Power is not happiness. Security and peace are more to be desired than a name at which nations tremble.
William GodwinOf Belief Human mathematics, so to speak, like the length of life, are subject to the doctrine of chances.
William GodwinObey; this may be right; but beware of reverence.... Government is nothing but regulated force; force is its appropriate claim upon your attention. It is the business of individuals to persuade; the tendency of concentrated strength, is only to give consistency and permanence to an influence more compendious than persuasion.
William GodwinMake 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 Godwin