John Acton Quotes

United Kingdom, Historian
January 10, 1834 – June, 19, 1902.

John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton, KCVO DL (10 January 1834 – 19 June 1902), was an English Catholic historian, politician, and writer. He was the only son of Sir Ferdinand Dalberg-Acton, 7th Baronet, and a grandson of the Neapolitan admiral and prime minister Sir John Acton, 6th Baronet. Between 1837 and 1869 he was known as Sir John Dalberg-Acton, 8th Baronet.

Also known as Politician, Writer

History provides neither compensation for suffering nor penalties for wrong.

John Acton
- History
- Suffering
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
- Country
- Mother
- Powerful

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
- Together
- Free
- Safety
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
- Time
- World
- Success
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
- Opinion
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
- People
- Power
- Hand
Liberty is the prevention of control by others.

John Acton
- Control
The greatest men, you can quote for everything.

John Acton
- Men

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

John Acton
- Country
- Free
- Judge
If the past has been an obstacle and a burden, knowledge of the past is the safest and the surest emancipation.

John Acton
- Past
- Knowledge