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truly sublime is the character that acts from principle, and governs the inferior springs of activity without slackening their vigour;
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“truly sublime is the character that acts from principle, and governs the inferior springs of activity without slackening their vigour;”

Mary Wollstonecraft

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Source
A Vindication of the Rights of Men
Date
1790
Meaning

Meaning of “truly sublime is the character that acts from…”

The passage praises principled character that can use emotion and energy without allowing immediate feeling to overrule deliberate judgment.

Source context

Where does it come from?

A Vindication of the Rights of Men; this clause appears in Wollstonecraft’s contrast between habit, manipulated passion, and a character governed by principle.

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Courage Quotes About Acting Despite FearIntegrityLeadershipResponsibilitySelf-Control Quotes About Restraint & JudgmentSelf-Respect Quotes About Dignity & BoundariesCharacter
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stand by principle at all hazards.
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“stand by principle at all hazards.”

Booker T. Washington · The Future of the American Negro · 1899
Meaning & context

Washington distinguishes tactical cooperation from questions of right and wrong, where he advises maintaining principle despite possible cost.

Source details

The Future of the American Negro, Chapter VIII; Project Gutenberg #26507. This short excerpt appears in Washington’s closing policy discussion, where he distinguishes ordinary political cooperation from cases involving a question of right or wrong and advises standing by principle in those cases.

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I shall obey God rather than you.
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“I shall obey God rather than you.”

Plato · Apology · 4th century BCE
Voice: Dialogue speaker · Socrates
Meaning & context

Socrates presents moral and philosophical duty as more binding than compliance with pressure from political authority.

Source details

Apology, Jowett translation; Socrates says he would continue practicing philosophy even if acquittal were conditioned on silence.

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To see what is right and not to do it is want of courage.
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“To see what is right and not to do it is want of courage.”

Confucius · The Analects of Confucius · James Legge translation
Meaning & context

Recognizing the right course is incomplete if fear or convenience prevents a person from acting on that judgment.

Source details

The Analects of Confucius, James Legge’s public-domain English translation; Book II connects moral recognition with the courage required for action.

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No matter what the thing is, put your conscience into it; do your best.
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“No matter what the thing is, put your conscience into it; do your best.”

Booker T. Washington · Character Building · 1902
Meaning & context

Work gains moral weight when effort and conscience remain present even in tasks that seem small, routine, or unlikely to attract praise.

Source details

Character Building, “What Is To Be Our Future?”, Project Gutenberg #60484. Washington asks whether Tuskegee will remain worthy of public confidence and answers by requiring each student and worker to put conscience and full effort into every kind of work.

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The only obligation which I have a right to assume is to do at any time what I think right.
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“The only obligation which I have a right to assume is to do at any time what I think right.”

Henry David Thoreau · Civil Disobedience · 1849
Meaning & context

Thoreau places personal moral judgment ahead of automatic obedience, arguing that conscience creates an individual responsibility to decide whether one’s own action is right.

Source details

Civil Disobedience, first published in 1849 as 'Resistance to Civil Government'; reviewed in the public-domain Miscellanies transcription. The obligation-to-do-right sentence occurs early in Thoreau's argument contrasting conscience with automatic deference to majority rule and law. It remains historical political philosophy rather than current legal advice or a blanket instruction to violate law.

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