Mill, John Stuart

"Once conform, and the kind and degree of conformity demanded grows by leaps and bounds."

"The superstition of the nineteenth century is that of political economy; it reigns despotically over the minds of men."

"All things considered, I think it not improbable that some future age will look back upon our present criminal procedure as we look back upon the torture of suspects."

"That it is not denied that the science of political economy has much value as an explanation of facts."

"Mankind are greater gainers by suffering each other to live as seems good to themselves, than by compelling each to live as seems good to the rest."

"He who never made a mistake never tried anything new."

"A man who relies upon the opinion of one particular person or group as to whether he is in the right is most unfortunate."

"The quality of life is not determined by the length of years."

"Public opinion when it is really the opinion of the public has a tendency to be right."

"The problem of reconciling individual liberty with social authority is only solved by taking into account the true nature of the individual and the true nature of society."

"The moment when a man ceases to be the slave of public opinion is the moment when he begins to live."

"The part of wisdom which consists in the knowledge of methods rather than of ultimate ends is not the highest kind."

"The subjection of women is wrong in itself, and now one of the chief hindrances to human improvement."

"All the good things which exist are the fruits of originality."

"In whatever way we may define or explain the notion of justice, we find that the idea itself is not primitive, but is one of the elements into which a more complex sentiment is capable of being resolved."

"He who would live his life in conformity with what others expect of him will never truly live at all."

"Believing in yourself when no one else does is not a sign of arrogance; it is a sign of wisdom."

"Utility is the ultimate appeal on all ethical questions; but it must be utility in the largest sense, grounded on the permanent interests of man as a progressive being."

"The demand for conformity is rooted in the notion that individual diversity is somehow dangerous or threatening."

"Capacity for higher pleasures should not be discouraged, for it is only through such development that humanity advances."

"The greatest principle to remember in all matters of life is to act with integrity and truth."

"Those only are happy who have directed their efforts to some definite object."

"The person who has allowed themselves to become a mere instrument of their society has lost their humanity."

"The improvement of mankind is promoted by diversity of thought and practice."

"It is a piece of idle sentimentality that truth, merely as truth, has any inherent power of prevailing against the dungeon and the stake."

"The worth of a human being is in inverse proportion to their reliance upon other people's opinions."

"Action may not be able to change the unchangeable, but it can alter the unchangeableness of one's self."

"The moral progress of society depends upon the diversity and independence of individual judgment."

"A government which cannot prevent the misuse of power ought not to possess such power."

"The idea of progress is an essential article of faith in any enlightened society."