Lord Acton was a member of one of the few British families that remained Catholic throughout the years in which the Catholics were persecuted. He was a very wise man. Following are a few of his maxims. The first of which was directed mainly at the Pope, proving that even though he was a Papist he was one with the good sense to question things. The fact that maintained the conviction to remain Catholic despite both his doubts and the persecution is quite moving to me.
"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men."
"There is not a soul who does not have to beg alms of another, either a smile, a handshake, or a fond eye."
"The one pervading evil of democracy is the tyranny of the majority, or rather of that party, not always the majority, that succeeds, by force or fraud, in carrying elections."
"Be not content with the best book; seek sidelights from the others; have no favourites."
"[History is] not a burden on the memory but an illumination of the soul."
"And remember, where you have a concentration of power in a few hands, all too frequently men with the mentality of gangsters get control. History has proven that. All power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely."
"The issue which has swept down the centuries and which will have to be fought sooner or later is the people versus the banks."
