
“Who does not in some sort live to others, does not live much to himself.”
Book III, Ch. 10
Attributed
No. 104 (16 March 1751)
The Rambler (1750–1752)
“Who does not in some sort live to others, does not live much to himself.”
Book III, Ch. 10
Attributed
Source: The Liberty of Man, Woman and Child (1877)
Context: Only a few years ago there was a great awakening of the human mind. Men began to inquire by what right a crowned robber made them work for him? The man who asked this question was called a traitor. Others asked by what right does a robed hypocrite rule my thought? Such men were called infidels. The priest said, and the king said, where is this spirit of investigation to stop? They said then and they say now, that it is dangerous for man to be free. I deny it. Out on the intellectual sea there is room enough for every sail. In the intellectual air there is space enough for every wing.
The man who does not do his own thinking is a slave, and is a traitor to himself and to his fellow-men.
“A man who does not think for himself does not think at all.”
The Soul of Man Under Socialism (1891)
Ventures in Common Sense (1919), p87.
Art Nonsense and Other Essays (1929), published by Cassell; quoted in Eric Gill: Man of Flesh and Spirit by Malcolm Yorke, published by Tauris Parke ISBN 1-86064-584-4, p. 49