158 Quotes by Lord Acton

A people averse to the institution of private property is without the first elements of freedom.

Guard against the prestige of great names; see that your judgments are your own; and do not shrink from disagreement; no trusting without testing.

There is no error so monstrous that it fails to find defenders among the ablest men. Imagine a congress of eminent celebrities, such as More, Bacon, Grotius, Pascal, Cromwell, Bossuet, Montesquieu, Jefferson, Napoleon, Pitt, etc. The result would be an Encyclopedia of Error.

Liberty is not a means to a higher political end. It is itself the highest political end. It is not for the sake of a good public administration that it is required, but for the security in the pursuit of the highest objects of civil society, and of private life.

Advice to Persons About to Write History – Don’t.