black
grey
blue
red
brown
white

The finest opportunity ever given to the world was thrown away because the passion of equality made vain the hope for freedom.

Lord Acton

If the past has been an obstacle and a burden, knowledge of the past is the safest and the surest emancipation.
LORD ACTON

Burden Emancipation History Knowledge Obstacle Past Safest Surest
Government rules the present. Literature rules the future.
LORD ACTON

Future Government Literature Present Rule
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
Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
LORD ACTON

Corrupt Inspirational Leadership Power Trend Work
Limitation is essential to authority. A government is legitimate only if it is effectively limited.
LORD ACTON

Authority Essential Limitation
Do not turn yourself from an end into a means-one does not justify the other.
LORD ACTON

Doe End Justify Mean Other
The one pervading evil of democracy is the tyranny of the majority, or rather of that party, not always the majority, that succeeds, by force or fraud, in carrying elections.
LORD ACTON

Democracies Force Fraud Majority Party Prevaiding Rule Succeed Tyranny
Great men are almost always bad men.
LORD ACTON

Corrupt Great Men Power
When the last of the Reformers died, religion, instead of emancipating the nations, had become an excuse for the criminal art of despots. Calvin preached, and Bellarmine lectured; but Machiavelli reigned.
LORD ACTON

Art Criminal Despot Die Emancipate Excuse Last Nation Preacher Reformer
The one pervading evil of democracy is the tyranny of the majority.
LORD ACTON

Democracy Evil Majority One Pervaide Tyranny
Liberty, next to religion has been the motive of good deeds and the common pretext of crime, from the sowing of the seed at Athens, 2,460 years ago, until the ripened harvest was gathered by men of our race
LORD ACTON

Ago Bad Common Crime Good Ignorance Liberty Men Next Pretext Seed Sow Strong Year
Though oppression may give rise to violent and repeated outbreaks, like the convulsions of a man in pain, it cannot mature a settled purpose and plan of regeneration, unless a new notion of happiness is joined to the sense of present evil.
LORD ACTON

Convulsion Evil Give Man Men Oppression Outbreak Pain Purpose Repeat Settle Violent
No public character has ever stood the revelation of private utterance and correspondence.
LORD ACTON

Character Correspondance Public Revelation Stood Utterance
Truth is the only merit that gives dignity and worth to history.
LORD ACTON

Dignity Giving History Merit Truth Worth
There are two things which cannot be attacked in front: ignorance and narrow-mindedness. They can only be shaken by the simple development of the contrary qualities. They will not bear discussion.
LORD ACTON

Attack Development Ignorance Mindedness Narrow Shaken Simple Thing Two
I cannot accept your canon that we are to judge Pope and King unlike other men, with a favorable presumption that they do no wrong.
LORD ACTON

Accept Do Favorable Judge King Men Pope Power Presumption Unlike Wrong

The finest opportunity ever given to the world was thrown away because the passion of equality made vain the hope for freedom.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

The finest opportunity ever given to the world was thrown away because the passion of equality made vain the hope for freedom.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

More Lord Acton Quotes