Q0501
“I wish to persuade women to endeavor to acquire strength, both of…” — Mary Wollstonecraft (A Vindication of the Rights of…)
Verified English quotation. Primary source: A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792), Ch. 2. Theme: education.
English
I wish to persuade women to endeavor to acquire strength, both of mind and body.
Source and attribution
The archive attributes this English wording to A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792), Ch. 2 and files it under Feminist Philosophy. That locator distinguishes the passage from loose internet attributions: readers can return to the named work or section to check translation, surrounding argument, and edition-specific wording.
About Mary Wollstonecraft
Mary Wollstonecraft (1759–1797) was an English radical writer whose A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792) founded modern liberal feminist argument. She wrote on education, the French Revolution, and travel, and mixed in Dissenting and Jacobin circles.
How to read this passage
Across 4 recurring voices here (notably Mary Wollstonecraft and Plato), education is framed through Platonism and Renaissance Humanism. Some passages define education; others warn how it fails; still others relocate it inside habit, community, or language. This passage enters that discussion through education, autonomy.
Concepts in this quote
- Education
- Education appears in this archive as a live philosophical concern—not a slogan. These verified English passages show how thinkers treat education as a problem of judgment, practice, or explanation.
- Autonomy
- Autonomy appears in this archive as a live philosophical concern—not a slogan. These verified English passages show how thinkers treat autonomy as a problem of judgment, practice, or explanation.
How to cite this quotation
APA: Mary Wollstonecraft. (n.d.). I wish to persuade women to endeavor to acquire strength, both of mind and body. In Philosophy Blind Box. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0501
MLA: Mary Wollstonecraft. “I wish to persuade women to endeavor to….” Philosophy Blind Box, https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0501.
Chicago: Mary Wollstonecraft. “I wish to persuade women to endeavor to….” Philosophy Blind Box. Accessed 2026. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0501.
Frequently asked questions
What is the source of the quotation “I wish to persuade women to endeavor to…”?
The passage is attributed to Mary Wollstonecraft, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792), Ch. 2. The archive attributes this English wording to A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792), Ch. 2 and files it under Feminist Philosophy. That locator distinguishes the passage from loose internet attributions: readers can return to the named work or section to check translation, surrounding argument, and edition-specific wording.
What does Mary Wollstonecraft mean by education?
Across 4 recurring voices here (notably Mary Wollstonecraft and Plato), education is framed through Platonism and Renaissance Humanism. Some passages define education; others warn how it fails; still others relocate it inside habit, community, or language. This passage enters that discussion through education, autonomy.