---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But no man has a monopoly of conscience."
description: "\"But no man has a monopoly of conscience.\" — Mary Augusta Ward"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d7/mary-augusta-ward-14616_conscience_but-no-man-has-a-monopoly-of-conscience_3179163.jpg"
---

#  But no man has a monopoly of conscience.

![“But no man has a monopoly of conscience.” quote by Mary Augusta Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d7/mary-augusta-ward-14616_conscience_but-no-man-has-a-monopoly-of-conscience_3179163.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d7/mary-augusta-ward-14616_conscience_but-no-man-has-a-monopoly-of-conscience_3179163.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d7/mary-augusta-ward-14616_conscience_but-no-man-has-a-monopoly-of-conscience_3179163.jpg)

> “But no man has a monopoly of conscience.”

[Mary Augusta Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-augusta-ward/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Conscience is not owned by any single individual; moral insight is shared across humanity.

**In simple terms:** No one monopolizes moral authority.

Key Takeaway

Respect diverse moral perspectives.

Themes

ethics individualism shared responsibility humanity

Mood

thoughtful serious

Type

philosophical reflective

When to use this quote

- debates
- education
- community decision‑making
- leadership

Key Concepts

moral philosophy social contract collective conscience

Questions to Reflect On

- How do we balance personal conscience with collective norms?
- Can shared morality suppress dissent?

A Different Perspective

May overlook personal accountability.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Conscience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conscience/) [Ethics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ethics/) [Man Monopoly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-monopoly-1050790/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Monopoly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/monopoly/) [Monopoly Conscience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/monopoly-conscience-5818398/)

## Related quotes

> [I know no man who has any monopoly upon the wisdom of this universe. It belongs to those who can use it to help…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-ron-hubbard/i-know-no-man-who-has-any-monopoly-upon-the-wisdom-of-this-universe/)

[L. Ron Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-ron-hubbard/)

> [Bravery is not man's monopoly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/bravery-is-not-man-s-monopoly/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [ \[D\]on't grow old. With age comes caution, which is another name for cowardice… Whatever else you do in life, don't cultivate a conscience. Without… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hesketh-pearson/d-on-t-grow-old-with-age-comes-caution-which-is-another-name-for/)

[Hesketh Pearson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hesketh-pearson/)

> [Mirthfulness is in the mind and you cannot get it out. It is just as good in its place as conscience or veneration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ward-beecher/mirthfulness-is-in-the-mind-and-you-cannot-get-it-out-it-is-just-as/)

[Henry Ward Beecher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ward-beecher/)

> [“Thou knowest that these things which I say are true, and that I was never delighted in my own praise, for the secret of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boethius-d-524/thou-knowest-that-these-things-which-i-say-are-true-and-that-i-was/)

[Boethius D. 524](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boethius-d-524/)

> [A clear conscience is the softest pillow in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-r-narayana-murthy/a-clear-conscience-is-the-softest-pillow-in-the-world/)

[N. R. Narayana Murthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-r-narayana-murthy/)

> [A clere conscience is a sure carde.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lyly/a-clere-conscience-is-a-sure-carde/)

[John Lyly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lyly/)

> [Never can true courage dwell with them, Who, playing tricks with conscience, dare not look At their own vices.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/never-can-true-courage-dwell-with-them-who-playing-tricks-with/)

[Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/)

> [“If we cannot be happy and powerful and prey on others, we invent conscience and prey on ourselves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/if-we-cannot-be-happy-and-powerful-and-prey-on-others-we-invent/)

[Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/)

> [Making money doesn't oblige people to forfeit their honor or their conscience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-de-rothschild/making-money-doesn-t-oblige-people-to-forfeit-their-honor-or-their/)

[Guy de Rothschild](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-de-rothschild/)

> [Let us be thankful for health and competence, and, above all, for a quiet conscience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/izaak-walton/let-us-be-thankful-for-health-and-competence-and-above-all-for-a/)

[Izaak Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/izaak-walton/)

> [My conscience is really active. So I feel bad about spending excess amount of money on things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/syd/my-conscience-is-really-active-so-i-feel-bad-about-spending-excess/)

[Syd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/syd/)

> [Writing adds up to the conscience of our times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-firrell/writing-adds-up-to-the-conscience-of-our-times/)

[Martin Firrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-firrell/)

> [“Knowledge without conscience is but the ruin of the soul.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabelaise/knowledge-without-conscience-is-but-the-ruin-of-the-soul/)

[Rabelaise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabelaise/)

> [Self-respect and a clear conscience are powerful components of integrity and are the basis for enriching your relationships with others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-waitley/self-respect-and-a-clear-conscience-are-powerful-components-of/)

[Denis Waitley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-waitley/)

## More by Mary Augusta Ward

> [The delight in natural things - colors, forms, scents - when there was nothing to restrain or hamper it, has often been a kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-augusta-ward/the-delight-in-natural-things-colors-forms-scents-when-there-was/)

[Mary Augusta Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-augusta-ward/)

> [Customers must be delicately angled for at a safe distance - show yourself too much, and, like trout, they flashed away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-augusta-ward/customers-must-be-delicately-angled-for-at-a-safe-distance-show/)

[Mary Augusta Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-augusta-ward/)

> [I cannot hope that what I have to say will be very interesting to many.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-augusta-ward/i-cannot-hope-that-what-i-have-to-say-will-be-very-interesting-to-many/)

[Mary Augusta Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-augusta-ward/)

> [There is a tyrannical element in all fanaticism, an element which makes opposition a torment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-augusta-ward/there-is-a-tyrannical-element-in-all-fanaticism-an-element-which/)

[Mary Augusta Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-augusta-ward/)

> [So as the years draw on toward the Biblical limit, the inclination to look back, and to tell some sort of story of what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-augusta-ward/so-as-the-years-draw-on-toward-the-biblical-limit-the-inclination-to/)

[Mary Augusta Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-augusta-ward/)

> [Place before your eyes two Precepts, and two only. One is, Preach the Gospel; and the other is--Put down enthusiasm!The Church of England in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-augusta-ward/place-before-your-eyes-two-precepts-and-two-only-one-is-preach-the/)

[Mary Augusta Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-augusta-ward/)

> [The answer, of course, in the mouth of a Christian teacher is that in Christianity alone is there both present joy and future hope.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-augusta-ward/the-answer-of-course-in-the-mouth-of-a-christian-teacher-is-that-in/)

[Mary Augusta Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-augusta-ward/)

> [For after my marriage I had made various attempts to write fiction. They were clearly failures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-augusta-ward/for-after-my-marriage-i-had-made-various-attempts-to-write-fiction/)

[Mary Augusta Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-augusta-ward/)

> [Every man is bound to leave a story better than he found it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-augusta-ward/every-man-is-bound-to-leave-a-story-better-than-he-found-it/)

[Mary Augusta Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-augusta-ward/)

> [The thoughts and opinions of one human being, if they are sincere, must always have an interest for some other human beings. The world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-augusta-ward/the-thoughts-and-opinions-of-one-human-being-if-they-are-sincere-must/)

[Mary Augusta Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-augusta-ward/)

> [English girls' schools today providing the higher education are, so far as my knowledge goes, worthily representative of that astonishing rise in the intellectual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-augusta-ward/english-girls-schools-today-providing-the-higher-education-are-so-far/)

[Mary Augusta Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-augusta-ward/)

> [My grandmother made her home at Fox How under the shelter of the fells, with her four daughters, the youngest of whom was only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-augusta-ward/my-grandmother-made-her-home-at-fox-how-under-the-shelter-of-the/)

[Mary Augusta Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-augusta-ward/)

> [But the mind travels far - and mysteriously - in sleep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-augusta-ward/but-the-mind-travels-far-and-mysteriously-in-sleep/)

[Mary Augusta Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-augusta-ward/)

> [To reconceive the Christ! It is the special task of our age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-augusta-ward/to-reconceive-the-christ-it-is-the-special-task-of-our-age/)

[Mary Augusta Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-augusta-ward/)

> [I regard the whole university system as a wretched sham. Knowledge! It has no more to do with knowledge than my boots.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-augusta-ward/i-regard-the-whole-university-system-as-a-wretched-sham-knowledge-it/)

[Mary Augusta Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-augusta-ward/)

[Explore all 46 Mary Augusta Ward quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-augusta-ward/)

## More Conscience quotes

> [Self-respect and a clear conscience are powerful components of integrity and are the basis for enriching your relationships with others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-waitley/self-respect-and-a-clear-conscience-are-powerful-components-of/)

[Denis Waitley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-waitley/)

> [“Knowledge without conscience is but the ruin of the soul.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabelaise/knowledge-without-conscience-is-but-the-ruin-of-the-soul/)

[Rabelaise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabelaise/)

> [Writing adds up to the conscience of our times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-firrell/writing-adds-up-to-the-conscience-of-our-times/)

[Martin Firrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-firrell/)

> [My conscience is really active. So I feel bad about spending excess amount of money on things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/syd/my-conscience-is-really-active-so-i-feel-bad-about-spending-excess/)

[Syd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/syd/)

> [Let us be thankful for health and competence, and, above all, for a quiet conscience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/izaak-walton/let-us-be-thankful-for-health-and-competence-and-above-all-for-a/)

[Izaak Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/izaak-walton/)

> [Making money doesn't oblige people to forfeit their honor or their conscience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-de-rothschild/making-money-doesn-t-oblige-people-to-forfeit-their-honor-or-their/)

[Guy de Rothschild](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-de-rothschild/)

> [“If we cannot be happy and powerful and prey on others, we invent conscience and prey on ourselves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/if-we-cannot-be-happy-and-powerful-and-prey-on-others-we-invent/)

[Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/)

> [The God in whose hands are all our days and ways, did cast into my hand one day a book of Martin Luthers; it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bunyan/the-god-in-whose-hands-are-all-our-days-and-ways-did-cast-into-my/)

[John Bunyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bunyan/)

> [My morals are important to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-parrish/my-morals-are-important-to-me/)

[Hunter Parrish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-parrish/)

> [Being tolerant does not mean that I share another ones belief. But it does mean that I acknowledge another ones right to believe, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-frankl/being-tolerant-does-not-mean-that-i-share-another-ones-belief-but-it/)

[Viktor Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-frankl/)

> [Never can true courage dwell with them, Who, playing tricks with conscience, dare not look At their own vices.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/never-can-true-courage-dwell-with-them-who-playing-tricks-with/)

[Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/)

> [In presenting a mathematical argument the great thing is to give the educated reader the chance to catch on at once to the momentary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-edensor-littlewood/in-presenting-a-mathematical-argument-the-great-thing-is-to-give-the/)

[John Edensor Littlewood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-edensor-littlewood/)

> [I've worked with people who are much further to the left than I am and much further to the right than I am. At…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hanks/i-ve-worked-with-people-who-are-much-further-to-the-left-than-i-am/)

[Tom Hanks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hanks/)

> [If all the world hated you and believed you wicked, while your own conscience approved of you and absolved you from guilt, you would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/if-all-the-world-hated-you-and-believed-you-wicked-while-your-own/)

[Charlotte Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/)

> [ \[D\]on't grow old. With age comes caution, which is another name for cowardice… Whatever else you do in life, don't cultivate a conscience. Without… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hesketh-pearson/d-on-t-grow-old-with-age-comes-caution-which-is-another-name-for/)

[Hesketh Pearson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hesketh-pearson/)

[Browse all 3,490 Conscience quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conscience/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "But no man has a monopoly of conscience.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Mary Augusta Ward"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-augusta-ward/but-no-man-has-a-monopoly-of-conscience/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Conscience"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-augusta-ward/but-no-man-has-a-monopoly-of-conscience/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d7/mary-augusta-ward-14616_conscience_but-no-man-has-a-monopoly-of-conscience_3179163.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d7/mary-augusta-ward-14616_conscience_but-no-man-has-a-monopoly-of-conscience_3179163.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0d7/mary-augusta-ward-14616_conscience_but-no-man-has-a-monopoly-of-conscience_3179163.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“But no man has a monopoly of conscience.” — Mary Augusta Ward",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Mary Augusta Ward",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-augusta-ward/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "But no man has a monopoly...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-augusta-ward/but-no-man-has-a-monopoly-of-conscience/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-augusta-ward/but-no-man-has-a-monopoly-of-conscience/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```