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Men cannot be made good by the state, but they can easily be made bad. Morality depends on liberty.

Lord Acton

A people averse to the institution of private property is without the first elements of freedom
LORD ACTON

Element First Freedom People Private Property
Men cannot be made good by the state, but they can easily be made bad. Morality depends on liberty.
LORD ACTON

Bad Easily Good Made Men State
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…
LORD ACTON

Benefit Class Higher Liberty Mean Men Political
Truth is the only merit that gives dignity and worth to history.
LORD ACTON

Dignity Giving History Merit Truth Worth
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
Learn as much by writing as by reading.
LORD ACTON

Learn Much Raed Reading Spiritual Writing
The passion for power over others can never cease to threaten mankind, and is always sure of finding new and unforseen allies in continuing its martyrology.
LORD ACTON

Allies Always Cease Continue Mankind Passion Power Sure Threaten Unforeseen
Far 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.
LORD ACTON

Constitution Country Institution Mother Powerful Product Result Revolution State
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
There are many things the government cant do, many good purposes it must renounce. It must leave them to the enterprise of others. It cannot feed the people. It cannot enrich the people. It cannot teach the people. It cannot convert the people.
LORD ACTON

Enterprise Good Government Leave Many People Purpose Renounce
Liberty has not only enemies which it conquers, but perfidious friends, who rob the fruits of its victories: Absolute democracy, socialism.
LORD ACTON

Democracy Enemy Friend Fruit Liberty Socialism Victory
Great men are almost always bad men, even when they exercise influence and not authority: still more when you superadd the tendency or the certainty of corruption by authority.
LORD ACTON

Almost Always Authority Great Influence Men Stillmore
Ink was not invented to express our real feelings.
LORD ACTON

Express Feeling Ink Inverted Real
No public character has ever stood the revelation of private utterance and correspondence.
LORD ACTON

Character Correspondance Public Revelation Stood Utterance
When you perceive a truth, look for the balancing truth.
LORD ACTON

Balance Look Perceive Truth
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

Men cannot be made good by the state, but they can easily be made bad. Morality depends on liberty.

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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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Popular Authors

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