Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men.

Lord Acton

More information about this quote

Topic

Abuse of power Power Great men Corruption

Speaker

Lord Acton

Source

Letters of Lord Acton

Medium

Letter

Statement Type

Proverbs, aphorisms and adages

Language

English

Time

1887 1880s 19th century

Occupation

Politician Writer

From

United Kingdom Europe

Authentication Score 0

Citation

Lord Acton. Letter to Archbishop Mandell Creighton. 5 Apr. 1887.

Illustrated Quote

A quote by Lord Acton about abuse of power: “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men…”
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A quote by Lord Acton about abuse of power: “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men…”
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A quote by Lord Acton about abuse of power: “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men…”
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Related Quotes

Below are one or more quotes that share at least one tag with the quote at the top of the page

Another quote from the 1880s

One can live for years sometimes, without living at all, and then all life comes crowding into a single hour.

Oscar Wilde

More information about this quote
Topic
Life The human condition
Speaker
Ivan the Czar

Author

Oscar Wilde
Source
Vera, or The Nihilists
Medium
Play
Genre
Tragic play
Language
English
Time
1880 1880s 19th century
Authentication Score 2
Original Citation

Wilde, Oscar. Vera; or, The Nihilists. London: Ranken & Co., 1880, act 4.

Current Citation

Wilde, Oscar. "Vera; or, The Nihilists." The Complete Works of Oscar Wilde: Vera; or The Nihilist and Lady Windermere's Fan, edited by Josephine M. Guy. Vol. 11, Oxford University Press, 2021, act 4.

Another quote about Power

Every Communist must grasp the truth: "Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun."

Mao Zedong

Read this quote at marxists.org
More information about this quote
Topic
Power Political theory Politics
Speaker
Mao Zedong
Medium
Speech
Genre
Political speech
Language
Chinese
Time
1938 1930s 20th century
Authentication Score 2
Citation

Zedong, Mao. "Problems of War and Strategy." Sixth Plenary Session of the Sixth Central Committee of the Party. 6 Nov. 1938, Yan'an, China.

Another quote of the following type Proverbs, aphorisms and adages

All rising to great place is by a winding stair.

Francis Bacon

Buy Francis Bacon's Major Works at Amazon Buy Francis Bacon's Major Works at Amazon
Read Of Great Place at Project Gutenberg
More information about this quote
Topic
Road to success Success

Author

Francis Bacon
Source
Of Great Place Essays or Counsels, Civil and Moral
Medium
Essay
Statement Type
Proverbs, aphorisms and adages
Language
English
Time
1625 1620s 17th century
Era
European Renaissance
Authentication Score 2
Original Citation

Bacon, Francis "Of Great Place." Essayes or Counsels, Civill and Morall. London: John Haviland, 1625.

Current Citation

Bacon, Francis. "Essays, or Counsels, Civil and Moral (1625): Of Great Place." Francis Bacon: The Major Works, edited by Brian Vickers. Oxford University Press, 2008.