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 ACTONThe 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.
More Lord Acton Quotes
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Those who have more power are liable to sin more; no theorem in geometry is more certain than this.
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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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False principles, which correspond with the bad as well as with the just aspirations of mankind, are a normal and necessary element in the social life of nations.
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Monarchy hardens into despotism. Aristocracy contracts into oligarchy. Democracy expands into the supremacy of numbers.
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Liberty, next to religion has been the motive of good deeds and the common pretext of crime.
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Political differences essentially depend on disagreement in moral principles.
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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.
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If there is any presumption, it is the other way against holders of power…power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
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Men cannot be made good by the state, but they can easily be made bad. Morality depends on liberty.
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We are not sure we are right until we have made the best case possible for those who are wrong.
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Moral precepts are constant through the ages and not obedient to circumstances.
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The one pervading evil of democracy is the tyranny of the majority.
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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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A people averse to the institution of private property is without the first elements of freedom
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Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
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