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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 convinced man differs from a prejudiced man as an honest man from a liar.
LORD ACTON

Convince Differ Honest Liar Men
For centuries it was never discovered that education was a function of the State, and the State never attempted to educate.
LORD ACTON

Absolutism Attempt Century Children Discover Function Government Modern Opposite State
Every thing secret degenerates, even the administration of justice; nothing is safe that does not show how it can bear discussion and publicity.
LORD ACTON

Administration Different Discussion Justice Political Publicity Reality
Ink was not invented to express our real feelings.
LORD ACTON

Express Feeling Ink Inverted Real
Every class is unfit to govern.
LORD ACTON

Class Unfit
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
Do not turn yourself from an end into a means-one does not justify the other.
LORD ACTON

Doe End Justify Mean Other
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
I’m not a driven businessman, but a driven artist. I never think about money. Beautiful things make money.
LORD ACTON

Beautiful Business Funny Inspirational Money
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
The issue which has swept down the centuries and which will have to be fought sooner or later is the people versus the banks.
LORD ACTON

Bank Century Down Issue People Sooner Swept
Official truth is not actual truth.
LORD ACTON

Actually Official Truth
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
Great men are almost always bad men.
LORD ACTON

Corrupt Great Men Power
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
Opinions alter, manners change, creeds rise and fall, but the moral law is written on the tablets of eternity.
LORD ACTON

Change Creed Eternity Fail Fall Law Manner Moral Opinion Table Tablet

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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