--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is in vain that we would circumscribe…" description: "\"It is in vain that we would circumscribe the power of one half of our race, and that half by far the most important and influential. If they exert it n..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/526/frances-wright-9487_evil_it-is-in-vain-that-we-would-circumscribe_222950.jpg" --- # It is in vain that we would circumscribe the power of one… ![“It is in vain that we would circumscribe the power of one half of our race, and that half by far the most important and influential. If they exert it not for good, they will for evil; if they advance not knowledge, they will perpetuate ignorance. Let women stand where they may in the scale of…” quote by Frances Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/526/frances-wright-9487_evil_it-is-in-vain-that-we-would-circumscribe_222950.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/526/frances-wright-9487_evil_it-is-in-vain-that-we-would-circumscribe_222950.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/526/frances-wright-9487_evil_it-is-in-vain-that-we-would-circumscribe_222950.jpg) > “It is in vain that we would circumscribe the power of one half of our race, and that half by far the most important and influential. If they exert it not for good, they will for evil; if they advance not knowledge, they will perpetuate ignorance. Let women stand where they may in the scale of improvement, their position decides that of the race.” [Frances Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-wright/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Women’s contributions are vital; limiting them harms society’s progress. **In simple terms:** Women’s power is essential for societal improvement. Key Takeaway Support gender equality for collective advancement. Themes gender equality social justice education Mood hopeful determined Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - policy making - educational reform - community leadership Key Concepts feminist theory social development Questions to Reflect On - How can you amplify women’s voices? - What barriers still exist for women’s influence? A Different Perspective Resistance to change can impede progress. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) [Feminism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feminism/) [Ignorance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignorance/) [Improvement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/improvement/) [Influence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/influence/) [Power of one](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/power-of-one/) [Race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/race/) [Racism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/racism/) [Vain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vain/) ## Related quotes > [It is in vain that we would circumscribe the power of one half of our race, and that half by far the most important…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-wright/it-is-in-vain-that-we-would-circumscribe-the-power-of-one-half-of-our-2/) [Frances Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-wright/) > [Let women paint their eyes with tints of chastity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tertullian/let-women-paint-their-eyes-with-tints-of-chastity/) [Tertullian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tertullian/) > [“They’ll never let women keep nursing after the war, Charlotte.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jocelyn-green/they-ll-never-let-women-keep-nursing-after-the-war-charlotte/) [Jocelyn Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jocelyn-green/) > [If you let women have their way, you will generally get even with them in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/if-you-let-women-have-their-way-you-will-generally-get-even-with-them/) [Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) > [Let women be provided with living strength of their own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/let-women-be-provided-with-living-strength-of-their-own/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [There's no such thing as turning back the hands of time, and it makes me crazy that we live in a society where that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cameron-diaz/there-s-no-such-thing-as-turning-back-the-hands-of-time-and-it-makes/) [Cameron Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cameron-diaz/) > [If we can get that realistic feminine morality working for us, if we can trust ourselves and so let women think and feel that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/if-we-can-get-that-realistic-feminine-morality-working-for-us-if-we/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [Let women figure out why they won't sleep with you. Don't do their work for them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shatner/let-women-figure-out-why-they-won-t-sleep-with-you-don-t-do-their/) [William Shatner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shatner/) > [“GOd let women bear children so women would never give up hope. Even if here on earth women were denied everything else, God would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ginger-garrett/god-let-women-bear-children-so-women-would-never-give-up-hope-even-if/) [Ginger Garrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ginger-garrett/) > [Men let women down. Over and over again. I'ts what they're programmed to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liz-jensen/men-let-women-down-over-and-over-again-i-ts-what-they-re-programmed/) [Liz Jensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liz-jensen/) > [Living our lives of faith or motivation with enthusiasm and excitment, convincing each other, dialoguing with each other about important moral issues of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-kaine/living-our-lives-of-faith-or-motivation-with-enthusiasm-and-excitment/) [Tim Kaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-kaine/) > [So I want to let women of all sizes out there know, you can do whatever you put your mind to. It doesn't matter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amber-riley/so-i-want-to-let-women-of-all-sizes-out-there-know-you-can-do/) [Amber Riley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amber-riley/) > [Vegetables are something God invented to let women get even with their children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/vegetables-are-something-god-invented-to-let-women-get-even-with/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [“With a firm hushed tone, she replied, "Just let him go. Women like Anne will always be the best choice for our lifestyle" "Well,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/devon-ashley/with-a-firm-hushed-tone-she-replied-just-let-him-go-women-like-anne/) [Devon Ashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/devon-ashley/) > [We have to give feminism a shot. Out of sheer self preservation, we have to stand aside and let women run the show.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvine-welsh/we-have-to-give-feminism-a-shot-out-of-sheer-self-preservation-we/) [Irvine Welsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvine-welsh/) ## More by Frances Wright > [... the happiness of a people is the only rational object of government, and the only object for which a people, free to choose,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-wright/the-happiness-of-a-people-is-the-only-rational-object-of-government/) [Frances Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-wright/) > [I am neither Jew nor Gentile, Mahomedan nor Theist; I am but a member of the human family.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-wright/i-am-neither-jew-nor-gentile-mahomedan-nor-theist-i-am-but-a-member/) [Frances Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-wright/) > [... so far from entrenching human conduct within the gentle barriers of peace and love, religion has ever been, and now is, the deepest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-wright/so-far-from-entrenching-human-conduct-within-the-gentle-barriers-of/) [Frances Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-wright/) > [If they exert it not for good, they will for evil; if they advance not knowledge, they will perpetuate ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-wright/if-they-exert-it-not-for-good-they-will-for-evil-if-they-advance-not/) [Frances Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-wright/) > [Moral truth, resting entirely upon the ascertained consequences of actions, supposes a process of observation and reasoning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-wright/moral-truth-resting-entirely-upon-the-ascertained-consequences-of/) [Frances Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-wright/) > [However novel it may appear, I shall venture the assertion, that, until women assume the place in society which good sense and good feeling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-wright/however-novel-it-may-appear-i-shall-venture-the-assertion-that-until/) [Frances Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-wright/) > [You have heard of, and studied various systems of philosophy; but real philosophy is opposed to all systems.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-wright/you-have-heard-of-and-studied-various-systems-of-philosophy-but-real/) [Frances Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-wright/) > [Credulity is always a ridiculous, often a dangerous failing: it has made of many a clever man, a fool; and of many a good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-wright/credulity-is-always-a-ridiculous-often-a-dangerous-failing-it-has/) [Frances Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-wright/) > [Instead of establishing facts, we have to overthrow errors; instead of ascertaining what is, we have to chase from our imaginations what is not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-wright/instead-of-establishing-facts-we-have-to-overthrow-errors-instead-of/) [Frances Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-wright/) > [... we have broken down the self-respecting spirit of man with nursery tales and priestly threats, and we dare to assert, that inproportion as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-wright/we-have-broken-down-the-self-respecting-spirit-of-man-with-nursery/) [Frances Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-wright/) > [it is not that religion is merely useless, it is mischievous. It is mischievous by its idle terrors; it is mischievous by its false…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-wright/it-is-not-that-religion-is-merely-useless-it-is-mischievous-it-is/) [Frances Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-wright/) > [Equality! Where is it, if not in education? Equal rights! They cannot exist without equality of instruction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-wright/equality-where-is-it-if-not-in-education-equal-rights-they-cannot/) [Frances Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-wright/) > [The best road to correct reasoning is by physical science; the way to trace effects to causes is through physical science; the only corrective,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-wright/the-best-road-to-correct-reasoning-is-by-physical-science-the-way-to/) [Frances Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-wright/) > [He who lives in the single exercise of his mental faculties, however usefully or curiously directed, is equally an imperfect animal with the man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-wright/he-who-lives-in-the-single-exercise-of-his-mental-faculties-however/) [Frances Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-wright/) > [It is singular to look round upon a country where the dreams of sages, smiled at as utopian, seem distinctly realized, a people voluntarily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-wright/it-is-singular-to-look-round-upon-a-country-where-the-dreams-of-sages/) [Frances Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-wright/) [Explore all 72 Frances Wright quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-wright/) ## More Evil quotes > [I've always been fascinated by the idea that there's no such thing as evil; it's all in your point of view. To one group…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-roth/i-ve-always-been-fascinated-by-the-idea-that-there-s-no-such-thing-as/) [Eli Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-roth/) > [If ever I did a man any goodof course it was something exceptional and insignificant compared with the good or evil which I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/if-ever-i-did-a-man-any-goodof-course-it-was-something-exceptional/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Every action that helps us manifest our divine nature more and more is good; every action that retards it is evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/every-action-that-helps-us-manifest-our-divine-nature-more-and-more/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [I do conscientiously and sincerely believe that the Order of Freemasonry, if not the greatest, is one of the greatest moral and political evils…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-quincy-adams/i-do-conscientiously-and-sincerely-believe-that-the-order-of/) [John Quincy Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-quincy-adams/) > [The Republicans do not look on the Democrats as the evil empire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-safire/the-republicans-do-not-look-on-the-democrats-as-the-evil-empire/) [William Safire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-safire/) > [Let us remember that every worldview-not just Christianity's-must give an explanation or an answer for evil and suffering...this is not just a problem distinctive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-zacharias/let-us-remember-that-every-worldview-not-just-christianity-s-must/) [Ravi Zacharias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-zacharias/) > [What is done out of love always takes place beyond good and evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-is-done-out-of-love-always-takes-place-beyond-good-and-evil/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ Evil cannot be "treated" -- nor should it be. Evil has to \[be\] confronted and destroyed and it matters not why the evil is… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-o-reilly/evil-cannot-be-treated-nor-should-it-be-evil-has-to-be-confronted-and/) [Bill O'Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-o-reilly/) > [The evil which does me no harm is like the good which in no wise avails me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/the-evil-which-does-me-no-harm-is-like-the-good-which-in-no-wise/) [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) > [Attack the evil that is within yourself, rather than attacking the evil that is in others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/attack-the-evil-that-is-within-yourself-rather-than-attacking-the/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [Somewhere somebody must have some sense. Men must see that force begets force, hate begets hate, toughness begets toughness. And it is all a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/somewhere-somebody-must-have-some-sense-men-must-see-that-force/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [There is a spirit which I feel that delights to do no evil, nor to revenge any wrong, but delights to endure all things,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-nayler/there-is-a-spirit-which-i-feel-that-delights-to-do-no-evil-nor-to/) James Nayler > [The politician attempts to remedy the evil by increasing the very thing that caused the evil in the first place: legal plunder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/the-politician-attempts-to-remedy-the-evil-by-increasing-the-very/) [Frederic Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) > [“Water is so friendly when you have it on your palms, but so evil when they have you on theirs.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/water-is-so-friendly-when-you-have-it-on-your-palms-but-so-evil-when/) [M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [THE ART OF PEACE is not easy. It is a fight to the finish, the slaying of evil desires and all falsehood within. On…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morihei-ueshiba/the-art-of-peace-is-not-easy-it-is-a-fight-to-the-finish-the-slaying/) [Morihei Ueshiba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morihei-ueshiba/) [Browse all 11,163 Evil quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It is in vain that we would circumscribe the power of one half of our race, and that half by far the most important and influential. If they exert it not for good, they will for evil; if they advance not knowledge, they will perpetuate ignorance. 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