{"id":3237,"date":"2015-11-15T01:20:04","date_gmt":"2015-11-15T01:20:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/repeatright.com\/engine\/?p=3237"},"modified":"2018-10-07T17:57:18","modified_gmt":"2018-10-07T17:57:18","slug":"acton-john-dalberg","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.repeatright.com\/engine\/acton-john-dalberg\/","title":{"rendered":"ACTON, John Dalberg"},"content":{"rendered":"
[vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1453315804311{margin-top: -40px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;}”][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_tta_tabs style=”modern” shape=”square” active_section=”1″][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-book” add_icon=”true” title=”Citation” tab_id=”1449531588223-e020d87d-f7dd094f-cf6367d0-6d70″][vc_column_text css_animation=”none”]\n

\u201cCharacter is tested by true sentiments more than by conduct. A man is seldom better than his word.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

~John Dalberg Acton (Lord Acton)<\/b>, English historian<\/p>\n

Letter to Bishop Mandell Creighton (5 April 1887) Postscript, included as part of a list titled \u201cAdvice to Persons About to Write History \u2013 Don\u2019t,\u201d in John\u00a0<\/em>Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton, Historical Essays and Studies,<\/em> ed. John Figgis & Reginald Laurence, London: Macmillan & Co., Appendix, 1907 edition, p. 506; online via Saint Mary\u2019s College of California, National Institute for Newman Studies & Internet Archive, www.archive.org<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p><\/blockquote>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-plus-circle” add_icon=”true” title=”Context” tab_id=”1449531588755-96303790-852e094f-cf6367d0-6d70″][vc_column_text css_animation=”none”]Extended excerpt<\/em><\/strong>: [Letter to friend & fellow historian Mandell Creighton]\n

\u201cCharacter is tested by true sentiments more than by conduct. A man is seldom better than his word. History is better written from letters than from histories; let a man criminate himself.\u201d (p. 506)
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

Source note<\/em><\/strong>: The Lord Acton & Bishop Creighton letters were donated by Creighton\u2019s wife and added to the appendix of Acton\u2019s Historical Essays & Studies<\/em> following the author\u2019s death in 1902. Mandell Creighton (1843-1901) was a fellow historian, Cambridge University professor, education advocate, and bishop in the Church of England.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-search” add_icon=”true” title=”Source Link” tab_id=”1449531589797-29580b31-8c50094f-cf6367d0-6d70″][vc_column_text css_animation=”none”]Source link<\/em><\/strong><\/span>: John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton, Historical Essays and Studies<\/em> (1907 Macmillan & Co. edition) online via Internet Archive: https:\/\/archive.org\/stream\/a544621300actouoft#page\/n521\/mode\/2up<\/a><\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][\/vc_tta_tabs][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_tta_tabs style=”modern” shape=”square” active_section=”1″][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-book” add_icon=”true” title=”Citation” tab_id=”1453315829087-ce67c619-0fbc67d0-6d70″][vc_column_text css_animation=”none”]\n

\u201cEverything secret degenerates, even the administration of justice; nothing is safe that does not show how it can bear discussion and publicity.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

~John Dalberg Acton (Lord Acton)<\/b>, English historian<\/p>\n

Letter to Richard Simpson (23 January 1861) in Lord\u00a0<\/em>Acton and His Circle<\/em>, ed. Abbot Gasquet, New York: Longmans, Green & Co., 1906, Letter LXXIV (74),\u00a0<\/span>166; online via Google Books, books.google.com<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p><\/blockquote>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-plus-circle” add_icon=”true” title=”Context” tab_id=”1453315829475-7c82a017-1e6267d0-6d70″][vc_column_text css_animation=”none”]Extended excerpt<\/em><\/strong>: [Letter to Richard Simpson. \u2018Every thing\u2019 is two words in Acton\u2019s original text] \u201c[I]t must be established that all questions of this kind, not exclusively ecclesiastical, but social and interesting to all alike, require ventilation (1) for the enlightenment of those whose business practically it is to decide about them; (2) for the satisfaction of others and for inspiring them with confidence, giving security, etc.<\/p>\n

Every thing secret degenerates, even the administration of justice; nothing is safe that does not show how it can bear discussion and publicity. The Church especially has been in the habit of appealing to the sense of the masses, to public opinion, as she is founded on conscience.\u201d<\/p>\n

Source context note<\/em><\/strong>: Richard Simpson was an editor and Acton a writer for The Rambler<\/em>, a Catholic magazine. When the Rambler closed shop, the two founded Home and Foreign Review<\/em>. The new magazine had a\u00a0Catholic foundation but focused on broader content in economics, law, philosophy and science.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-search” add_icon=”true” title=”Source Link” tab_id=”1453315829682-63e8fade-cf4c67d0-6d70″][vc_column_text css_animation=”none”]Source link<\/em><\/strong>:\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Lord Acton and His Circle<\/em> (Acton\u2019s Letter 23 Jan. 1861 | Text 1906) online via Google Books: https:\/\/books.google.com\/books?id=kTc_AAAAYAAJ&pg=PA166&dq=Lord+Acton+and+His+Circle+%2B+Everything+secret+degenerates,+even+the+administration<\/a>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][\/vc_tta_tabs][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1453316221301{margin-top: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;}”][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_tta_tabs style=”modern” shape=”square” active_section=”1″][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-book” add_icon=”true” title=”Citation” tab_id=”1453315828001-b5e2e52e-ea1e67d0-6d70″][vc_column_text css_animation=”none”]\n

\u201cLiberty, next to religion, has been the motive of good deeds and the common pretext of crime.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

~John Dalberg Acton (Lord Acton)<\/b>, English historian<\/p>\n

\u201cThe History of Freedom in Antiquity\u201d (26 February 1877) Address to Bridgnorth Institute members, Agricultural Hall, text in The History of <\/em>Freedom and Other Essays<\/em>, eds. John Figgis & Reginald Laurence, London: Macmillan & Co., 1907, p. 1; online via Google Books, books.google.com<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p><\/blockquote>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-plus-circle” add_icon=”true” title=”Context” tab_id=”1453315828385-86abfac4-79bf67d0-6d70″][vc_column_text css_animation=”none”]Extended excerpt<\/em><\/strong>: [Speech\/essay] \u201cLiberty, next to religion, has been the motive of good deeds and the common pretext of crime, from the sowing of the seed at Athens, two thousand four hundred and sixty years ago, until the ripened harvest was gathered by men of our race.\u201d (p. 1)[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-search” add_icon=”true” title=”Source Link” tab_id=”1453315828572-dac97b48-68e067d0-6d70″][vc_column_text css_animation=”none”]Source link<\/strong>:\u00a0<\/span><\/span>The History of Freedom and Other Essays<\/em> (Acton speech 26 February 1877 |volume 1907 ) online via Google Books: https:\/\/books.google.com\/books?id=F38MAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA1&dq=The+history+of+freedom+and+other+essays+%2B+berty,+next+to+religion,+has+been+the+motive+of+good+deeds<\/a>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][\/vc_tta_tabs][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_tta_tabs style=”modern” shape=”square” active_section=”1″][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-book” add_icon=”true” title=”Citation” tab_id=”1449531591105-7edf5f39-feaa094f-cf6367d0-6d70″][vc_column_text css_animation=”none”]\n

\u201cPower tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

~John Dalberg Acton (Lord Acton)<\/b>, English historian<\/p>\n

Letter to Church of England Archbishop Mandell Creighton (5 April 1887) in Life and Letters of Mandell Creighton<\/em>, D.D. Oxon. And Cam., ed. Louise Creighton, Vol. I, London: Longmans, Green & Co., p. 372; online via Google Books, books.google.com<\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-ban” add_icon=”true” title=”Misquotes” tab_id=”1449531592148-05fdd3db-5676094f-cf6367d0-6d70″][vc_column_text css_animation=”none”]Misquote note<\/em><\/strong><\/span>: Some sources requote Acton but leave out the key word \u201ctends\u201d:<\/p>\n

Acton said: \u201cPower tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely<\/span>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Acton did not<\/u> say: \u201cPower corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely<\/strong><\/span>.\u201d<\/p>\n

In Acton\u2019s writing, he favorably credited politicians like George Washington who thoughtfully abided by the legal and ethical limitations to their positions of power. By leaving out the word \u201ctends\u201d when Acton is quoted, people change the meaning & intent of his sentence by making the statement an absolute.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-plus-circle” add_icon=”true” title=”Context” tab_id=”1449531591631-43861bc7-da28094f-cf6367d0-6d70″][vc_column_text css_animation=”none”]Extended excerpt<\/em><\/strong>: [Letter to friend & fellow historian Mandell Creighton]\n

\u201cI cannot accept your canon that we are to judge Pope and King unlike other men, with a favoured presumption, it is the other way, against holders of power, increasing as the power increases. Historic responsibility has to make up for the want of legal responsibility. Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.\u201d (p. 372)<\/p>\n

Source note<\/em><\/strong>: The Lord Acton & Bishop Creighton letters donated by Creighton\u2019s wife and added to the appendix of Acton\u2019s Historical Essays & Studies<\/em> following the author\u2019s death in 1902. Mandell Creighton (1843-1901) was a fellow historian, Cambridge University professor, education advocate, and bishop in the Church of England.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-search” add_icon=”true” title=”Source Link” tab_id=”1449531592891-f39e055b-a66e094f-cf6367d0-6d70″][vc_column_text css_animation=”none”]Source link<\/strong>:\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/em>Life and Letters of Mandell Creighton<\/em> (5 April 1887) online via Google Books: https:\/\/books.google.com\/books?id=QH8_AAAAYAAJ&pg=PA372&dq=Life+and+Letters+of+Mandell+Creighton+%2B+Power+tends+to+corrupt+and+absolute+power<\/a><\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][\/vc_tta_tabs][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1453316221301{margin-top: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;}”][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_tta_tabs style=”modern” shape=”square” active_section=”1″][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-book” add_icon=”true” title=”Citation” tab_id=”1453315828001-b5e2e52e-ea1e67d0-6d70″][vc_column_text css_animation=”none”]\n

\u201cThe bonds of class are stronger than those of nationality.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

~John Dalberg Acton (Lord Acton)<\/b>, English historian<\/p>\n

\u201cPolitical Causes of the American Revolution\u201d (May\u00a01861) The Rambler<\/em>, New Series, Part XIII; reprint in Essays on Freedom and Power<\/em>, 1948, ed. Gertrude Himmelfarb, New York: Meridian Books, November 1960 [fifth Meridian edition], p. 224; online via Open Library [free subscription service] www.openlibrary.org<\/a><\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-plus-circle” add_icon=”true” title=”Context” tab_id=”1453315828385-86abfac4-79bf67d0-6d70″][vc_column_text css_animation=”none”]Extended excerpt<\/em><\/strong>: [Essay] \u201cWhere there is an aristocracy it has generally more sympathy and connection with foreign aristocracies than with the rest of the nation. The bonds of class are stronger than those of nationality. A democracy, in abolishing classes, renders national unity imperative.\u201d (p. 224)[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-search” add_icon=”true” title=”Source Link” tab_id=”1453315828572-dac97b48-68e067d0-6d70″][vc_column_text css_animation=”none”]Source link<\/strong>:<\/span><\/span><\/em> Essays on Freedom and Power<\/em> (1948|November 1960 Meridian edition) online via Internet Archive: https:\/\/archive.org\/stream\/essaysonfreedomp00acto#page\/224\/mode\/2up\/search\/bonds+of+class<\/a>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][\/vc_tta_tabs][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_tta_tabs style=”modern” shape=”square” active_section=”1″][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-book” add_icon=”true” title=”Citation” tab_id=”1449531591105-7edf5f39-feaa094f-cf6367d0-6d70″][vc_column_text css_animation=”none”]\n

\u201cThe danger is not that a particular class is unfit to govern. Every class is unfit to govern. The law of liberty tends to abolish the reign of race over race, of faith over faith, of class over class.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

~John Dalberg Acton (Lord Acton)<\/b>, English historian<\/p>\n

Letter to Mary Gladstone (24 April 1881) Letters to\u00a0<\/em>Lord Acton to Mary, Daughter of the Right Hon. W.E. Gladstone<\/em>, ed. Herbert Paul, London: George Allen, 1904, p. 93; online via Google Books, books.google.com<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p><\/blockquote>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-plus-circle” add_icon=”true” title=”Context” tab_id=”1449531591631-43861bc7-da28094f-cf6367d0-6d70″][vc_column_text css_animation=”none”]Extended excerpt<\/em><\/strong>: [Letter to Mary Gladstone. Spelling as it appears in cited source.]\n

\u201cThe fact is that education, intelligence, wealth are a security against certain faults of conduct, no against errors of policy. There is no error so monstrous that it fails to find defenders among the ablest men. Imagine a congress of eminent celebrities, such as More, Bacon, Grotius, Pascal, Cromwell, Bossuet, Montesquieu, Jefferson, Napoleon, Pitt, &c. The result would be an Encyclop\u00e6dia of Error. They would assert Slavery, Socialism, Persecution, Divine Right, military despotism, the reign of force, the supremacy of the executive over legislation and justice, purchase of the magistracy, the abolition of credit, the limitation of laws to nineteen years, &c. If you were to read Walter Scott\u2019s pamphlets, Southey\u2019s Colloquies, Ellenborough\u2019s Diary,Wellington\u2019s Despatches \u2013 distrust of the select few, of the chosen leaders of the community, would displace the dread of the masses. The danger is not that a particular class is unfit to govern. Every class is unfit to govern. The law of liberty tends to abolish the reign of race over race, of faith over faith, of class over class. It is not the realisation of a political ideal: it is the discharge of a moral obligation.\u201d (p. 93)[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-search” add_icon=”true” title=”Source Link” tab_id=”1449531592891-f39e055b-a66e094f-cf6367d0-6d70″][vc_column_text css_animation=”none”]Source link<\/strong>: Letters to Lord Acton to Mary, Daughter of the Right Hon. W.E. Gladstone (1904) online via Google Books: https:\/\/books.google.com\/books?id=dHErAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA93&dq=There+is+no+error+so+monstrous+that+it+fails+to+find+defenders+among+the+ablest+men<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][\/vc_tta_tabs][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1453316221301{margin-top: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;}”][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_tta_tabs style=”modern” shape=”square” active_section=”1″][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-book” add_icon=”true” title=”Citation” tab_id=”1453315828001-b5e2e52e-ea1e67d0-6d70″][vc_column_text css_animation=”none”]\n

\u00a0\u201cThe most certain test by which we judge whether a country is really free is the amount of security enjoyed by minorities.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

~John Dalberg Acton (Lord Acton)<\/b>, English historian<\/p>\n

\u201cThe History of Freedom in Antiquity\u201d (26 February 1877) Bridgnorth Institute lecture, Shropshire, England; reprint in Essays on Freedom and Power<\/em>, 1948, ed. Gertrude Himmelfarb, New York: Meridian Books, November 1960 [fifth Meridian edition], p. 224; online via Open Library [free subscription service] www.openlibrary.org<\/a><\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-plus-circle” add_icon=”true” title=”Context” tab_id=”1453315828385-86abfac4-79bf67d0-6d70″][vc_column_text css_animation=”none”]Extended excerpt<\/em><\/strong>: [Lecture delivered at the Bridgnorth Institute]\n

\u201cThe most certain test by which we judge whether a country is really free is the amount of security enjoyed by minorities. Liberty, by this definition, is the essential condition and guardian of religion; and it is in the history of the Chosen People, accordingly, that the first illustrations of my subject are obtained.\u201d (p. 224)[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-search” add_icon=”true” title=”Source Link” tab_id=”1453315828572-dac97b48-68e067d0-6d70″][vc_column_text css_animation=”none”]Source link<\/strong>:<\/span><\/span><\/em> Essays on Freedom and Power<\/em> (1948|November 1960 Meridian edition) online via Internet Archive: https:\/\/archive.org\/stream\/essaysonfreedomp00acto#page\/56\/mode\/2up\/search\/most+certain+test <\/a>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][\/vc_tta_tabs][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_tta_tabs style=”modern” shape=”square” active_section=”1″][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-book” add_icon=”true” title=”Citation” tab_id=”1449531591105-7edf5f39-feaa094f-cf6367d0-6d70″][vc_column_text css_animation=”none”]\n

\u201cThere are two things which cannot be attacked in front: ignorance and narrow-mindedness. They can only be shaken by the simple development of contrary qualities. They will not bear discussion.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

~John Dalberg Acton (Lord Acton)<\/b>, English historian<\/p>\n

Letter to Richard Simpson (23 January 1861) in Lord\u00a0<\/em>Acton and His Circle<\/em>, ed. Abbot Gasquet, New York: Longmans, Green & Co., 1906, Letter LXXIV (74),\u00a0<\/span>169; online via Google Books, books.google.com<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-plus-circle” add_icon=”true” title=”Context” tab_id=”1449531591631-43861bc7-da28094f-cf6367d0-6d70″][vc_column_text css_animation=”none”]Extended excerpt<\/em><\/strong>: [Letter to Richard Simpson]\n

\u201cNewman never said a truer word than when he said that if we carefully define our views, controversy will generally become hopeless and superfluous. There are two things which cannot be attacked in front: ignorance and narrow-mindedness. They can only be shaken by the simple development of the contrary qualities. They will not bear discussion. I cannot see that Ward\u2019s view is susceptible of discussion, or that his argument is fit to be seriously treated in the Rambler<\/em>. (pp. 168-169)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Source context note<\/em><\/strong>: Richard Simpson was an editor and Acton a writer for The Rambler<\/em>, a Catholic magazine. When the Rambler closed shop, the two founded Home and Foreign Review<\/em>. The new magazine had a\u00a0Catholic foundation but focused on broader content in economics, law, philosophy and science.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-search” add_icon=”true” title=”Source Link” tab_id=”1449531592891-f39e055b-a66e094f-cf6367d0-6d70″][vc_column_text css_animation=”none”]Source link<\/strong>:<\/span><\/span><\/em> Lord Acton and His Circle<\/em> (Acton\u2019s Letter 23 Jan. 1861 | Text 1906) online via Google Books: https:\/\/books.google.com\/books?id=kTc_AAAAYAAJ&pg=PA166&dq=Lord+Acton+and+His+Circle+%2B+Everything+secret+degenerates,+even+the+administration+of+justice<\/a><\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][\/vc_tta_tabs][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1453316221301{margin-top: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;}”][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_tta_tabs style=”modern” shape=”square” active_section=”1″][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-book” add_icon=”true” title=”Citation” tab_id=”1453315828001-b5e2e52e-ea1e67d0-6d70″][vc_column_text css_animation=”none”]\n

\u201cThere is no error so monstrous that it fails to find defenders among the ablest men.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

~John Dalberg Acton (Lord Acton)<\/b>, English historian<\/p>\n

Letter to Mary Gladstone (24 April 1881) Letters to\u00a0<\/em>Lord Acton to Mary, Daughter of the Right Hon. W.E. Gladstone<\/em>, ed. Herbert Paul, London: George Allen, 1904, p. 93; online via Google Books, books.google.com<\/a><\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-plus-circle” add_icon=”true” title=”Context” tab_id=”1453315828385-86abfac4-79bf67d0-6d70″][vc_column_text css_animation=”none”]Extended excerpt<\/em><\/strong>: [Letter to Mary Gladstone]\n

\u201cThe fact is that education, intelligence, wealth are a security against certain faults of conduct, no against errors of policy. There is no error so monstrous that it fails to find defenders among the ablest men<\/strong>. Imagine a congress of eminent celebrities, such as More, Bacon, Grotius, Pascal, Cromwell, Bossuet, Montesquieu, Jefferson, Napoleon, Pitt, &c. The result would be an Encyclop\u00e6dia of Error. They would assert Slavery, Socialism, Persecution, Divine Right, military despotism, the reign of force, the supremacy of the executive over legislation and justice, purchase of the magistracy, the abolition of credit, the limitation of laws to nineteen years, &c. If you were to read Walter Scott\u2019s pamphlets, Southey\u2019s Colloquies, Ellenborough\u2019s Diary, Wellington\u2019s Despatches \u2013 distrust of the select few, of the chosen leaders of the community, would displace the dread of the masses. The danger is not that a particular class is unfit to govern. Every class is unfit to govern. The law of liberty tends to abolish the reign of race over race, of faith over faith, of class over class. It is not the realisation of a political ideal: it is the discharge of a moral obligation.\u201d (p. 93)[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-search” add_icon=”true” title=”Source Link” tab_id=”1453315828572-dac97b48-68e067d0-6d70″][vc_column_text css_animation=”none”]Source link<\/strong>: Letters to Lord Acton to Mary, Daughter of the Right Hon. W.E. Gladstone (1904) online via Google Books:\u00a0https:\/\/books.google.com\/books?id=dHErAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA93&dq=There+is+no+error+so+monstrous+that+it+fails+to+find+defenders+among+the+ablest+men<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/em>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][\/vc_tta_tabs][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_tta_tabs style=”modern” shape=”square” active_section=”1″][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-book” add_icon=”true” title=”Citation” tab_id=”1449531591105-7edf5f39-feaa094f-cf6367d0-6d70″][vc_column_text css_animation=”none”]\n

\u201cT<\/strong>ruth is the only merit that gives dignity and worth to history.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

~John Dalberg Acton (Lord Acton)<\/b>, English historian<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Massacre of St Bartholomew\u201d (October 1869) The North British Review<\/em>, Vol. 51, Article II, p. 38; in volume The North British Review<\/em> October 1869-1870<\/em>, Vol. 50 [Mar. & June 1869] and Vol. 51 [Oct. 1869 & Jan. 1870] New York: Leonard Scott, 1870; online via New York Public Library & HathiTrust, babel.hathitrust.org<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-plus-circle” add_icon=”true” title=”Context” tab_id=”1449531591631-43861bc7-da28094f-cf6367d0-6d70″][vc_column_text css_animation=”none”]Extended excerpt<\/em><\/strong>: [Final lines of essay. In this excerpt, Acton is referring to Johann Adam M\u00f6hler, a German Catholic professor and theologian who was a popular lecturer in his time. Acton\u2019s essay begins on page 16 of the October 1869 issue.]\n

\u201cM\u00f6hler was pre-eminently such a man. In his lectures on the history of the Church, which were published only last year, he said that the Catholics, as such, took no part in the massacre; that no cardinl, bishop, or priest, shared in the councils that prepared it; that Charles informed the Pope that a conspiracy had been discovered; and that Gregory made his thanksgiving only because the King\u2019s life was saved. Such things will cease to be written when men perceive that truth is the only merit that gives dignity and worth to history.\u201d (pp. 37-38)<\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section i_icon_fontawesome=”fa fa-search” add_icon=”true” title=”Source Link” tab_id=”1449531592891-f39e055b-a66e094f-cf6367d0-6d70″][vc_column_text css_animation=”none”]Source link<\/strong>:<\/span><\/span><\/em> The North British Review<\/em> October 1869-1870, <\/em>Volumes 50-51 (1869 & 1870, Leonard Scott U.S. edition) online via HathiTrust: https:\/\/babel.hathitrust.org\/cgi\/pt?id=nyp.33433081666137;view=1up;seq=376<\/a>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_tta_section][\/vc_tta_tabs][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]\n

Resources<\/h4>\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css_animation=”none” el_class=”Wrapper-Author-Resources”]Learn more about John Dalberg Acton\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/span>| Here are a few places to find out more –<\/p>\n