CALEB WILLIAMS, a young man, his secretary, discoverer of his secret, and supposed narrator of subsequent events. In theology he began as a Calvinist, and for a time colored himself with the harsh doctrines of the Sandemanians. Godwin married Rights of Woman author Mary Wollstonecraft in 1797, losing her the same year.
Falkland is not meant to be a personification of the evils caused by the social system, nor is he presented as the inevitable product of that system. Tyrrel kills his cousin and ruins his tenant, a man of integrity, through the law. His more heinous offense, leaving the innocent Hawkinses to the gallows, is the result of what Godwin expressly denounces, punishment for murder.
It is now known to philosophers that the spirit and character of government insinuates itself into every rank of society. It is therefore not exceptional that such a project has arisen on the current occasion.
PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION
It is now unimaginable how much this choice of subject has increased the severity of my task. Certain persons, who will condescend to make my supposed inconsistencies the favorite subject of their investigations, will perhaps remark with exultation on the respect for marriage manifested in this work, and exclaim: 'It has not always been so !' referring to the pages dealing with this subject in the "Inquiry into Political Justice" for proof of their claim. The production referred to therein, the first basis of the author's claim to public distinction and favor, was a treatise, the object of which was to determine what new institutions in political society might be more conducive to the general happiness than the current.
In the course of this debate it was asked whether the marriage as described and supported by the laws of England might not admit of some modifications. Can there be anything more distinct than such a proposal on the one hand and a recommendation on the other that each man should overthrow and trample underfoot the institutions of the country in which he lives. A thousand things might seem excellent and salutary if brought into general practice, which in some cases would seem ludicrous, and in others would have tragic consequences if prematurely acted upon by a solitary individual.
The author of 'Political Justice,' as is shown again and again in the pages of that work, is the last man in the world who recommends a pitiful attempt, by scattered examples, to renew the face of society, instead of of trying through discussion. and reasoning, to effect a grand and comprehensive improvement in the sentiments of its members.
VOLUME THE FIRST
In company he seemed to be the only person ignorant of the greatness of his fame. Clare fixed his abode in the neighborhood, to that of the arrival of Mr. The very next incident in the story was to a certain extent decisive for the catastrophe.
He had just heard of the melancholy accident which had happened in the village, and was terrified for the safety of his good-humored cousin. Tyrrel proceeded, by the means of the jailer (for the experience he had already had of personal discussion did not induce him to repeat his visits), to play upon the fears of his prisoner. It was necessary, as Grimes informed her, that her escape should take place in the dead of night.
But it was easy to understand the merits of the case, and the rightness of interference. It was about the same period that he obtained a lease on the farm of which he was a tenant. Emily had listened to the course of this conversation, which had sufficiently explained to her what was enigmatic about the bailiffs' first appearance.
Meanwhile the affair was of the most serious proportions, and the uncontrolled rumor seemed daily to increase in force.
VOLUME THE SECOND
It was the only way he could get a firm grip on the worship of the stupid and bigoted Persians. I've been to him three times; and there is one man in the same area of the prison who looks so bad. I will never again be able to look into the faces of the best masters and the best men.
I have already said that one of the motives which prompted me to write this narrative was to console myself in my intolerable distress. In the very storm and hurricane of passion, I seemed to enjoy the most enchanting peace of soul. The reader can with difficulty form an idea of the state into which I have now fallen.
It was his principle to do whatever his mind suggested, without caring for the forms of the world. I envied the condemned wretch on the scaffold; I envied the victim of the inquisition in the midst of his torture. I was on my return from the place whither I had been sent, when I began in imagination to review the various circumstances of my condition, and in the depths of my contemplation, lost all attention to the surrounding objects. .
I was quite out of the way I drove according to his direction; I was in a road leading directly to the house of mr. Such was my work from the evening of a day that will always be unforgettable in the history of my life. It was in vain that my reason warned me of the rashness of a measure, to be taken without concert or preparation.
I was accustomed to Confide in his honesty, and I was suddenly called away, in the present case, to attend to the increasing progress of the flames. The case of one of the persons committed for highway robbery was not a little extraordinary. I was determined at least fully to own the days I had to live; and it is peculiar in the strength of the man who preserves his health to the last moment of his existence.
One of the burglars (a rival of the Duke of Bedford) and the blacksmith were hanged. Such were some of the immediate reflections which the fate of this unfortunate martyr raised in my mind.
VOLUME THE THIRD
It was necessary for me not to enter the towns and villages in the area. It was easy to see that the opinions of the rest coincided with those of their leader; nevertheless, some of them hesitated about the course of action to follow. Go to the next justice of the peace and accuse us; I can easily believe that you are capable of that.
It does not imply what the individual's character is at the time of trial. I began to be amused by the absurdity of their tales and the variety of lies I heard being told around me. I therefore reverted once more to the suggestion of hiding, at least for the time being, among the crowds of the metropolis.
This may seem a small disappointment, amid the overwhelming considerations which might have been expected to occupy every thought of my mind. There was not a particle of my covering that was not as wet as if it had been fished from the bottom of the ocean. From there he followed me to the banks of the Severn, and from the banks of the Severn to London.
He spared neither pains nor time in the gratification of the passion which the election had made his ruler. I had been the object of leisure speculation of some of the persons who belonged to this inn. During the dialogue this morning she asked some questions about the Jew who had slept there the night before.
It was the middle of the day, and she could not fear for herself. Meanwhile the intelligence brought to me by no means established the greatness of the danger. In the midst of the horrors with which I was now impressed, this idea gave me joy; and I hastened to the Thames to put it to immediate execution.
I had been forced to spend the rest of the night of my arrest in jail. I was extremely averse to being the author of a person's misfortune or death.