Mary Wollstonecraft

"Prejudice is the child of ignorance; education is its cure."

"Women are often made unhappy by the expectations placed upon them by society."

"The greatest revolution is the revolution of women's minds."

"A woman who thinks for herself is a dangerous woman—dangerous to those who would oppress her."

"The true test of character is how one treats those who cannot benefit oneself."

"Women should be educated to be virtuous and independent, not merely to please men."

"The laws of nature require that women be treated as equals in the struggle for survival."

"I have always been of the opinion that women should have the same rights as men."

"The cultivation of the mind is the noblest of human pursuits."

"A woman's voice should be heard in all matters that affect her life."

"The subjection of women has corrupted society and weakened the human race."

"Women are capable of reason and should be respected for their intellectual contributions."

"The law should protect the rights of all human beings, regardless of gender."

"A woman who is denied education is a prisoner in her own home."

"The pursuit of knowledge is the pursuit of freedom."

"A woman must have independent means to have independent thoughts."

"The divine right of husbands, like the divine right of kings, may, it is hoped, in this enlightened age, be contested without danger."

"Women are told from their infancy that beauty is a woman's scepter; the mind shapes itself to the body."

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

"Ignorance and the prejudices that fatten on it are a woman's greatest enemies."

"The most perfect education is that which cultivates the judgment and the heart together."

"Women are systematically degraded by receiving the trivial attentions which men think it manly to pay to the sex."

"I declare against all authorities that man, in the state of civilization, is mixed of truth and falsehood."

"Standing armies can never consist of resolute, robust men; they may be well-disciplined machines, but they will seldom contain men under the influence of strong passions."

"The laws respecting women do not in general come under the description of laws of justice."

"Virtue can only flourish amongst equals."

"How much more respectable is the woman who earns her own bread by fulfilling any duty, than the most accomplished beauty!"

"Women are always considered deficient in strength of body and mind; yet this weakness is precisely what is used to degrade them."

"The power of using the understanding is the only foundation of freedom."

"I wish my sex would cherish a nobler ambition and by one concentrating effort of virtue and reason obtain that respectability which mere accomplishments can never give."