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Persons of genius, it is true, are, and are always likely to be, a small minority; but in order to have them, it is necessary to preserve the soil in which they grow.

John Stuart Mill

All that makes existence valuable to any one depends on the enforcement of restraints upon the actions of other people.
JOHN STUART MILL

Action Existence People Value
A democratic constitution, not supported by democratic institutions in detail, but confined to the central government, not only is not political freedom, but often creates a spirit precisely the reverse, carrying down to the lowest grade in society the desire and ambition of political domination.
JOHN STUART MILL

Ambition Creation Democracy Desire Domination Grade Institution Politics Society Spirit
To bring a child into existence without a fair prospect of being able, not only to provide food for its body, but instruction and training for its mind is a moral crime, both against the unfortunate offspring and against society.
JOHN STUART MILL

Children Crime Existence Instruction Mindset Prospect Society Training
The most cogent reason for restricting the interference of government is the great evil of adding unnecessarily to its power.
JOHN STUART MILL

Government Necessary Power Reason Restriction
No slave is a slave to the same lengths, and in so full a sense of the word, as a wife is.
JOHN STUART MILL

Marriage Perspective Slave Wife Word
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
The liberty of the individual must be thus far limited; he must not make himself a nuisance to other people.
JOHN STUART MILL

Himself Liberty Limitation Nuisance People
Originality is the one thing which unoriginal minds cannot feel the use of.
JOHN STUART MILL

Feeling Mindset Oneself Original
He who does anything because it is the custom, makes no choice.
JOHN STUART MILL

Choice Custom Himself
When one’s ideas are not challenged, one’s ability to defend them weakens.
JOHN STUART MILL

Ability Challenge Defend Ideas Weakness
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
It is questionable if all the mechanical inventions yet made have lightened the day’s toil of any human being.
JOHN STUART MILL

Human Invention Light Question
All political revolutions, not affected by foreign conquest, originate in moral revolutions. The subversion of established institutions is merely one consequence of the previous subversion of established opinions.
JOHN STUART MILL

Establishment Moral Opinion Politics Revolution
Language is the light of the mind.
JOHN STUART MILL

Language Light Mindset
Over one’s mind and over one’s body the individual is sovereign.
JOHN STUART MILL

Body Mindset Oneself Sovereign

Persons of genius, it is true, are, and are always likely to be, a small minority; but in order to have them, it is necessary to preserve the soil in which they grow.

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Persons of genius, it is true, are, and are always likely to be, a small minority; but in order to have them, it is necessary to preserve the soil in which they grow.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

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