198 Quotes by William Godwin

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.

If he who employs coercion against me could mould me to his purposes by argument, no doubt he would. He pretends to punish me because his argument is strong; but he really punishes me because his argument is weak.

The lessons of their early youth regulated the conduct of their riper years.

But the watchful care of the parent is endless. The youth is never free from the danger of grating interference.

Above all we should not forget that government is an evil, a usurpation upon the private judgement and individual conscience of mankind.

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

Study with desire is real activity; without desire it is but the semblance and mockery of activity.

To him it is an ocean, unfathomable, and without a shore.

What can be more clear and sound in explanation, than the love of a parent to his child?