36 Quotes by John Dalberg-Acton

There is not a soul who does not have to beg alms of another, either a smile, a handshake, or a fond eye.

Property is not the sacred right. When a rich man becomes poor it is a misfortune, it is not a moral evil. When a poor man becomes destitute, it is a moral evil, teeming with consequences and injurious to society and morality.

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

The issue which has swept down the centuries and which will have to be fought sooner or later is the people versus the banks.

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

There are two things which cannot be attacked in front: ignorance and narrow-mindedness. They can only be shaken by the simple development of the contrary qualities. They will not bear discussion.

The danger is not that a particular class is unfit to govern: every class is unfit to govern.

If some great catastrophe is not announced every morning, we feel a certain void. Nothing in the paper today, we sigh.

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.