
„I am persuaded that even the most spontaneous sensations are more under the direction of principle than weak people are willing to allow.“
— Mary Wollstonecraft British writer and philosopher 1759 - 1797
Context: Affection requires a firmer foundation than sympathy, and few people have a principle of action sufficiently stable to produce rectitude of feeling; for in spite of all the arguments I have heard to justify deviations from duty, I am persuaded that even the most spontaneous sensations are more under the direction of principle than weak people are willing to allow.
Letter 17