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From the absolute will of an entire people there is no appeal, no redemption, no refuge but treason.

Lord Acton

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
Feudalism made land the measure and the master of all things.
LORD ACTON

Feudalism Land Made Master Measure Real
History, to be above evasion or dispute, must stand on documents, not on opinions.
LORD ACTON

Disputes Document Evasion History Opinion Stand
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
The common vice of democracy is disregard for morality.
LORD ACTON

Common Democracy Morality Vice Vices
Fanaticism in religion is the alliance of the passions she condemns with the dogmas she professes.
LORD ACTON

Alliances Dogma Fanaticism Passion Professes Religious
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
If some great catastrophe is not announced every morning, we feel a certain void. Nothing in the paper today, we sigh.
LORD ACTON

Anxiety Generous Morning Nothing Today Paper
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
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
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
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
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
It is easier to find people fit to govern themselves than people fit to govern others.
LORD ACTON

Easier Find Fit Govern People Themselves
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
There are two things which cannot be attacked in front: ignorance and narrow-mindedness. They can only be shaken by the simple development of the contrary qualities. They will not bear discussion.
LORD ACTON

Attack Development Ignorance Mindedness Narrow Shaken Simple Thing Two
The true natural check on absolute democracy is the federal system, which limits the central government by the powers reserved, and the state governments by the powers they have ceded.
LORD ACTON

Bnaturem Check Central Democracy Government Limit Power Reserve Stage True
A convinced man differs from a prejudiced man as an honest man from a liar.
LORD ACTON

Convince Differ Honest Liar Men
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
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
History is not a burden on the memory but an illumination of the soul.
LORD ACTON

Burden History Illumination Memories Soul
Liberty and good government do not exclude each other; and there are excellent reasons why they should go together.
LORD ACTON

Emna Excellent Good Government Higher Mean Political Reason Together
Socialism means slavery.
LORD ACTON

Mean Slavery Socialism
History provides neither compensation for suffering nor penalties for wrong.
LORD ACTON

Compensation History Penalties Provide Suffering
The danger is not that a particular class is unfit to govern: every class is unfit to govern.
LORD ACTON

Clas Class Danger Every Govern Particular Unfit
The one pervading evil of democracy is the tyranny of the majority.
LORD ACTON

Democracy Evil Majority One Pervaide Tyranny
Be not content with the best book; seek sidelights from the others; have no favourites.
LORD ACTON

Best Book Content Delight Favorite Other Seek Sidelight

From the absolute will of an entire people there is no appeal, no redemption, no refuge but treason.

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From the absolute will of an entire people there is no appeal, no redemption, no refuge but treason.

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