John Stuart Mill

"It is quite natural and right that feelings should be impressed upon us, but it is equally natural and right that we should think for ourselves."

"A government cannot have too much of the kind of activity which plies the citizens to think and to act for themselves, for it is activity of a sort for which there is never too much."

"The tendency has always been strong in societies to regard as the rightful condition of the weaker sex a state of recognized inferiority to the stronger."

"In a state of progressive culture, a people cannot be too well instructed in the history of their ancestors."

"He who adapts himself to society must first learn its language."

"A decision about something that cannot be reversed is a sin against the future."

"Human nature is not a machine to be built after a model, and set to do exactly the work prescribed for it."

"The human species cannot be too much on its guard against any doctrine which may tend to make it supine."

"Prejudice is in the nature of an instinct; it leads us to believe things because we fear them or desire them."

"I regard the love of freedom as the foundation of human excellence, and the liberation of human potential as the first condition of all true progress."

"The virtue of a man ought to be measured not by his extraordinary exertions, but by his everyday conduct."

"What seems to be wanted is not the will to believe, but the will to investigate, which is the exact opposite."

"Happiness is the absence of pain in the body and anguish in the mind."

"A man is worthy of high regard only as he is devoted to a worthy ideal."

"The equality of women with men cannot be considered as already established, but rather as an ideal toward which we must continuously strive."

"Imitation is not merely the highest form of flattery—it is the method by which mankind advances."

"There are few things which impede the attainment of success in life in proportion as the ability to work with determination."

"No one's opinion about their own capabilities is likely to be accurate; therefore, rely upon evidence."

"The very principle of true philosophy is to commence with doubt of everything which has been long received."

"Good sense about ordinary matters is not so very uncommon; but the highest sense and power are very rare indeed."

"A being of higher faculties requires more to make him happy, is capable probably of more acute suffering, and is certainly accessible to it at more points, than one of an inferior type."

"The absence of legal restrictions is a condition, but not the sum total, of freedom."

"In this world we have nothing but reason and experience to go upon, and in pursuing an object, we must not disregard either."

"The development of individuality is one of the essential ingredients of well-being."

"A woman may be said to be emancipated when she is no longer compelled by others and does not compel herself."

"Our merely personal consumption does not require the whole of our resources; there is always something left for the improvement of our condition."

"What is necessary to the possession of virtue is the power of acting, without an external motive, from a sense of duty."

"The highest and best of humanity is achieved when the mind is free to think and the spirit is free to create."

"A person's tastes may be quite singular without his being thought eccentric, if those tastes are such as naturally flow from his position."

"To be under the necessity of bringing your talent into the world is itself a fortune."