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William Batchelder Greene Quotes

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William Batchelder Greene (April 4, 1819 - May 30, 1878) was an American social reformer and writer. His life and work spanned multiple fields, including labor reform, prison reform, anarchism, and socialism. Greene was an advocate for social justice and equality during his lifetime and had a profound impact on future generations.

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All Men Ifs May Soul Character Earth Ideals Money Usury World Action Circumstances Currency Desire Doe Exercise Eye Faith Force God

Famous William Batchelder Greene Quotes

“Society established gold and silver as a circulating medium and as a legal tender in order that exchanges of commodities might be facilitated; but society blundered in so doing; for, by this very act, it gave to a certain class of men the power of saying what exchanges shall, and what exchanges shall not, be facilitated by means of this very circulating medium. The monopolizers of othe precious metals have an undue power over the community: they can say whether money shall, or shall not, be permitted to exercise its legitimate functions.”

Men Mean Might Certain Order Community Class Exercise Gold Function Mediums Silver Metals Commodity Gold And Silver Precious Metal

Book:Socialistic, Communistic, Mutualistic, and Financial Fragments

Source: Socialistic, Communistic, Mutualistic, and Financial Fragments

“Some men -- not all men -- see always before them an ideal, a mental picture if you will, of what they ought to be, and are not. Whoso seeks to follow this ideal revealed to the mental vision, whoso seeks to attain to conformity with it, will find it enlarge itself, and remove from him. He that follows it will improve his own moral character, but the ideal will remain always above him and before him, prompting him to new exertions.”

Ifs Men Character Moral Vision He Man Ought Ideals Remove Conformity Idealism Exertion Moral Character

Book:The blazing star; with an appendix treating of the Jewish Kabbala, also a tract on the philosophy of H. Spencer, and one on New-England transcendentalism

Source: The blazing star; with an appendix treating of the Jewish Kabbala, also a tract on the philosophy of H. Spencer, and one on New-England transcendentalism

“Man's life is entirely in his operations, which may all be classed under three heads: he thinks, he feels, and he acts -- these three modes of activity exhaust his powers.”

Thinking Men Life Feels May Life Is Three Activity Operations

Book:The Doctrine of Life: With Some of Its Theological Applications

Source: The Doctrine of Life: With Some of Its Theological Applications

“For man, the death of the body is inevitable, and is determined by time and circumstance; but, with proper precaution, the death of the soul may be totally avoided.”

Men May Soul Body Circumstances Determined Inevitable Avoided Precaution

Book:Socialistic, Communistic, Mutualistic, and Financial Fragments

Source: Socialistic, Communistic, Mutualistic, and Financial Fragments

“If it be true that God and man are in one image or likeness (and the affirmation that they are so is not unplausible) then it is the duty of man to bring out into its full splendor that Divine Image which is latent, on one side, in the complexity of his own nature.”

Ifs Men Sides Divine Duty Being True Complexity Affirmation Splendor Latent

Book:The blazing star; with an appendix treating of the Jewish Kabbala, also a tract on the philosophy of H. Spencer, and one on New-England transcendentalism

Source: The blazing star; with an appendix treating of the Jewish Kabbala, also a tract on the philosophy of H. Spencer, and one on New-England transcendentalism

“Man, having an ideal before him of that which he ought to be, and is not, and acting as though he possessed the character he ought to have, but has not, comes, by the very virtue of his aspiration, to possess the character he imagines.”

Men Character Acting Virtue Imagine Ought Ideals Aspiration Possessed

Author:William Batchelder Greene

“All men, and all created nature, have been at work, from the beginning of time to this day, to produce the circumstances which now influence our actions. AS soon as an act has been performed, it becomes independent of the individual performing it, and forthwith gives birth to some other act, which last gives birth to still another, and so they continue, and will continue, until the law of cause and effect shall cease to operate.”

Source: The Doctrine of Life: With Some of Its Theological Applications

“Faith may always be acquired. Whoso is devoid of faith, and desires to have it, may acquire it by living for a few days (sometimes for a few hours only) as though he already possessed it. It is by practical, not theoretical, religion, that men transform their lives.”

Men May Sometimes Desire Faith Hours Practicals Acquire Possessed Theoretical

Author:William Batchelder Greene

“Some fearful sights there be that creep By night - I mean that harass sleep; But tenfold more alarming seem these when They brave the day, to breathe the air like men.”

Men Mean Seems Night Fear Sleep Air Sight Brave Breathe Fearful Creeps

Book:Cloudrifts at Twilight

Source: Cloudrifts at Twilight