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Lord Acton

When the last of the Reformers died, religion, instead of emancipating the nations, had become an excuse for the criminal art of despots. Calvin preached, and Bellarmine lectured; but Machiavelli reigned.
LORD ACTON

Art Criminal Despot Die Emancipate Excuse Last Nation Preacher Reformer
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
Great men are almost always bad men.
LORD ACTON

Corrupt Great Men Power
There is no worse heresy than that the office sanctifies the holder of it.
LORD ACTON

Corrupt Holder Office Political Power
Liberty, next to religion has been the motive of good deeds and the common pretext of crime.
LORD ACTON

Common Crime Deed Good Liberty Motive Next
But when modern absolutism arose, it laid claim to everything on behalf of the sovereign power….
LORD ACTON

Absolutism Behalf Claim Everything Laid Modern Power Sovereign
Judge talent at its best and character at its worst.
LORD ACTON

Character Judging Talent Worst
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
History is not a burden on the memory but an illumination of the soul.
LORD ACTON

Burden History Illumination Memories Soul
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
I have reached the end of my time, and have hardly come to the beginning of my task.
LORD ACTON

Begining Come End Hardly Task Time
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
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
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
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
Federalism is the best curb on democracy. [It] assigns limited powers to the central government. Thereby all power is limited. It excludes absolute power of the majority.
LORD ACTON

Assign Best Central Club Democracy Federalism Government Power

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