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There is no worse heresy than that the office sanctifies the holder of it.

Lord Acton

There is no error so monstrous that it fails to find defenders among the ablest men.
LORD ACTON

Ablest Defender Error Failing Men Monstrous
The common vice of democracy is disregard for morality.
LORD ACTON

Common Democracy Morality Vice Vices
Moral precepts are constant through the ages and not obedient to circumstances.
LORD ACTON

Age Circumstance Constant Moral Obedient Through
Liberty is not a means to a higher political end. It is itself the highest political end…liberty is the only object which benefits all alike, and provokes no sincere opposition…
LORD ACTON

Benefit Class Higher Liberty Mean Men Political
A wise person does at once, what a fool does at last. Both do the same thing; only at different times.
LORD ACTON

Both Different Fool Last Once Person Same Time Wise
In every age its (liberty’s) progress has been beset by its natural enemies, by ignorance and superstition, by lust of conquest and by love of ease, by the strong man’s craving for power, and the poor man’s craving for food
LORD ACTON

Ignorance Liberty Progress Strong Superstition Wisdom
A people averse to the institution of private property is without the first elements of freedom
LORD ACTON

Element First Freedom People Private Property
The science of politics is the one science that is deposited by the streams of history, like the grains of gold in the sand of a river; and the knowledge of the past, the record of truths revealed by experience, is eminently practical, as an instrument of action and a power that goes to making the future.
LORD ACTON

Gold Grainm Stream Knowledge Past Politics River Rivers Sand Science
If some great catastrophe is not announced every morning, we feel a certain void. Nothing in the paper today, we sigh.
LORD ACTON

Anxiety Generous Morning Nothing Today Paper
Fanaticism in religion is the alliance of the passions she condemns with the dogmas she professes.
LORD ACTON

Alliances Dogma Fanaticism Passion Professes Religious
Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
LORD ACTON

Absolute Corrupt Exercise Influence Men Power Tend
Be generous before you are just. Do not temper mercy with justice.
LORD ACTON

Before Generous Justice Mercy Temper
But when modern absolutism arose, it laid claim to everything on behalf of the sovereign power….
LORD ACTON

Absolutism Behalf Claim Everything Laid Modern Power Sovereign
The danger is not that a particular class is unfit to govern. ~ Every class is unfit to govern … Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men.
LORD ACTON

Alike Almost Benefit Danger End Mne Object Particular Political
At all times sincere friends of freedom have been rare, and its triumphs have been due to minorities.
LORD ACTON

Country Friend Liberty Minorities People Time Triumph
Great men are almost always bad men, even when they exercise influence and not authority: still more when you superadd the tendency or the certainty of corruption by authority.
LORD ACTON

Almost Always Authority Great Influence Men Stillmore

There is no worse heresy than that the office sanctifies the holder of it.

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There is no worse heresy than that the office sanctifies the holder of it.

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