Charlotte Perkins Gilman

"To be a human being is to be in the thick of all the forces of life; no one can hide and no one can do nothing."

"The fundamental error in our system of education is that we teach and preach success—but never speak of failure."

"We are struggling for the rights of half the human race—what could be bigger than that?"

"The girl has been reared to be the plaything of the boy, or his slave, or his housekeeping tool."

"A society in which women must fight against severe disadvantages can only be partially civilized."

"The essence of an aristocracy is the power to protect its members from the laws which bind the common people."

"It is not now, nor ever has been, possible to advance in human dignity and justice on a foundation of inequality."

"We have learned to have the right relations with all nature except our own."

"The most remarkable fact is that the average human being looks up and dreams but does not work to attain those dreams."

"The true progress of humanity is not in accumulating more, but in becoming better."

"A woman's work that is not paid for is degraded, and the woman who does it is degraded with it."

"In human progress there is no standing still; whatever is not advancing is retreating."

"Society is not static but dynamic—it is always changing and always improving."

"The human being differs from other animals chiefly in the ability to look ahead."

"We must love humanity not because it is good to us, but because it is good in itself."

"The future of society lies not in increasing production, but in right distribution."

"Freedom and happiness begin when you understand that you have no right to dictate another's path—only to walk your own."

"We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children."

"The weakness of humanity is not in any lack of power but in the failure to use the powers it has."

"A nation's character is shown in the way it treats its weakest members."

"To think is not to know. To know is to have tested thought against life and found it true."

"The human mind is not designed to remain in a state of ignorance—it naturally seeks understanding."

"Progress is not automatic. Freedom is not free. Justice is not natural. These must be fought for."

"We become what we think about—therefore think well of yourself and others."

"Motherhood, in the sense of an increased tender care of the young, is to be expected of our race."

"The fundamental fault of a male-centered civilization has been its ignoring of the female half of humanity."

"That which is human must be known; that which is superhuman cannot be ignored."

"The strength of a civilization is measured by what its average citizen possesses and can accomplish."

"Peace is not the absence of conflict but the presence of justice."

"We have a tendency to think that under this mad competition we beat everybody. But we don't beat everybody."