. It is the delicate fruit of a mature civilization; and scarcely a century has passed since nations, that knew the meaning of the term, resolved to be free.
LORD ACTONThe true guide of our conduct is no outward authority, but the voice of God, who comes down to dwell in our souls, who knows all our thoughts, to whom are owing all the truth we know, and all the good we do; for vice is voluntary, and virtue comes from the grace of the heavenly spirit within.
More Lord Acton Quotes
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Socialism easily accepts despotism. It requires the strongest execution of power — power sufficient to interfere with property.
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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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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.
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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.
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Political differences essentially depend on disagreement in moral principles.
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Monarchy hardens into despotism. Aristocracy contracts into oligarchy. Democracy expands into the supremacy of numbers.
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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.
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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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The finest opportunity ever given to the world was thrown away because the passion of equality made vain the hope for freedom.
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But when modern absolutism arose, it laid claim to everything on behalf of the sovereign power….
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Truth is the only merit that gives dignity and worth to history.
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A convinced man differs from a prejudiced man as an honest man from a liar.
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When you perceive a truth, look for the balancing truth.
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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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And remember, where you have a concentration of power in a few hands, all too frequently men with the mentality of gangsters get control. History has proven that.
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