I am for the Established Church. ... And if you can get your damned religion established, I'll be for that too!

Edward Thurlow, the crusty Lord Chancellor under George III, thus addressed himself to a deputation of Nonconformists:

I'm against you, by God. I am for the Established Church, damme! Not that I have any more regard for the Established Church than for any other church , but because it is established. And if you can get your damned religion established, I'll be for that too!

The Reverend Sydney Smith showed the same spirit. On his deathbed he complained of being so weak that 'I verily believe, if the knife were put into my hand, I should not have the strength or energy enough to stick it into a Dissenter.'

C. Elliott, 'Great gossips', Slightly Foxed 64 (2019), 75