The virtue of a human being is the application of his capacity to the general good. — William Godwin Copy Share Image
Innocence is not virtue. Virtue demands the active employment of an ardent mind in the promotion of the general good. No man… — William Godwin Copy Share Image
It is one of the oldest maxims of moral prudence: Do not, by aspiring to what is impracticable, lose the opportunity of… — William Godwin Copy Share Image
Revolution is engendered by an indignation with tyranny, yet is itself pregnant with tyranny… An attempt to scrutinize men's thoughts and punish… — William Godwin Copy Share Image
The love of independence and dislike of unjust treatment is the source of a thousand virtues. — William Godwin Copy Share Image
The man who plays his part upon the theatre of life almost always maintains what may be called an artificial character. — William Godwin Copy Share Image
The Italian character in general is full of animation, and the natives enter into the interests and welfare of the stranger before… — William Godwin Copy Share Image
I know nothing worth the living for but usefulness and the service of my fellow-creatures. The only object I pursue is to increase, as… — William Godwin Copy Share Image
There must be room for the imagination to exercise its powers; we must conceive and apprehend a thousand things which we do not actually… — William Godwin Copy Share Image
In infamy, it is wisely provided that he who stands highest in the ranks of society has the heaviest load to sustain. — William Godwin Copy Share Image
No man knows the value of innocence and integrity but he who has lost them. — William Godwin Copy Share Image
Study with desire is real activity; without desire it is but the semblance and mockery of activity. — William Godwin Copy Share Image
“Godwin on Fenelon and his Valet * Following is an excerpt from William Godwin's Enquiry Concerning Political Justice, Book II, Chapter II: “Of Justice”:… — William Godwin Copy Share Image
Tenderness is the name for a lover's most exquisite sensation; protection is implied in his most generous and heart-thrilling impulse. — William Godwin Copy Share Image
Whenever government assumes to deliver us from the trouble of thinking for ourselves, the only consequences it produces are those of torpor and imbecility. — William Godwin Copy Share Image
During my academical life, and from this time forward, I was indefatigable in my search after truth. I read all the authors of greatest… — William Godwin Copy Share Image
Was ever a great discovery prosecuted or an important benefit conferred upon the human race by him who was incapable of standing and thinking… — William Godwin Copy Share Image
The real or supposed rights of man are of two kinds, active and passive; the right in certain cases to do as we list;… — William Godwin Copy Share Image
