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Liberty is not a means to a higher political end. It is itself the highest political end.

Lord Acton

Before God, there is neither Greek nor barbarian, neither rich nor poor, and the slave is as good as his master, for by birth all men are free; they are citizens of the universal commonwealth which embraces all the world, brethren of one family, and children of God.
LORD ACTON

All Birth Children Citizen Country Free God Good Master Men Neither Poor Salve
Great men are almost always bad men.
LORD ACTON

Corrupt Great Men Power
The possession of unlimited power corrodes the conscience, hardens the heart, and confounds the understanding.
LORD ACTON

Atheism Confound Heart Possession Ultimate Understanding
In every age its progress has been beset by its natural enemies, by ignorance and superstition, by lust of conquest and by love of ease, by the strong man’s craving for power, and the poor man’s craving for food.
LORD ACTON

Age Best Conquest Crave Enemies Every Food Ignorance Man Poor Progress
Liberty is the prevention of control by others.
LORD ACTON

Control Liberty Other Prevention
When you perceive a truth, look for the balancing truth.
LORD ACTON

Balance Look Perceive Truth
Do not turn yourself from an end into a means-one does not justify the other.
LORD ACTON

Doe End Justify Mean Other
Political differences essentially depend on disagreement in moral principles.
LORD ACTON

Differences Disagreement Essential Moral Political Principles
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.
LORD ACTON

Gold Grainm Stream Knowledge Past Politics River Rivers Sand Science
There is not a more perilous or immoral habit of mind than the sanctifying of success.
LORD ACTON

Habit Mind More Perilous Sanctifying Succes
Be generous before you are just. Do not temper mercy with justice.
LORD ACTON

Before Generous Justice Mercy Temper
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.
LORD ACTON

Alike Almost Benefit Danger End Mne Object Particular Political
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
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
To develop and perfect and arm conscience is the great achievement of history.
LORD ACTON

Achievement Conscience Develop Great History Perfect
There is no worse heresy than that the office sanctifies the holder of it.
LORD ACTON

Corrupt Holder Office Political Power

Liberty is not a means to a higher political end. It is itself the highest political end.

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Liberty is not a means to a higher political end. It is itself the highest political end.

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