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John Acton

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John Acton

Born: January 10, 1834

Died: June 19, 1902

Nationality: English

Occupation: Historian

Biography: John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton, known as Sir John Dalberg-Acton, and usually referred to simply as Lord Acton, was an English Catholic historian, politician, and writer.

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John Acton

“By a series of violent shocks, the nations in succession have struggled to shake off the Past, to reverse the action of Time and the verdict of success, and to rescue the world from the reign of the dead.”

- John Acton

Source/Notes: Renaissance to Revolution: the rise of the free state, lectures on modern history (1961 edition)

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John Acton

“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.”

- John Acton

Source/Notes: Essays on freedom and power: Selected, and with a new introduction (1964 edition)

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John Acton

“Far from being the product of a democratic revolution and of an opposition to English institutions, the constitution of the United States was the result of a powerful reaction against democracy, and in favor of the traditions of the mother country.”

- John Acton

Source/Notes: Essays on freedom and power: Selected, and with a new introduction (1964 edition)

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John Acton

“History provides neither compensation for suffering nor penalties for wrong.”

- John Acton

Source/Notes: Essays in the study and writing of history (1986 edition), Liberty Fund Inc.

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John Acton

“If the past has been an obstacle and a burden, knowledge of the past is the safest and the surest emancipation.”

- John Acton

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John Acton

“Liberty is the condition of duty, the guardian of conscience. It grows as conscience grows. The domains of both grow together. Liberty is safety from all hindrances, even sin. So that Liberty ends by being Free Will.”

- John Acton

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John Acton

“Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

- John Acton

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John Acton

“The fate of every democracy, of every government based on the sovereignty of the people, depends on the choices it makes between these opposite principles, absolute power on the one hand, and on the other the restraints of legality and the authority of tradition.”

- John Acton

Source/Notes: Essays on freedom and power: Selected, and with a new introduction (1964 edition)

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John Acton

“The greatest men, you can quote for everything.”

- John Acton

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John Acton

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

- John Acton

Source/Notes: Essays on freedom and power: Selected, and with a new introduction (1964 edition)

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John Acton

“A wise person does at once, what a fool does at last. Both do the same thing; only at different times.”

- John Acton

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John Acton

“And remember, where you have a concentration of power in a few hands, all too frequently men with the mentality of gangsters get control. History has proven that.”

- John Acton

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John Acton

“Be not content with the best book; seek sidelights from the others; have no favourites.”

- John Acton

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John Acton

“History is not a burden on the memory but an illumination of the soul.”

- John Acton

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