Quotes Library

September 23, 2025

Almost all that has been done for the good of the people has been done since the rich lost the monopoly of power, since the rights of property were discovered to be not unlimited.

Lord Acton (1834–1902), English historian, Letters to Mary Gladstone (1904), Seldes p.4

Did you expect to read that from a member of the aristocracy?

Good news for those who cherish democracy. But, as to be expected, the newer rich are again monopolizing power and seek to make absolute the rights of property.


More Quotes

September 11, 2025
People who want to understand democracy should spend less time in the library with Aristotle and more time on buses and in the subway.
November 5, 2025
Anybody that wants the presidency so much that he’ll spend two years organizing and campaigning for it is not to be trusted with the office.
January 29, 2025
Ordinary men usually manage public affairs better than more gifted fellows. The latter are always wanting to appear wiser than the laws,
Page 63 of 126