“Till mankind be satisfied with the naked statement of what they really perceive, till they confess virtue to be then most illustrious, when she more disdains the aid of ornament, they will never arrive at that manly justice of sentiment at which they seem destined one day to arrive. By his scheme of naked virtue will be every day a gainer; every succeeding observer willl more fully do her justice, while vice, deprived of that varnish with which she delighted to glow her actions of that gaudy exhibition which may be made alike by every pretender will speedily sink into unheeded contempt.”

—  William Godwin

Book V, Chapter 12, "Of Titles"
Enquiry Concerning Political Justice (1793)

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "Till mankind be satisfied with the naked statement of what they really perceive, till they confess virtue to be then mo…" by William Godwin?
William Godwin photo
William Godwin36
English journalist, political philosopher and novelist 1756–1836

Related quotes

Peter Ustinov photo

“Her virtue was that she said what she thought, her vice that what she thought didn't amount to much.”

Peter Ustinov (1921–2004) English actor, writer, and dramatist

BBC obituary (2004)

Javier Marías photo

“…she kept her arm raised and thus allowed me to observe her armpit, and when a naked woman allows you to do that, uncovering one or both, it's as if she were offering up to you an additional nakedness.”

Javier Marías book Tu rostro mañana

...al mantener el brazo en alto me permitió contemplar su axila, y cuando una mujer desnuda permite ver eso, y descubre una o ambas, es como si ofreciera un suplemento de desnudez con ello.
Source: Tu rostro mañana, 1. Fiebre y lanza [Your Face Tomorrow, Vol. 1: Fever and Spear] (2002), p. 269

Jacob M. Appel photo

“The cold, cruel reality is that with one current justice now approaching ninety, and four others over seventy, the day will inevitably arrive when a sitting justice lies in an intensive care unit, both unable to resign and unable to resume his or her duties.”

Jacob M. Appel (1973) American author, bioethicist, physician, lawyer and social critic

"Anticipating the Incapacitated Justice" http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jacob-m-appel/anticipating-the-incapaci_b_266179.html, The Huffington Post (2009-08-22)

Libba Bray photo

“When the music is over, she keeps her head down till she finds her seat again, and I wonder how many times each day she dies a little.”

Libba Bray A Great and Terrible Beauty

Source: A Great and Terrible Beauty

Frederick Buechner photo

“How Adewen stuffed her braid in her mouth at that! Or she'd cover her mirth with her hands and shake till you'd think that the fit was upon her. She did the same too when she wept so you'd never be sure which she hid with her hands, her tears or her cackling. I think there were times she herself didn't know, nor does anyone know at times. Laugh till you weep. Weep till there's nothing left but to laugh at your weeping. In the end it's all one.”

Frederick Buechner book Godric

Godric (1980)

Josephine Butler photo

“Hearing, one day, that a poor young girl of her acquaintance had been enticed to a fashionable house of ill-fame, she ran to the place, entered the house, and claimed the girl. She found there several gentlemen of the Court, whom she rebuked with a severity, the justice of which they confessed by sudden and precipitate flight; she then took the young girl by the hand and led her from the abode of shame.”

Josephine Butler (1828–1906) British feminist

1874 https://attackingthedevil.co.uk/related/thoughts.php

Maya Angelou photo

“A Woman in harmony with her spirit
is like a river flowing.
She goes where she will without pretense and arrives at her destination
prepared to be herself
and only herself”

Maya Angelou (1928–2014) American author and poet

John Gray photo

“There is no more consensus on what justice means than there is on the character of the good. If anything, there is less. Among the virtues, justice is one of the most shaped by convention. For that reason it is among the most changeable.”

John Gray (1948) British philosopher

'Modus Vivendi' (p.34)
Gray's Anatomy: Selected Writings (2009)

Junot Díaz photo

“You eventually erase her contact info from your phone but not the pictures you took of her in bed while she was naked and asleep, never those.”

Junot Díaz book This Is How You Lose Her

Source: This Is How You Lose Her

Karen Marie Moning photo

“Once, long ago in her world, a sunny day in spring was her favorite, but now a sunny day in winter delights her more. It is the perfect metaphor for their love.
Sunshine on ice.
She warms his frost. He cools her fever.”

Karen Marie Moning (1964) author

Source: Shadowfever

Related topics