Mary Wollstonecraft

"To overcome all obstacles, a woman must have courage and determination."

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

"A woman of genius is a being apart, not to be judged by ordinary standards."

"The very foundation of virtue is knowledge."

"Slavery in whatever form is the degradation of human nature."

"Women have not had a fair chance; they have been denied education and opportunity."

"The corruption of the best is the worst corruption."

"In order to be truly moral, women must be truly rational."

"The exercise of reason should be the first object of women's education."

"Woman is a stranger in the world—she needs to learn her place and her power."

"All laws and all authority must bend to the principles of reason and justice."

"The cultivation of the feminine virtues should not preclude the development of masculine strength."

"A woman who marries for money or security marries her jailer."

"The grand art of governing is to set the mind in motion."

"Women are not naturally inferior; they are made inferior by education and circumstance."

"I will not be treated as an object; I demand to be recognized as a human being."

"The education of children should begin with the mother's understanding."

"To be free is to be virtuous, and to be virtuous is to be free."

"The conquest of the mind over matter is the beginning of all true knowledge."

"A woman of sense will appreciate a man of sense."

"Liberty is the mother of all the virtues."

"The rights of humanity must take precedence over the rights of property."

"Education is the most powerful weapon against poverty and ignorance."

"A rational being will not accept subjugation without a struggle."

"The subjection of women is a violation of the laws of nature and reason."

"Women should be companions to men, not playthings or servants."

"The greatest virtue is the pursuit of truth and the courage to speak it."

"Independence of mind is more valuable than independence of fortune."

"A woman's first duty is to herself, not to any man."

"The mind has no sex; intellectual ability is not determined by gender."