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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.

Lord Acton

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Lord Acton
Lines
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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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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.
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It is easier to find people fit to govern themselves than people fit to govern others.
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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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History, to be above evasion or dispute, must stand on documents, not on opinions.
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Every error pronounces judgment on itself when it attempts to apply its rules to the standard of truth.
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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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Fanaticism displays itself in the masses but the masses were rarely fanaticised and the crimes ascribed to it were commonly due to the calculations of dispassionate politicians.
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The strong man with the dagger is followed by the weak man with the sponge.
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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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Federalism is the best curb on democracy. [It] assigns limited powers to the central government. Thereby all power is limited. It excludes absolute power of the majority.
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Truth is the only merit that gives dignity and worth to history.
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Remember that one touch of ill-nature makes the whole world kin.
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From the absolute will of an entire people there is no appeal, no redemption, no refuge but treason.
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Before men can find peace and harmony within themselves they must first fall in love with their country.
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Authority that does not exist for Liberty is not authority but force.
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The light that has guided us is still unquenched, and the causes that have carried us so far in the van of free nations have not spent their power because the story of the future is written in the past, and that which hath been is the same thing that shall be.
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Monarchy hardens into despotism. Aristocracy contracts into oligarchy. Democracy expands into the supremacy of numbers.
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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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Limitation is essential to authority. A government is legitimate only if it is effectively limited.
Lord Acton