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But when modern absolutism arose, it laid claim to everything on behalf of the sovereign power….

Lord Acton

It is bad to be oppressed by a minority, but it is worse to be oppressed by a majority.
LORD ACTON

Bad Majority Minority Oppress
Liberty is not a means to a higher political end. It is itself the highest political end.
LORD ACTON

End Higher Liberty Mean Political
I’m not a driven businessman, but a driven artist. I never think about money. Beautiful things make money.
LORD ACTON

Beautiful Business Funny Inspirational Money
No public character has ever stood the revelation of private utterance and correspondence.
LORD ACTON

Character Correspondance Public Revelation Stood Utterance
Character is tested by true sentiments more than by conduct. A man is seldom better than his word.
LORD ACTON

Character Conduct Men Personality Sentiment
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
Ink was not invented to express our real feelings.
LORD ACTON

Express Feeling Ink Inverted Real
Authority that does not exist for Liberty is not authority but force.
LORD ACTON

Authority Exist Force Liberty
The true natural check on absolute democracy is the federal system, which limits the central government by the powers reserved, and the state governments by the powers they have ceded.
LORD ACTON

Bnaturem Check Central Democracy Government Limit Power Reserve Stage True
If there is any presumption, it is the other way against holders of power…power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
LORD ACTON

Absolute Corrupt Other Power Presumption Tend
Progress, the religion of those who have none.
LORD ACTON

None Progress Religion
History, to be above evasion or dispute, must stand on documents, not on opinions.
LORD ACTON

Disputes Document Evasion History Opinion Stand
Federalism is the best curb on democracy. [It] assigns limited powers to the central government. Thereby all power is limited. It excludes absolute power of the majority.
LORD ACTON

Assign Best Central Club Democracy Federalism Government Power
A liberal is only a bundle of prejudices until he has mastered, has understood, experienced the philosophy of Conservatism.
LORD ACTON

Bundles Experience Master Philosophy Prejudice Understand
Those who have more power are liable to sin more; no theorem in geometry is more certain than this.
LORD ACTON

Atheism Certain Geometry More Power Sin Theorem
A public man has no right to let his actions be determined by particular interests. He does the same thing as a judge who accepts a bribe. Like a judge he must consider what is right, not what is advantageous to a party or class.
LORD ACTON

Action Class Interest Men Particular Party Public Right

But when modern absolutism arose, it laid claim to everything on behalf of the sovereign power….

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But when modern absolutism arose, it laid claim to everything on behalf of the sovereign power….

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