Great men are almost always bad men.
Lord ActonRead
History, to be above evasion or dispute, must stand on documents, not on opinions.
Interpretation
What this quote means
History should be based on factual evidence rather than subjective viewpoints.
Lord Acton's quote emphasizes the importance of relying on concrete documents and evidence to establish historical truths. It suggests that opinions can be misleading, and a sound understanding of history must be anchored in verifiable facts, thereby creating a more reliable narrative of past events.
Themes
HistoryDocumentsEvidenceTruthFacts
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a speech about the importance of historical research.
More from Lord Acton
All quotes βSave for the wild force of Nature, nothing moves in this world that is not Greek in its origin.
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Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
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Liberty and good government do not exclude each other; and there are excellent reasons why they should go together. Liberty is not a means to a higher political end. It is itself the highest political end.
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Liberty is not a means to a higher political end. It is itself the highest political end...liberty is the only object which benefits all alike, and provokes no sincere opposition...The danger is not that a particular class is unfit to govern. ~ Every class is unfit to govern ... Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men.
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Limitation is essential to authority. A government is legitimate only if it is effectively limited.
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