Lord Acton ( 10 of 13 )
Look at a day when you are supremely satisfied at the end. It's not a day when you lounge around read more
Look at a day when you are supremely satisfied at the end. It's not a day when you lounge around doing nothing; it's when you've had everything to do, and you've done it.
The most certain test by which we judge whether a country is really free is the amount of security enjoyed read more
The most certain test by which we judge whether a country is really free is the amount of security enjoyed by minorities.
Opinions alter, manners change, creeds rise and fall, but the moral laws are written on the table of eternity.
Opinions alter, manners change, creeds rise and fall, but the moral laws are written on the table of eternity.
The danger is not that a particular class is unfit to govern. Every class is unfit to govern.
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.
Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
Liberty is not a means to a higher political end. It is itself the highest political end.
Liberty is not a means to a higher political end. It is itself the highest political end.
A wise person does at once, what a fool does at last. Both do the same thing; only at different read more
A wise person does at once, what a fool does at last. Both do the same thing; only at different times.
It is bad to be oppressed by a minority, but it is worse to be oppressed by a majority. For read more
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.
The man who prefers his country before any other duty shows the same spirit as the man who surrenders every read more
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.
Every thing secret degenerates, even the administration of justice; nothing is safe that does not show how it can bear read more
Every thing secret degenerates, even the administration of justice; nothing is safe that does not show how it can bear discussion and publicity.
