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Authority that does not exist for Liberty is not authority but force.

Lord Acton

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Lord Acton
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More quotes by Lord Acton

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The wisdom of divine rule appears not in the perfection but in the improvement of the world... History is the true demonstration of Religion.
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The mills of God grind slowly.
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When you perceive a truth, look for the balancing truth.
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There is no error so monstrous that it fails to find defenders among the ablest men.
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The few have not strength to achieve great changes unaided the many have not wisdom to be moved by truth unmixed.
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Limitation is essential to authority. A government is legitimate only if it is effectively limited.
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Though oppression may give rise to violent and repeated outbreaks, like the convulsions of a man in pain, it cannot mature a settled purpose and plan of regeneration, unless a new notion of happiness is joined to the sense of present evil.
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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 gangsters get control. History has proven that.
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A government does not desire its powers to be strictly defined, but the subjects require the line to be drawn with increasing precision.
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The form of government and the condition of society must always correspond. Social equality is therefore a postulate of pure democracy.
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The strong man with the dagger is followed by the weak man with the sponge.
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The true guide of our conduct is no outward authority, but the voice of God, who comes down to dwell in our souls, who knows all our thoughts, to whom are owing all the truth we know, and all the good we do for vice is voluntary, and virtue comes from the grace of the heavenly spirit within.
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Many things are better for silence than for speech: others are better for speech than for stationery.
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The common vice of democracy is disregard for morality.
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Many men can no more be kept straight by spiritual motives than we can live without policemen.
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The one pervading evil of democracy is the tyranny of the majority.
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The passion for power over others can never cease to threaten mankind, and is always sure of finding new and unforseen allies in continuing its martyrology.
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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.
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There is not a soul who does not have to beg alms of another, either a smile, a handshake, or a fond eye.
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Socialism easily accepts despotism. It requires the strongest execution of power -- power sufficient to interfere with property.
Lord Acton