The most desirable state of mankind is that which maintains general security with the smallest encroachment upon individual independence. — William Godwin Copy Share Image
We cannot, any of us, do all the things of which mankind stand in need; we must have fellow-labourers. — William Godwin Copy Share Image
It is the misfortune of those who are concerned in conducting human affairs that, however pure and capacious their own conceptions may… — William Godwin Copy Share Image
I shall attempt to prove two things: first, that the actions and dispositions of mankind are the offspring of circumstances and events,… — William Godwin Copy Share Image
Literature, taken in all its bearings, forms the grand line of demarcation between the human and the animal kingdoms. — William Godwin Copy Share Image
Every man has a certain sphere of discretion which he has a right to expect shall not be infringed by his neighbours.… — William Godwin Copy Share Image
A just and a brave man acts fearlessly and with explicitness; he does not shun, but court, the scrutiny of mankind; he… — 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
