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.

Quote by William Godwin

Topics: William Godwin Quotes

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

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

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

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

If a thing be really good, it can be shown to be such.

If a thing be really good, it can be shown to be such.

They held it their duty to live but for their country.

They held it their duty to live but for their country.

There must be room for the imagination to exercise its powers; we must conceive and...

There must be room for the imagination to exercise its powers; we must conceive and...

One of the prerogatives by which man is eminently distinguished from all other living beings...

One of the prerogatives by which man is eminently distinguished from all other living beings...

What indeed is life, unless so far as it is enjoyed? It does not merit...

What indeed is life, unless so far as it is enjoyed? It does not merit...

Justice is the sum of all moral duty.

Justice is the sum of all moral duty.

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

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

Every man has a certain sphere of discretion which he has a right to expect...

Every man has a certain sphere of discretion which he has a right to expect...

It is probable that there is no one thing that it is of eminent importance...

It is probable that there is no one thing that it is of eminent importance...

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

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

Revolutions are the produce of passion, not of sober and tranquil reason.

Revolutions are the produce of passion, not of sober and tranquil reason.

In cases where every thing is understood, and measured, and reduced to rule, love is...

In cases where every thing is understood, and measured, and reduced to rule, love is...

He has no right to his life when his duty calls him to resign it....

He has no right to his life when his duty calls him to resign it....

Learning is the ally, not the adversary of genius... he who reads in a proper...

Learning is the ally, not the adversary of genius... he who reads in a proper...

Everything understood by the term co-operation is in some sense an evil.

Everything understood by the term co-operation is in some sense an evil.

He that loves reading has everything within his reach.

He that loves reading has everything within his reach.

Let us not, in the eagerness of our haste to educate, forget all the ends...

Let us not, in the eagerness of our haste to educate, forget all the ends...

Make men wise, and by that very operation you make them free. Civil liberty follows...

Make men wise, and by that very operation you make them free. Civil liberty follows...