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 ACTONFar from being the product of a democratic revolution and of an opposition to English institutions, the constitution of the United States was the result of a powerful reaction against democracy, and in favor of the traditions of the mother country.
More Lord Acton Quotes
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Great men are almost always bad men, even when they exercise influence and not authority…
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Liberty and good government do not exclude each other; and there are excellent reasons why they should go together.
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Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
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If the past has been an obstacle and a burden, knowledge of the past is the safest and the surest emancipation.
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From the absolute will of an entire people there is no appeal, no redemption, no refuge but treason.
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Opinions alter, manners change, creeds rise and fall, but the moral law is written on the tablets of eternity.
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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.
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The minority can seldom resist. But from the absolute will of an entire people there is no appeal, no redemption, no refuge but treason.
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Government rules the present. Literature rules the future.
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The strong man with the dagger is followed by the weak man with the sponge.
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Socialism means slavery.
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Character is tested by true sentiments more than by conduct. A man is seldom better than his word.
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There should be a law to the People besides its own will.
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When you perceive a truth, look for the balancing truth.
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Learn as much by writing as by reading.
LORD ACTON