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

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William Godwin
Age: 80 †
Born: 1756
Born: March 3
Died: 1836
Died: April 7
Journalist
Novelist
Philosopher
Political Philosopher
Science Fiction Writer
Writer
Wisbech
Cambridgeshire
Done
Clear
Right
Upon
Men
Individual
Conduct
Firsts
Conviction
Without
None
Nothing
Duty
First
Trust
Take
Principles

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If there be such a thing as truth, it must infallibly be struck out by the collision of mind with mind.
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Whenever government assumes to deliver us from the trouble of thinking for ourselves, the only consequences it produces are those of torpor and imbecility.
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Justice is the sum of all moral duty.
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Self-respect to be nourished in the mind of the pupil, is one of the most valuable results of a well conducted education.
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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 diligent scholar is he that loves himself, and desires to have reason to applaud and love himself.
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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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Government can have no more than two legitimate purposes - the suppression of injustice against individuals within the community, and the common defense against external invasion.
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The execution of any thing considerable implies in the first place previous persevering meditation.
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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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Government will not fail to employ education, to strengthen its hands and perpetuate its institutions.
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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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The wise man is satisfied with nothing.
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Our judgment will always suspect those weapons that can be used with equal prospect of success on both sides.
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Learning is the ally, not the adversary of genius... he who reads in a proper spirit, can scarcely read too much.
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The lessons of their early youth regulated the conduct of their riper years.
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Perseverance is an active principle, and cannot continue to operate but under the influence of desire.
William Godwin
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Duty is that mode of action on the part of the individual which constitutes the best possible application of his capacity to the general benefit.
William Godwin
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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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The most desirable mode of education, is that which is careful that all the acquisitions of the pupil shall be preceded and accompanied by desire . . . The boy, like the man, studies because he desires it. He proceeds upon a plan of is own invention, or by which, by adopting, he has made his own. Everything bespeaks independence and inequality.
William Godwin