Mary Shelley — "We are unfashioned creatures, but half made up, if one wiser, kinder, better tha…"

"This, I thought, is power! Not to be strong of limb, hard of heart, ferocious, and daring; but kind, compassionate and soft."

"One man's life or death were but a small price to pay for the acquirement of the knowledge which I sought, for the dominion I should acquire and transmit over the elemental foes of our race."

"I could not understand why men who knew all about good and evil could hate and kill each other."

"We never do what we wish when we wish it, and when we desire a thing earnestly, and it does arrive, that or we are changed, so that we slide from the summit of our wishes and find ourselves where we w…"

"A truce to philosophy! —Life is before me, and I rush into possession. Hope, glory, love, and blameless ambition are my guides, and my soul knows no dread."