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If there’s a thing in the world I’m fond of, it’s my personal independence.
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“If there’s a thing in the world I’m fond of, it’s my personal independence.”

Henry James

Source
The Portrait of a Lady
Date
1881
Meaning

Meaning of “If there’s a thing in the world I’m…”

Isabel Archer states the value she places on choosing for herself, establishing independence as a central desire that later decisions will test.

Source context

Where does it come from?

The Portrait of a Lady, Volume I, Project Gutenberg #2833. Isabel says this to Caspar Goodwood while resisting his proposal and his argument that marriage would make her more independent.

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Be YourselfConfidence Quotes About Ability & Self-TrustDecisionIdentityIndependenceSelf RelianceSelf TrustSelf-Respect Quotes About Dignity & BoundariesShortThought-Provoking Quotes That Invite Reflection
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I would prefer not to.
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“I would prefer not to.”

Herman Melville · Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall-Street · 1853
Meaning & context

Bartleby’s mild repeated refusal becomes the story’s central form of resistance, forcing the narrator to confront limits on authority, obligation and understanding.

Source details

Bartleby, the Scrivener, Project Gutenberg #11231. Bartleby speaks this line when the lawyer asks him to help examine copied documents; it is fictional character dialogue, not a general prescription to refuse work or obligations.

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The noble soul has reverence for itself.
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“The noble soul has reverence for itself.”

Friedrich Nietzsche · Beyond Good and Evil · 1886
Meaning & context

The line connects nobility with an inward standard of dignity rather than dependence on applause, rank, or approval from other people.

Source details

Beyond Good and Evil, section 287, Helen Zimmern public-domain translation, Project Gutenberg #4363. The represented witness prints “THE NOBLE SOUL HAS REVERENCE FOR ITSELF” in capitals; the frozen catalog keeps ordinary capitalization. Nietzsche’s claim belongs to his rank / nobility argument and is not an evidence-based rule of self-esteem.

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He who chooses his plan for himself, employs all his faculties.
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“He who chooses his plan for himself, employs all his faculties.”

John Stuart Mill · On Liberty · 1859
Meaning & context

Choosing for oneself exercises observation, reasoning, discrimination, and self-command in ways that passive imitation does not.

Source details

On Liberty, Chapter III, in Mill’s discussion of individuality and self-directed choice.

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But why, my dear Crito, should we care about the opinion of the many?
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“But why, my dear Crito, should we care about the opinion of the many?”

Plato · Crito · c. 399 BCE
Voice: Dialogue speaker · Socrates
Meaning & context

Socrates challenges the idea that widespread approval should decide a moral question, directing attention toward informed judgment rather than numerical popularity.

Source details

Crito, Benjamin Jowett translation; Socrates responds to Crito’s concern about public opinion while awaiting execution.

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Otherwise, a man is the slave of what other people are pleased to think.
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“Otherwise, a man is the slave of what other people are pleased to think.”

Arthur Schopenhauer · The Wisdom of Life · 1851
Meaning & context

Dependence on approval can turn other people’s judgments into a form of control; self-respect requires allowing outside opinion to inform rather than govern one’s sense of worth.

Source details

The Wisdom of Life; the sentence appears in Schopenhauer’s criticism of giving excessive weight to reputation and social opinion.

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We have to forfeit three-fourths of ourselves in order to become like other people.
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“We have to forfeit three-fourths of ourselves in order to become like other people.”

Arthur Schopenhauer · Counsels and Maxims · 1851
Meaning & context

Conformity is described as costly when fitting in requires surrendering too much individuality, judgment, or temperament.

Source details

Counsels and Maxims, in Schopenhauer’s discussion of society and individuality; T. Bailey Saunders translation.