William Wilberforce Quotes on Slavery and the Slave Trade
You may choose to look the other way but you can never say again that you did not know. William Wilberforce
If to be feelingly alive to the sufferings of my fellow-creatures is to be a fanatic, I am one of the most incurable fanatics ever permitted to be at large. William Wilberforce
God Almighty has set before me two great objects: the suppression of the slave trade and the reformation of manners. William Wilberforce
I mean not to accuse any one, but to take the shame upon myself, in common, indeed, with the whole parliament of Great Britain, for having suffered this horrid trade to be carried on under their authority. We are all guilty – we ought all to plead guilty, and not to exculpate ourselves by throwing the blame on others. (Speech on the slave trade: House of Commons 12 May 1789) William Wilberforce
Never, never will we desist till we have wiped away this scandal from the Christian name, released ourselves from the load of guilt, under which we at present labour, and extinguished every trace of this bloody traffic, of which our posterity, looking back to the history of these enlightened times, will scarce believe that it has been suffered to exist so long a disgrace and dishonour to this country. (Speech on putting an end to the slave trade: House of Commons 18 April 1791) William Wilberforce
Sir, the nature and all the circumstances of this trade are now laid open to us; we can no longer plead ignorance, we can not evade it; it is now an object placed before us, we can not pass it; we may spurn it, we may kick it out of our way, but we can not turn aside so as to avoid seeing it; for it is brought now so directly before our eyes that this House must decide, and must justify to all the world, and to their own consciences, the rectitude of the grounds and principles of their decision. (Speech on the slave trade: House of Commons 12 May 1789) William Wilberforce
So enormous, so dreadful, so irremediable did the Trade’s wickedness appear that my own mind was completely made up for Abolition. Let the consequences be what they would, I from this time determined that I would never rest until I had effected its abolition. William Wilberforce
What should we suppose must naturally be the consequence of our carrying on a slave trade with Africa? With a country, vast in its extent, not utterly barbarous, but civilized in a very small degree? Does any one suppose a slave trade would help their civilization? William Wilberforce
William Wilberforce on Faith
A private faith that does not act in the face of oppression is no faith at all. William Wilberforce
Some might say that one’s faith is a private matter and should not be spoken of so publicly. They might assert this in public, but what do they really think in their hearts? The fact is, those who say such things usually don’t even have a concern for faith in the privacy of their interior lives. William Wilberforce
I am disturbed when I see the majority of so-called Christians having such little understanding of the real nature of the faith they profess. Faith is a subject of such importance that we should not ignore it because of the distractions or the hectic pace of our lives. William Wilberforce
William Wilberforce on the Bible
Read the Bible, read the Bible! Let no religious book take its place. Through all my perplexities and distresses, I seldom read any other book, and I as rarely felt the want of any other. William Wilberforce
What a difference it would be if our system of morality were based on the Bible instead of the standards devised by cultural Christians. William Wilberforce
William Wilberforce on Being a Christian in Public Life
Can one serve God and one’s nation in parliament? William Wilberforce
I must secure more time for private devotions. I have been living far too public for me. The shortening of devotions starves the soul, it grows lean and faint. I have been keeping too late hours. William Wilberforce
My walk is a public one. My business is in the world, and I must mix in the assemblies of men or quit the post which Providence seems to have assigned me. William Wilberforce
The first years in Parliament I did nothing – nothing to any purpose. My own distinction was my darling object. William Wilberforce
This perpetual hurry of business and company ruins me in soul if not in body. More solitude and earlier hours! William Wilberforce
I continually find it necessary to guard against that natural love of wealth and grandeur which prompts us always, when we come to apply our general doctrine to our own case, to claim an exception. William Wilberforce
William Wilberforce on Christianity and Religion
If there is no passionate love for Christ at the center of everything, we will only jingle and jangle our way across the world, merely making a noise as we go. William Wilberforce
Is it not the great end of religion, and, in particular, the glory of Christianity, to extinguish the malignant passions; to curb the violence, to control the appetites, and to smooth the asperities of man; to make us compassionate and kind, and forgiving one to another; to make us good husbands, good fathers, good friends; and to render us active and useful in the discharge of the relative social and civil duties? William Wilberforce
It is the distinguishing glory of Christianity not to rest satisfied with superficial appearances, but to rectify the motives, and purify the heart. William Wilberforce
It makes no sense to take the name of Christian and not cling to Christ. Jesus is not some magic charm to wear like a piece of jewelry we think will give us good luck. He is the Lord. His name is to be written on our hearts in such a powerful way that it creates within us a profound experience of His peace and a heart that is filled with His praise. William Wilberforce
Let true Christians then, with becoming earnestness, strive in all things to recommend their profession, and to put to silence the vain scoffs of ignorant objectors. William Wilberforce
No one expects to attain to the height of learning, or arts, or power, or wealth, or military glory, without vigorous resolution, strenuous diligence, and steady perseverance. Yet we expect to be Christians without labour, study, or inquiry. William Wilberforce
Surely the principles of Christianity lead to action as well as meditation. William Wilberforce
True Christians consider themselves not as satisfying some rigorous creditor, but as discharging a debt of gratitude. William Wilberforce
There are four things that we ought to do with the Word of God – admit it as the Word of God, commit it to our hearts and minds, submit to it, and transmit it to the world. William Wilberforce
There is no shortcut to holiness; it must be the business of our whole lives. William Wilberforce
The gospel freely admitted makes a man happy. It gives him peace with God, and makes him happy in God. It gives to industry a noble, contented look which selfish drudgery never wore; and from the moment that a man begins to do his work for his Saviour’s sake, he feels that the most ordinary employments are full of sweetness and dignity, and that the most difficult are not impossible. And if any of you, my friends, is weary with his work, if dissatisfaction with yourself or sorrow of any kind disheartens you, if at any time you feel the dull paralysis of conscious sin, or the depressing influence of vexing thoughts, look to Jesus, and be happy. Be happy, and your joyful work will prosper well. William Wilberforce
When the pulse beats high, and we are flushed with youth, and health, and vigour; when all goes on prosperously, and success seems almost to anticipate our wishes, then we feel not the want of the consolations of religion: but when fortune frowns, or friends forsake us; when sorrow, or sickness, or old age comes upon us, then it is that the superiority of the pleasures of religion is established over those of dissipation and vanity, which are ever apt to fly from us when we are most in want of their aid. William Wilberforce
Of all things, guard against neglecting God in the secret place of prayer. William Wilberforce
William Wilberforce Quotes on Duty
It is the true duty of every man to promote the happiness of his fellow creatures to the utmost of his power. William Wilberforce
Let everyone regulate his conduct . . . by the golden rule of doing to others as in similar circumstances we would have them do to us, and the path of duty will be clear before him. William Wilberforce
William Wilberforce on Perseverance
Accustom yourself to look first to the dreadful consequences of failure; then fix your eye on the glorious prize which is before you; and when your strength begins to fail, and your spirits are well nigh exhausted, let the animating view rekindle your resolution, and call forth in renewed vigour the fainting energies of your soul. William Wilberforce
Our motto must continue to be perseverance. And ultimately I trust the Almighty will crown our efforts with success. William Wilberforce
William Wilberforce on Purpose
To live our lives and miss that great purpose we were designed to accomplish is truly a sin. It is inconceivable that we could be bored in a world with so much wrong to tackle, so much ignorance to reach and so much misery we could alleviate. William Wilberforce
No man has a right to be idle. Where is it that in such a world as this, that health, and leisure, and affluence may not find some ignorance to instruct, some wrong to redress, some want to supply, some misery to alleviate? William Wilberforce
Other William Wilberforce Quotes
How can we judge fairly of the characters and merits of men, of the wisdom or folly of actions, unless we have…an accurate knowledge of all particulars, so that we may live as it were in the times, and among the persons, of whom we read, see with their eyes, and reason and decide on their premises? William Wilberforce
Life as we know it, with all its ups and downs, will soon be over. We all will give an accounting to God of how we have lived. William Wilberforce
Men of authority and influence may promote good morals. Let them in their several stations encourage virtue…let them favor and take part in any plans which may be formed for the advancement of morality. William Wilberforce
O what a blessing is Sunday, interposed between the waves of worldly business like the divine path of the Israelites through the sea! There is nothing in which I would advise you to be more strictly conscientious than in keeping the Sabbath day holy. I can truly declare that to me the Sabbath has been invaluable. William Wilberforce
Selfishness is one of the principal fruits of the corruption of human nature; and it is obvious that selfishness disposes us to over-rate our good qualities, and to overlook or extenuate our defects. William Wilberforce
Surely the experience of all good men confirms the proposition that without a due measure of private devotions the soul will grow lean. William Wilberforce
We are too young to realize that certain things are impossible… So we will do them anyway. William Wilberforce
We have different forms assigned to us in the school of life, different gifts imparted. All is not attractive that is good. Iron is useful, though it does not sparkle like the diamond. Gold has not the fragrance of a flower. So different persons have various modes of excellence, and we must have an eye to all. William Wilberforce