Make men wise, and by that very operation you make them free. Civil liberty follows as a consequence of this; no usurped power can stand against the artillery of opinion.
William GodwinRead
The value of a man is in his intrinsic qualities: in that of which power cannot strip him and which adverse fortune cannot take away. That for which he is indebted to circumstances is mere trapping and tinsel.
Interpretation
What this quote means
A person's true worth lies in their inherent qualities, not in external circumstances or material possessions.
William Godwin's quote emphasizes that a man's intrinsic qualities, such as character, intellect, and moral values, are what define his true worth. Unlike wealth or status, which can be lost or affected by external forces, these inherent qualities are enduring and cannot be stripped away by adversity. This perspective encourages individuals to focus on personal development and inner strength rather than material success.
Themes
IntrinsicQualitiesValueCharacterFortitude
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about resilience, one might quote this to emphasize the importance of inner strength.
More from William Godwin
All quotes →It is one of the oldest maxims of moral prudence: Do not, by aspiring to what is impracticable, lose the opportunity of doing the good you can effect!
William GodwinRead
When the calamity we feared is already arrived, or when the expectation of it is so certain as to shut out hope, there seems to be a principle within us by which we look with misanthropic composure on the state to which we are reduced, and the heart sullenly contracts and accommodates itself to what it most abhorred.
William GodwinRead
He has no right to his life when his duty calls him to resign it. Other men are bound... to deprive him of life or liberty, if that should appear in any case to be indispensably necessary to prevent a greater evil.
William GodwinRead
What are gold and jewels and precious utensils? Mere dross and dirt. The human face and the human heart, reciprocations of kindness and love, and all the nameless sympathies of our nature - these are the only objects worth being attached to.
William GodwinRead
Extraordinary circumstances often bring along with them extraordinary strength. No man knows, till the experiment, what he is capable of effecting.
William GodwinRead
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