-bedtime-and-go-to-t-with-delight/) [Sydney Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-smith/) > [The schoolboy whips his taxed top; the beardless youth manages his taxed horse with a taxed bridle on a taxed road; and the dying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-smith/the-schoolboy-whips-his-taxed-top-the-beardless-youth-manages-his/) [Sydney Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-smith/) > [I always fear that creation will expire before teatime.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-smith/i-always-fear-that-creation-will-expire-before-teatime/) [Sydney Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-smith/) [Explore all 98 Sydney Smith quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-smith/) ## More Excessive quotes > [My illness is one often characterized by dramatic overspending - in my case through frenzied shopping sprees, credit card abuse, excessive hoarding of unnecessary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-behrman/my-illness-is-one-often-characterized-by-dramatic-overspending-in-my/) [Andy Behrman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-behrman/) > [Spiritual infirmities such as tepidity are caused, not only by chills but also by fevers, that is, by excessive zeal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/spiritual-infirmities-such-as-tepidity-are-caused-not-only-by-chills/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When fear is excessive it can make many a man despair.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-aquinas/when-fear-is-excessive-it-can-make-many-a-man-despair/) [Thomas Aquinas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-aquinas/) > [The retouching is excessive. I do not look like that and more importantly, I don't desire to look like that,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-winslet/the-retouching-is-excessive-i-do-not-look-like-that-and-more/) [Kate Winslet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-winslet/) > [“I had a really fat friend. The next time I saw him he looked like me! He said he lost the weight by eating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/i-had-a-really-fat-friend-the-next-time-i-saw-him-he-looked-like-me/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [I would absolutely recommend against excessive positivity and optimism. Any positive emotion that you're infusing into a workplace needs to be grounded in reality.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-rath/i-would-absolutely-recommend-against-excessive-positivity-and/) [Tom Rath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-rath/) > [Don't keep excessive amounts of anything. Those glass vases that come from florists. Those ketchup packets that come with take-out food. A house with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gretchen-rubin/don-t-keep-excessive-amounts-of-anything-those-glass-vases-that-come/) [Gretchen Rubin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gretchen-rubin/) > [We must never expect discretion in first love: it is accompanied by such excessive joy that unless the joy is allowed to overflow, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-dumas/we-must-never-expect-discretion-in-first-love-it-is-accompanied-by/) [Alexandre Dumas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-dumas/) > [I used to suffer from excessive pride. Well, I got over that one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francesca-annis/i-used-to-suffer-from-excessive-pride-well-i-got-over-that-one/) [Francesca Annis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francesca-annis/) > [“Leaders don’t give excessive vocal orders. They humbly involve people and together cooperate with them to make a change happen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/leaders-don-t-give-excessive-vocal-orders-they-humbly-involve-people/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [I think it's true that the 1 Percent or the elite are living in a world of, maybe, excessive privilege, and they don't fully…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nouriel-roubini/i-think-it-s-true-that-the-1-percent-or-the-elite-are-living-in-a/) [Nouriel Roubini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nouriel-roubini/) > [Too often, governments are quick to use excessive force and even pervert the course of justice to keep oil and gas flowing, forests logged,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-suzuki/too-often-governments-are-quick-to-use-excessive-force-and-even/) [David Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-suzuki/) > [The idea of excessive diversification is madness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/the-idea-of-excessive-diversification-is-madness/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [“Fear is something akin to catching a mouse in a bear trap. We mistakenly thought that the thing that we were trying to kill…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/fear-is-something-akin-to-catching-a-mouse-in-a-bear-trap-we/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [My biggest weakness is that I'm excessive. Fortunately for everyone concerned, I'm not as excessive as I used to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-gibson/my-biggest-weakness-is-that-i-m-excessive-fortunately-for-everyone/) [Mel Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-gibson/) Browse all 108 Excessive quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“We have taxes upon every article that enters into the mouth, or covers the back, or is placed under the foot; taxes upon everything which it is pleasant to feel, smell, or taste; taxes on everything in the earth, or in the waters under the earth; on everything that comes from abroad or that is grown at home ; taxes on the raw material; taxes on every value that is added to it by the industry of man ; taxes on the sauce which pampers man's appetite, and on the drug which restores him to health ; on the ermine which covers the judge, and the rope that hangs the criminal; on the poor man's salt, and the rich man's spice; on the brass nails of the coffin, and the ribbons of the bride; — on bed and board — couchant or levant — we must pay. 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