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Pleasure and freedom from pain, are the only things desirable as ends.

John Stuart Mill

To understand one woman is not necessarily to understand any other woman.
JOHN STUART MILL

Different Understand Unique Woman
A man who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself.
JOHN STUART MILL

Better Fight Himself Man Misery Willing
The only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others. His own good, either physical or moral, is not sufficient warrant.
JOHN STUART MILL

Himself Moral Prevent Purpose Right Willing
A profound conviction raises a man above the feeling of ridicule.
JOHN STUART MILL

Conviction Feeling Man Raise
Language is the light of the mind.
JOHN STUART MILL

Language Light Mindset
He who lets the world choose his plan of life for him has need of no other faculty than that of ape-like imitation.
JOHN STUART MILL

Choice Himself Imitation Planning World
In proportion to the development of his individuality, each person becomes more valuable to himself, and is therefore capable of being more valuable to others.
JOHN STUART MILL

Development Himself Person Value
War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse.
JOHN STUART MILL

Moral State Ugly War Worst
To refuse a hearing to an opinion, because they are sure that it is false, is to assume that their certainty is the same thing as absolute certainty. All silencing of discussion is an assumption of infallibility.
JOHN STUART MILL

Certain Discussion Fake Opinion Refuse Silence
All ideas need to be heard, because each idea contains one aspect of the truth. By examining that aspect, we add to our own idea of the truth. Even ideas that have no truth in them whatsoever are useful because by disproving them, we add support to our own ideas.
JOHN STUART MILL

Aspect Examination Ideas Ourselves Support Truth
Next to selfishness the principal cause which makes life unsatisfactory is want of mental cultivation.
JOHN STUART MILL

Cultivation Life Mental Reason Satisfaction
It is better to be a human being dissatisfied than a pig satisfied; better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied. And if the fool, or the pig, are of a different opinion, it is because they only know their own side of the question.
JOHN STUART MILL

Better Different Fools Human Opinion Question Satisfaction
The idea that truth always triumphs over persecution is one of those pleasant falsehoods, which most experience refutes. History is teeming with instances of truth put down by persecution. If not put down forever, it may be set back for centuries.
JOHN STUART MILL

Experience Forever History Ideas Persecution Truth
Bad men need nothing more to compass their ends, than that good men should look on and do nothing.
JOHN STUART MILL

Bad End Goodness Man
Since the state must necessarily provide subsistence for the criminal poor while undergoing punishment, not to do the same for the poor who have not offended is to give a premium on crime.
JOHN STUART MILL

Crime Necessary Offend Premium Punishment State
The spirit of improvement is not always a spirit of liberty, for it may aim at forcing improvements on an unwilling people.
JOHN STUART MILL

Force Improvement Liberty People Spirit Willing
In this age, the man who dares to think for himself and to act independently does a service to his race.
JOHN STUART MILL

Age Dare Independent Man Race Service
Photography is a brief complicity between foresight and luck.
JOHN STUART MILL

Brief Complex Luck Photography
A person should be free to do as he likes in his own concerns; but he ought not to be free to do as he likes in acting for another, under the pretext that the affairs of the other are his own affairs.
JOHN STUART MILL

Affair Concern Freedom Himself Person
The perpetual obstacle to human advancement is custom.
JOHN STUART MILL

Advancement Custom Human Obstacle
Life has a certain flavor for those who have fought and risked all that the sheltered and protected can never experience.
JOHN STUART MILL

Experience Flavor Life Risk Shelter
One person with a belief is equal to ninety-nine who have only interests.
JOHN STUART MILL

Belief Equality Interest Person
Liberty consists in doing what one desires.
JOHN STUART MILL

Desire Liberty Oneself
The human faculties of perception, judgment, discriminative feeling, mental activity, and even moral preference, are exercised only in making a choice. He who does anything because it is the custom, makes no choice.
JOHN STUART MILL

Activity Choice Discrimination Faculty Human Mental
We have a right, also, in various ways, to act upon our unfavorable opinion of anyone, not to the oppression of his individuality, but in the exercise of ours.
JOHN STUART MILL

Act Exercise Ourselves Right Way
I did not mean that Conservatives are generally stupid; I meant, that stupid persons are generally Conservative. I believe that to be so obvious and undeniable a fact that I hardly think any hon. Gentleman will question it.
JOHN STUART MILL

Conservatism Fact Myself Question Stupidity Thinking
A great statesman is he who knows when to depart from traditions, as well as when to adhere to them.
JOHN STUART MILL

Greatness Known Tradition

Pleasure and freedom from pain, are the only things desirable as ends.

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Pleasure and freedom from pain, are the only things desirable as ends.

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