William Godwin Quotes - Page 2

Quotes about:

• The philosophy of the wisest man that ever existed, is mainly derived from the act of introspection.

  William Godwin

  Philosophy, Men, Wisest Man

  William Godwin (2006). “Thoughts on Man, His Nature, Productions and Discoveries”, p.385, ReadHowYouWant.com

  27 Copy quote

• We are so curiously made that one atom put in the wrong place in our original structure will often make us unhappy for life.

  William Godwin

  Philosophy, Medicine, Unhappy

  8 Copy quote

• The first duty of man is to take none of the principles of conduct upon trust; to do nothing without a clear and individual conviction that it is right to be done.

  William Godwin

  Men, Principles, Done

  William Godwin (1793). “An Enquiry Concerning Political Justice: And Its Influence on General Virtue and Happiness”, p.597

  18 Copy quote

• 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.

  William Godwin

  War, Character, Men

  4 Copy quote

• Man is the only creature we know, that, when the term of his natural life is ended, leaves the memory of himself behind him.

  William Godwin

  Memories, Men, Life Is

  William Godwin (1831). “Thoughts on Man, His Nature, Productions, and Discoveries: Interspersed with Some Particulars Respecting the Author”, p.73

  5 Copy quote

• Justice is the sum of all moral duty.

  William Godwin

  Justice, Moral, Duty

  5 Copy quote

• Whenever truth stands in the mind unaccompanied by the evidence upon which it depends, it cannot properly be said to be apprehended at all.

  William Godwin

  Science, Mind, Said

  William Godwin, S. Carlyle Potter (191?). “Reflections on Political Justice: Selections from the Writings of William Godwin”

  8 Copy quote

• Self-respect to be nourished in the mind of the pupil, is one of the most valuable results of a well conducted education.

  William Godwin

  Self, Mind, Statistics

  William Godwin (2006). “Thoughts on Man, His Nature, Productions and Discoveries: Easyread Comfort Edition”, p.53, ReadHowYouWant.com

  5 Copy quote

• Perseverance is an active principle, and cannot continue to operate but under the influence of desire.

  William Godwin

  Encouraging, Perseverance, Desire

  William Godwin (1831). “Thoughts on Man, His Nature, Productions, and Discoveries: Interspersed with Some Particulars Respecting the Author”, p.346

  15 Copy quote

• By right, as the word is employed in this subject, has always been understood discretion, that is, a full and complete power of either doing a thing or omitting it, without the person's becoming liable to animadversion or censure from another, that is, in other words, without his incurring any degree of turpitude or guilt. Now in this sense I affirm that man has no rights, no discretionary power whatever.

  William Godwin

  Men, Rights, Guilt

  William Godwin (1793). “An Enquiry Concerning Political Justice: And Its Influence on General Virtue and Happiness”, p.111

  7 Copy quote

• Everything that is usually understood by the term co-operation is, in some degree, an evil.

  William Godwin

  Evil, Operations, Term

  "Romantic Rationalist: A William Godwin Reader".

  9 Copy quote

• Books gratify and excite our curiosity in innumerable ways.

  William Godwin

  Book, Curiosity, Way

  William Godwin (1823). “The enquirer. Reflections on education, manners, and literature. In a series of essays”, p.29

  6 Copy quote

• We cannot perform our tasks to the best of our power, unless we think well of our own capacity.

  William Godwin

  Thinking, Tasks, Capacity

  William Godwin (1831). “Thoughts on Man, His Nature, Productions, and Discoveries: Interspersed with Some Particulars Respecting the Author”, p.345

  9 Copy quote

• 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.

  William Godwin

  Workout, Exercise, Imagination

  William Godwin (2006). “Thoughts on Man, His Nature, Productions and Discoveries”, p.399, ReadHowYouWant.com

  9 Copy quote

• Power is not happiness.

  William Godwin

  Evil, Good And Evil

  William Godwin (1796). “Enquiry Concerning Political Justice, and Its Influence on Morals and Happiness”, p.185

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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.

  William Godwin

  Reading, Thinking, Pupils

  William Godwin (1823). “The Enquirer”, p.130

  11 Copy quote

• The proper method for hastening the decay of error is by teaching every man to think for himself.

  William Godwin

  Teaching, Men, Thinking

  William Godwin, Luke White (bookseller.) (1793). “An Enquiry Concerning Political Justice: And Its Influence on General Virtue and Happiness”, p.375

  19 Copy quote

• I shall attempt to prove two things: first, that the actions and dispositions of mankind are the offspring of circumstances and events, and not of any original determination that they bring into the world; and, secondly, that the great stream of our voluntary actions essentially depends, not upon the direct and immediate impulses of sense, but upon the decisions of the understanding.

  William Godwin

  Determination, Two, Decision

  William Godwin (2015). “Enquiry Concerning Political Justice: And Its Influence On Morals And Happiness”, p.78, Penguin UK

  5 Copy quote

• 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.

  William Godwin

  Book, Reflection, Mind

  William Godwin (1823). “The enquirer. Reflections on education, manners, and literature. In a series of essays”, p.29

  7 Copy quote

• Invisible things are the only realities; invisible things alone are the things that shall remain.

  William Godwin

  Reality, Invisible, Invisible Things

  William Godwin (1817). “Mandeville: A Tale of the Seventeenth Century in England”, p.48

  14 Copy quote

• 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.

  William Godwin

  Gains, Poverty, Admiration

  6 Copy quote

• It is absurd to expect the inclinations and wishes of two human beings to coincide, through any long period of time. To oblige them to act and live together is to subject them to some inevitable potion of thwarting, bickering, and unhappiness.

  William Godwin

  Two, Long, Wish

  8 Copy quote

• If ever there was a book calculated to make a man in love with its author, this appears to me to be the book.

  William Godwin

  Book, Men, Ifs

  William Godwin (1798). “Memoirs of the Author of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman”, p.133

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• There can be no passion, and by consequence no love, where there is not imagination.

  William Godwin

  Passion, Imagination, No Love

  William Godwin (2006). “Thoughts on Man, His Nature, Productions and Discoveries: Easyread Comfort Edition”, p.290, ReadHowYouWant.com

  5 Copy quote

• He that revels in a well-chosen library, has innumerable dishes, and all of admirable flavour.

  William Godwin

  Library, Flavor, Dishes

  "The Enquirer: Reflections on Education, Manners and Literature, in a Series of Essays".

  6 Copy quote

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