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

Much Madness is divinest Sense —
To a discerning Eye —
Much Sense—the starkest Madness —
'Tis the Majority
In this, as All, prevail —
Assent—and you are sane —
Demur—you're straightway dangerous —
And handled with a Chain —

Emily Dickinson

More information about this quote
Topic
Majority opinions Thinking differently

Author

Emily Dickinson
Source
Much Madness Is Divinest Sense Poems
Medium
Poem
Statement Type
Paradox
Language
English
Time
1886 1880s 19th century
Authentication Score 3
Original Citation

Dickinson, Emily. "Much Madness Is Divinest Sense." Poems by Emily Dickinson. Boston: Roberts Brothers, 1890, I. 1.

Current Citation

Dickinson, Emily. "Much Madness Is Divinest Sense." Emily Dickinson’s Poems: As She Preserved Them, edited by Cristanne Miller. Belknap Press, 2016, I. 1.

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

I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.

Ecclesiastes 9:11

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Read this verse at Bible Hub
More information about this quote
Topic
Randomness Timing The human condition
Source
Ecclesiastes The Bible
Medium
Scripture
Genre
Religious literature
Statement Type
Proverbs, aphorisms and adages
Language
Hebrew
Time
931 BC 930s BC 10th century BC
Era
Classical antiquity
Authentication Score 3
Citation

The Holy Bible: The King James Version. 1611. (Ecclesiastes 9:11).