Mary Wollstonecraft

"I do not wish women to have power over men, but over themselves."

"A woman who has only been taught to please will soon find her charms fade and herself forgotten."

"The education of women has of late been more attended to than formerly; yet they are still reckoned a frivolous sex."

"I am not fond of the idea of confining women to their families perpetually."

"Assertiveness is not being rude. It is being honest and direct."

"Women are told from infancy that beauty is a woman's sceptre."

"The most perfect education is one that develops every faculty."

"Nothing can be produced by hard work or affection that will not suffer by sudden violence."

"I have turned over in my mind some of the leading principles of the French Revolution."

"Ignorance and weakness are the only foundations of tyranny."

"The divine right of husbands, like the divine right of kings, may, it is hoped, in this enlightened age, be contested."

"The great Art of Governing is to divide; to act according to circumstances."

"Women are supposed to be gentle creatures, but I've found that to be entirely untrue."

"I love man as my fellow; but his scepter, real or usurped, extends not to me."

"Virtue can only flourish amongst equals."

"The beginning is always today."

"If women are to be excluded from participation in government, they ought not to be taxed."

"Be not afraid of sudden attack if you live an honest and upright life."

"Strength of mind will be as conspicuous in a woman as a man."

"I wish to sum up what I have said in a few words, for I here throw down my gauntlet."

"The only way for a woman to provide for herself decently is by her education."

"I have written this work for the benefit of the whole human race."

"Let it not be concluded that I wish to invert the order of things."

"Women are human creatures, and should not be treated as delicate playthings."

"I am compelled to think that the prevailing opinion of a sexual character in each sex has done women mischief."

"Weakened by education and not having a sound constitution, many women are forced to resort to stratagem."

"The grand rewards of virtue consist in a sense of dignity."

"Mankind will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails of the last priest."

"To be a good mother a woman must have sense, and that independence of mind which few women possess."

"One cannot live only for oneself, and a completely selfish life is a completely miserable life."