What are gold and jewels and precious utensils? Mere dross and dirt. The human face and the human heart, reciprocations of kindness… — William Godwin Copy Share Image
Till 1782, I believed in the doctrine of Calvin: that is, that the majority of mankind were objects of divine condemnation and… — William Godwin Copy Share Image
Man is a being of a mixed nature; and, as there is no integrity without its flaws, so is there no man… — William Godwin Copy Share Image
One of the prerogatives by which man is eminently distinguished from all other living beings inhabiting this globe of earth, consists in… — William Godwin Copy Share Image
Sympathy is one of the principles most widely rooted in our nature: we rejoice to see ourselves reflected in another; and, perversely… — William Godwin Copy Share Image
The admission of one man, either hereditarily or for life only, into the place of chief of a country, is an evidence… — William Godwin Copy Share Image
In the summer of 1791, I gave up my concern in the 'New Annual Register,' the historical part of which I had… — William Godwin Copy Share Image
How are the faculties of man to be best developed and his happiness secured? The state of a king is not favorable… — William Godwin Copy Share Image
Religion is among the most beautiful and most natural of all things - that religion which 'sees God in clouds and hears… — 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
