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Lord Acton

John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton, KCVO (10 January 1834 - 19 June 1902), commonly known as simply Lord Acton, was an English historian, the only son of Sir Ferdinand Dalberg-Acton, 7th Baronet and grandson of the Neapolitan admiral, Sir John Acton, 6th Baronet. He was born in Naples, Italy

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And remember, where you have a concentration of power in a few hands, all too frequently men with the mentality of gangstersget control. History has proven that. All power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely.

– Lord Acton

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By liberty I mean the assurance that every man shall be protected in doing what he believes is his duty against the influence of authority and majorities, custom and opinion.

– Lord Acton

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Everything secret degenerates, even the administration of justice; nothing is safe that does not show how it can bear discussion and publicity.

– Lord Acton

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I cannot accept, your canon that we are to judge pope and king unlike other men, with a favorable presumption that they do no wrong. If there is any presumption, it is the other way against holders of power. Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

– Lord Acton

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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, the minority can seldom resist. But from the absolute will of an entire people there is no appeal, no redemption, no refuge but treason.

– Lord Acton

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Learn as much by writing as by reading.

– Lord Acton

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Liberty is not a means to a higher political end. It is itself the highest political end.

– Lord Acton

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Opinions alter, manners change, creeds rise and fall, but the moral laws are written on the table of eternity.

– Lord Acton

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The danger is not that a particular class is unfit to govern. Every class is unfit to govern.

– Lord Acton

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The man who prefers his country before any other duty shows the same spirit as the man who surrenders every right to the state. They both deny that right is superior to authority.

– Lord Acton

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The most certain test by which we judge whether a country is really free is the amount of security enjoyed by minorities.

– Lord Acton

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