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Be generous before you are just. Do not temper mercy with justice.

Lord Acton

In every age its (liberty’s) 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

Ignorance Liberty Progress Strong Superstition Wisdom
A convinced man differs from a prejudiced man as an honest man from a liar.
LORD ACTON

Convince Differ Honest Liar Men
A liberal is only a bundle of prejudices until he has mastered, has understood, experienced the philosophy of Conservatism.
LORD ACTON

Bundles Experience Master Philosophy Prejudice Understand
History is not a burden on the memory but an illumination of the soul.
LORD ACTON

Burden History Illumination Memories Soul
It is bad to be oppressed by a minority, but it is worse to be oppressed by a majority. For there is a reserve of latent power in the masses which, if it is called into play.
LORD ACTON

Majority Minorities Oppressed People Play Worse
Fanaticism in religion is the alliance of the passions she condemns with the dogmas she professes.
LORD ACTON

Alliances Dogma Fanaticism Passion Professes Religious
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
At all times sincere friends of freedom have been rare, and its triumphs have been due to minorities.
LORD ACTON

Country Friend Liberty Minorities People Time Triumph
A generous spirit prefers that his country should be poor, and weak, and of no account, but free, rather than powerful, prosperous, and enslaved.
LORD ACTON

Account Country Ensalve Generous Powerful Spirit
Feudalism made land the measure and the master of all things.
LORD ACTON

Feudalism Land Made Master Measure Real
Despotic power is always accompanied by corruption of morality.
LORD ACTON

Always Corruption Despotic Morality Power
When the revolutionary theory of government began to prevail, and Church and State found that they were educating for opposite ends and in a contradictory spirit, it became necessary to remove children entirely from the influence of religion.
LORD ACTON

Children Church Educate Entire Necessary Opposite Religion Remove State
Liberty is not the power of doing what we like, but the right of being able to do what we ought.
LORD ACTON

Able Being Do Liberty Ought Power Right
Every class is unfit to govern.
LORD ACTON

Class Unfit
Democracy generally monopolizes and concentrates power.
LORD ACTON

Concentration Democracy Generally Monopolize Power
If there is any presumption, it is the other way against holders of power…power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
LORD ACTON

Absolute Corrupt Other Power Presumption Tend

Be generous before you are just. Do not temper mercy with justice.

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Be generous before you are just. Do not temper mercy with justice.

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