William Godwin Quotes
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As the true object of education is not to render the pupil the mere copy of his preceptor, it is rather to be rejoiced in, than lamented, that various reading should lead him into new trains of thinking.
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The virtue of a human being is the application of his capacity to the general good.
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Man is the only creature we know, that, when the term of his natural life is ended, leaves the memory of himself behind him.
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There must be room for the imagination to exercise its powers; we must conceive and apprehend a thousand things which we do not actually witness.
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To conceive that compulsion and punishment are the proper means of reformation is the sentiment of a barbarian.
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Power is not happiness. Security and peace are more to be desired than a name at which nations tremble.
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Books are the depositary of everything that is most honourable to man.
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Of Belief Human mathematics, so to speak, like the length of life, are subject to the doctrine of chances.
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Above all we should not forget, that government is an evil, an usurpation upon the private judgment and individual conscience of mankind.
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But the watchful care of the parent is endless. The youth is never free from the danger of grating interference.
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Revolution is engendered by an indignation with tyranny, yet is itself pregnant with tyranny.... An attempt to scrutinize men's thoughts and punish their opinions is of all kinds of despotism the most odious: yet this is peculiarly character of a period of revolution.... There is no period more at war with the existence of liberty.
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Study with desire is real activity; without desire it is but the semblance and mockery of activity.
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The proper method for hastening the decay of error is by teaching every man to think for himself.
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If admiration were not generally deemed the exclusive property of the rich, and contempt the constant lackey of poverty, the love of gain would cease to be an universal problem.
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Power is not happiness.
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Revolutions are the produce of passion, not of sober and tranquil reason.
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The execution of any thing considerable implies in the first place previous persevering meditation.
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He has no right to his life when his duty calls him to resign it. Other men are bound ... to deprive him of life or liberty, if that should appear in any case to be indispensably necessary to prevent a greater evil.
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Literature, taken in all its bearings, forms the grand line of demarcation between the human and the animal kingdoms.
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In a well-written book we are presented with the maturest reflections, or the happiest flights of a mind of uncommon excellence. It is impossible that we can be much accustomed to such companions without attaining some resemblance to them.
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It is probable that there is no one thing that it is of eminent importance for a child to learn.
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We cannot perform our tasks to the best of our power, unless we think well of our own capacity.
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The cause of justice is the cause of humanity. Its advocates should overflow with universal good will. We should love this cause, for it conduces to the general happiness of mankind.
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Make men wise, and by that very operation you make them free. Civil liberty follows as a consequence of this; no usurped power can stand against the artillery of opinion.