Famous Lord Acton Quote 

"I cannot accept, your canon that
we are to judge pope and king unlike other men,
with a favorable presumption that they do no wrong.
If there is any presumption, it is the other way against holders of power ...
Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. 

by:
Lord Acton
[John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton] (1834-1902), First Baron Acton of Aldenham
Source:
to the bishop of London, 1887
Categories:
 
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Reader comments about this quote:
Have heard the last line all my life.
 -- warren, olathe		 
Leaders should not gain the trust of the people because of the office they inherit.
 -- JoW, Utah		 
Lord Acton is not quite right. Power does not corrupt, greed corrupts. Greed is the force and Power is the lever for action in the direction Greed demands. Typically, Greed x Power = Cruelty ( a corruption of our humaneness). Mahatma Gandhi had tremendous power, or rather spiritual force, to move millions of Hindus and Muslims against the British, but he had no greed, so that his equation became Justice x Power = Freedom, with compassion for the 'enemy' British. The assassination of Gandhi and partition of India loosed the lunatics on both sides. 'Oh what fools we mortals be.'
 -- FamouslyUnknown, Hackensack NJ		 
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