Taught from infancy that beauty is woman's sceptre, the mind shapes itself to the body, and roaming round its gilt cage, only seeks to adorn its prison.
Mary WollstonecraftRead
Let woman share the rights and she will emulate the virtues of man; for she must grow more perfect when emancipated.
Interpretation
Empowering women leads to their growth and the improvement of society.
In this quote, Mary Wollstonecraft argues that granting women equal rights will not only elevate their status but also inspire them to embody virtues traditionally associated with men. She emphasizes the importance of emancipation for women's self-improvement and societal contributions, highlighting that true progress occurs when individuals are free to develop their full potential.
In practice
Use this quote to inspire a women's rights rally or event.
Taught from infancy that beauty is woman's sceptre, the mind shapes itself to the body, and roaming round its gilt cage, only seeks to adorn its prison.
Make women rational creatures, and free citizens, and they will quickly become good wives; - that is, if men do not neglect the duties of husbands and fathers.
But what a weak barrier is truth when it stands in the way of an hypothesis!
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 degraded by the propensity to enjoy the present moment, and, at last, despise the freedom which they have not sufficient virtue to struggle to attain.
Perhaps the seeds of false-refinement, immorality, and vanity, have ever been shed by the great. Weak, artificial beings, raised above the common wants and defections of their race, in a premature and unnatural manner, undermine the very foundation of virtue, and spread corruption through the whole mass of society!
Ideas by themselves cannot produce change of being; your effort must go in the right direction, and one must correspond to the other.
Iβm not a prophet. Iβm a destiny-changer. Itβs all right to prophesy, but the best thing to do is change things, if youβve got the power.
Should slavery be abolished there, (and it is an event, which, from these circumstances, we may reasonably expect to be produced in time) let it be remembered, that the Quakers will have had the merit of its abolition.
When we change, the world changes. The key to all change is in our inner transformation- a change of our hearts and minds. This is human revolution. We all have the power to change. When we realize this truth, we can bring forth that power anywhere, anytime, and in any situation.
We are losing our living systems, social systems, cultural systems, governing systems, stability, and our constitutional health, and we're surrendering it all at the same time.
Everything on Earth is being continuously transformed.
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