But when modern absolutism arose, it laid claim to everything on behalf of the sovereign power….
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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Live both in the future and the past. Who does not live in the past does not live in the future.
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The mills of God grind slowly.
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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.
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The one pervading evil of democracy is the tyranny of the majority.
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Political differences essentially depend on disagreement in moral principles.
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Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
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There should be a law to the People besides its own will.
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Every thing secret degenerates, even the administration of justice; nothing is safe that does not show how it can bear discussion and publicity.
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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…
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Authority that does not exist for Liberty is not authority but force.
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Limitation is essential to authority. A government is legitimate only if it is effectively limited.
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Official truth is not actual truth.
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Be generous before you are just. Do not temper mercy with justice.
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Monarchy hardens into despotism. Aristocracy contracts into oligarchy. Democracy expands into the supremacy of numbers.
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The danger is not that a particular class is unfit to govern: every class is unfit to govern.
LORD ACTON