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Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Lord Acton

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
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
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
There should be a law to the People besides its own will.
LORD ACTON

Besides Law Own People Will
Despotic power is always accompanied by corruption of morality.
LORD ACTON

Always Corruption Despotic Morality Power
Be generous before you are just. Do not temper mercy with justice.
LORD ACTON

Before Generous Justice Mercy Temper
There is not a more perilous or immoral habit of mind than the sanctifying of success.
LORD ACTON

Habit Mind More Perilous Sanctifying Succes
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.
LORD ACTON

Alike Almost Benefit Danger End Mne Object Particular Political
Socialism easily accepts despotism. It requires the strongest execution of power — power sufficient to interfere with property.
LORD ACTON

Accepting Deposition Execution Power Requires Socialism Strongest Sufficient
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
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
Political differences essentially depend on disagreement in moral principles.
LORD ACTON

Differences Disagreement Essential Moral Political Principles
At all times sincere friends of freedom have been rare, and its triumphs have been due to minorities, that have prevailed by associating themselves with auxiliaries whose objects often differed from their own; and this association, which is always dangerous, has sometimes been disastrous.
LORD ACTON

Associate Association Country Friend Minorities Person Racem People Sincere Themselves Time Triumph
Every class is unfit to govern.
LORD ACTON

Class Unfit
The one pervading evil of democracy is the tyranny of the majority, or rather of that party, not always the majority, that succeeds, by force or fraud, in carrying elections.
LORD ACTON

Democracies Force Fraud Majority Party Prevaiding Rule Succeed Tyranny

Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

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Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

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