Awaken its powers, and it will respect itself.

Hear the fiery words of Frances Wright, the bold reformer of the nineteenth century, who proclaimed: “Awaken its powers, and it will respect itself.” These are not idle syllables, but a summons to the human spirit, long lulled into slumber by oppression, ignorance, or doubt. Wright, who spoke for freedom, for education, for the dignity of women and the liberation of slaves, knew that the greatest chains are not those forged of iron, but those that bind the mind. To awaken power is to awaken dignity, and in that awakening lies the seed of self-respect.

The meaning of this declaration is that every human soul contains within itself untapped strength. Yet power dormant is as if it did not exist; the mind unexercised forgets its own grandeur, and the heart untaught its own worth. But when the spirit is stirred, when its capacities are trained, when knowledge breaks upon it like the dawn, then it recognizes its own nobility. Respect for the self is born not from flattery nor empty pride, but from the awakening of one’s true powers.

The origin of these words is found in Wright’s lifelong mission. As a woman who defied convention in a world that sought to silence her, she spoke relentlessly of education as the key to emancipation. To her, the enslaved, the poor, and the disenfranchised were not inherently weak, but had been lulled into weakness by a system that denied them light. By awakening their powers—through learning, through action, through courage—they would no longer need to be told of their worth; they would feel it, live it, and demand that others honor it.

History gives us many who embody this truth. Think of Frederick Douglass, born in chains, denied education, treated as property. When he secretly learned to read, he said that “knowledge unfits a man to be a slave.” In awakening his own powers, Douglass came to respect himself, and from that self-respect grew the courage to escape bondage, to speak against tyranny, and to inspire generations. His life is proof of Wright’s wisdom: dignity comes not as a gift from others, but from the stirring of one’s own latent strength.

This teaching also carries a warning. Those who remain idle, who never strive to awaken their gifts, are at risk of living in quiet despair. A person who has never tested their courage cannot know their bravery; one who has never struggled with thought cannot know the depth of their mind. To wait for respect from others without first awakening one’s own powers is to live as a shadow, dependent and incomplete. Respect, like freedom, is first an inner conquest.

The lesson for us, then, is urgent: awaken your powers. Cultivate the mind, sharpen the will, strengthen the body, and nurture the spirit. Do not wait for the world to hand you dignity—claim it by rising to your full capacity. For once awakened, the powers within will give you a self-respect no tyrant can take away, no insult can diminish, no failure can extinguish. In this awakening lies the foundation of all true freedom.

And so, let your actions follow. Seek knowledge, for it awakens the mind. Embrace challenges, for they awaken courage. Work with diligence, for it awakens discipline. Love with compassion, for it awakens the heart. In awakening these powers, you will learn to respect yourself not for what others say you are, but for what you have proven yourself to be.

Thus remember Frances Wright’s words: “Awaken its powers, and it will respect itself.” They are a clarion call across centuries, urging every generation to rise from slumber and claim the dignity that lies within. For respect begins in the soul that has awakened its strength, and from that fountain flows the courage to change the world.