John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton,
KCVOThe Royal Victorian Order is a dynastic order of knighthood and a house order of chivalry recognising distinguished personal service to the order's Sovereign, the reigning monarch of the Commonwealth realms, any members of her family, or any of her viceroys...
,
DLIn the United Kingdom, a Deputy Lieutenant is one of several deputies to the Lord Lieutenant of a lieutenancy area; an English ceremonial county, Welsh preserved county, Scottish lieutenancy area, or Northern Irish county borough or county....
(10 January 1834 – 19 June 1902), known as
Sir John Dalberg-Acton, 8th Bt from 1837 to 1869 and usually referred to simply as
Lord Acton, was an
EnglishThe English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
CatholicThe Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
historian, politician, and writer. He was the only son of Sir Ferdinand Dalberg-Acton, 7th Baronet and a grandson of the
NeapolitanNeapolitan may refer to:* Neapolitan, of or pertaining to the city of Naples, Italy and sometimes its wider Duchy or Province of Naples** Previously a nationality, during the time of the Kingdom of Naples or the Neapolitan Republics* Neapolitan cuisine...
admiral
Sir John Acton, 6th BaronetSir John Francis Edward Acton, 6th Baronet was commander of the naval forces of Grand Duchy of Tuscany and prime minister of Naples under Ferdinand IV....
. He is famous for his remark, often misquoted: "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely."
Early life
Lord Acton's grandfather, who in 1791 succeeded to the baronetcy and family estates in
ShropshireShropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...
, previously held by the English branch of the Acton family, represented a younger branch which had transferred itself first to
FranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and then to
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. However, by the extinction of the elder branch, the admiral became head of the family. His eldest son, Richard, married Marie Louise Pelline, the only daughter and heiress of
Emeric Joseph Wolfgang Heribert, 1st Duc de DalbergDalberg is the name of an ancient and distinguished German noble family, derived from the hamlet and castle of Dalberg or Dalburg near Kreuznach in Rhineland-Palatinate...
, a naturalised French noble of ancient German lineage who had entered the French service under
NapoleonNapoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
and represented
Louis XVIIILouis XVIII , known as "the Unavoidable", was King of France and of Navarre from 1814 to 1824, omitting the Hundred Days in 1815...
at the
Congress of ViennaThe Congress of Vienna was a conference of ambassadors of European states chaired by Klemens Wenzel von Metternich, and held in Vienna from September, 1814 to June, 1815. The objective of the Congress was to settle the many issues arising from the French Revolutionary Wars, the Napoleonic Wars,...
in 1814. After Sir Richard Acton's death in 1837, she became the wife of the 2nd Earl Granville (1840). Comtesse de Dalberg was heiress of
HerrnsheimWorms is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on the Rhine River. At the end of 2004, it had 85,829 inhabitants.Established by the Celts, who called it Borbetomagus, Worms today remains embattled with the cities Trier and Cologne over the title of "Oldest City in Germany." Worms is the only...
in Germany. She became Acton's mother. John Dalberg-Acton was born in
NaplesNaples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
.
From an ancient Roman Catholic family, young Acton was educated at Oscott College under Dr (afterwards Cardinal) Wiseman until 1848 and then at
EdinburghEdinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
where he studied privately. At
MunichMunich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
, Acton resided in the house of
Johann Joseph Ignaz von DöllingerJohann Joseph Ignaz von Döllinger was a German theologian, Catholic priest and church historian who rejected the dogma of papal infallibility...
, theologian and forerunner of the
Old Catholic ChurchThe term Old Catholic Church is commonly used to describe a number of Ultrajectine Christian churches that originated with groups that split from the Roman Catholic Church over certain doctrines, most importantly that of Papal Infallibility...
, with whom he became lifelong friends. He had endeavoured to procure admission to
CambridgeThe University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
, but was not permitted to attend because he was a Catholic. Nonetheless, Döllinger had inspired in him a deep love of historical research and a profound conception of its functions as a critical instrument. He was a master of the principal foreign languages and began at an early age to collect a magnificent historical library, with the object—which, however, he never realized—of writing a great "History of Liberty." In politics, he was always an ardent Liberal.
Career
Although not a notable traveller, Acton spent much time in the chief intellectual centres of Europe and in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and numbered among his friends such men as
MontalembertCharles Forbes René de Montalembert was a French publicist and historian.-Family history:He belonged to a family of Angoumois, which could trace its descent back to the 13th century. Charters carry the history of the house two centuries further...
,
TocquevilleAlexis-Charles-Henri Clérel de Tocqueville was a French political thinker and historian best known for his Democracy in America and The Old Regime and the Revolution . In both of these works, he explored the effects of the rising equality of social conditions on the individual and the state in...
, Fustel de Coulanges, Bluntschli,
von SybelHeinrich Karl Ludolf von Sybel , German historian, came from a Protestant family which had long been established at Soest, in Westphalia....
and
RankeLeopold von Ranke was a German historian, considered one of the founders of modern source-based history. Ranke set the standards for much of later historical writing, introducing such ideas as reliance on primary sources , an emphasis on narrative history and especially international politics .-...
. In 1855, he was appointed
Deputy LieutenantIn the United Kingdom, a Deputy Lieutenant is one of several deputies to the Lord Lieutenant of a lieutenancy area; an English ceremonial county, Welsh preserved county, Scottish lieutenancy area, or Northern Irish county borough or county....
of Salop. A year later, he was attached to
Lord Granville'sGranville George Leveson Gower, 2nd Earl Granville KG, PC FRS , styled Lord Leveson until 1846, was a British Liberal statesman...
mission to Moscow as British representative at the coronation of
Alexander II of RussiaAlexander II , also known as Alexander the Liberator was the Emperor of the Russian Empire from 3 March 1855 until his assassination in 1881...
.
Politics
In 1859, Sir John Acton settled in England, at his country house, Aldenham, in
ShropshireShropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...
. He returned to the
House of CommonsThe House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
that same year as member for the Irish
Borough of CarlowCarlow Borough was a Parliamentary constituency in Ireland, represented in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...
and became a devoted admirer and adherent of
GladstoneWilliam Ewart Gladstone FRS FSS was a British Liberal statesman. In a career lasting over sixty years, he served as Prime Minister four separate times , more than any other person. Gladstone was also Britain's oldest Prime Minister, 84 years old when he resigned for the last time...
. However, he was not an active MP, and his parliamentary career came to an end after the
general election of 1865The 1865 United Kingdom general election saw the Liberals, led by Lord Palmerston, increase their large majority over the Earl of Derby's Conservatives to more than 80. The Whig Party changed its name to the Liberal Party between the previous election and this one.Palmerston died later in the same...
, when, having headed the poll for
BridgnorthBridgnorth was a parliamentary borough in Shropshire which was represented in the House of Commons of England from 1295 until 1707, then in the House of Commons of Great Britain until 1800, and in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 until its abolition in 1885.It...
, a scrutiny of the ballot led to his losing his seat. He contested Bridgnorth again in
1868The 1868 United Kingdom general election was the first after passage of the Reform Act 1867, which enfranchised many male householders, thus greatly increasing the number of men who could vote in elections in the United Kingdom...
but to no avail.
Acton took a great interest in America, considering its
FederalA federal republic is a federation of states with a republican form of government. A federation is the central government. The states in a federation also maintain the federation...
structure the perfect guarantor of individual liberties. During the
American Civil WarThe American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, his sympathies lay entirely with the
ConfederacyThe Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
, for their defense of
States' RightsStates' rights in U.S. politics refers to political powers reserved for the U.S. state governments rather than the federal government. It is often considered a loaded term because of its use in opposition to federally mandated racial desegregation...
against a centralized government that, by all historical precedent, would inevitably turn tyrannical. His notes to
GladstoneWilliam Ewart Gladstone FRS FSS was a British Liberal statesman. In a career lasting over sixty years, he served as Prime Minister four separate times , more than any other person. Gladstone was also Britain's oldest Prime Minister, 84 years old when he resigned for the last time...
on the subject helped sway many in the British government to sympathize with the
SouthThe Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
. After the South's surrender, he wrote to
Robert E. LeeRobert Edward Lee was a career military officer who is best known for having commanded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War....
that "I mourn for the stake which was lost at
RichmondRichmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
more deeply than I rejoice over that which was saved at
WaterlooThe Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815 near Waterloo in present-day Belgium, then part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands...
," adding that he "deemed that you were fighting battles for our liberty, our progress, and our civilization."
In 1869 Acton was raised to the
peerageThe Peerage is a legal system of largely hereditary titles in the United Kingdom, which constitute the ranks of British nobility and is part of the British honours system...
by Queen Victoria and became the first Baron Acton. He was an intimate friend and constant correspondent of
GladstoneWilliam Ewart Gladstone FRS FSS was a British Liberal statesman. In a career lasting over sixty years, he served as Prime Minister four separate times , more than any other person. Gladstone was also Britain's oldest Prime Minister, 84 years old when he resigned for the last time...
, and the two men had the very highest regard for one another.
Matthew ArnoldMatthew Arnold was a British poet and cultural critic who worked as an inspector of schools. He was the son of Thomas Arnold, the famed headmaster of Rugby School, and brother to both Tom Arnold, literary professor, and William Delafield Arnold, novelist and colonial administrator...
used to say that "Gladstone influences all round him but Acton; it is Acton who influences Gladstone."
Religion and writings
Meanwhile, Acton became the editor of the Roman Catholic monthly paper,
The RamblerThe Rambler was a Catholic periodical founded by liberal converts to Catholicism and closely associated with the names of Lord Acton, Richard Simpson and, for a brief period, Cardinal Newman. It represented a phase of convert thought which was in opposition to the extreme ultramontanism of W. G...
, in 1859, on John Henry (later Cardinal) Newman's retirement from the editorship. In 1862, he merged this periodical into the
Home and Foreign Review. His contributions at once gave evidence of his remarkable wealth of historical knowledge. But though a sincere Roman Catholic, his whole spirit as a historian was hostile to ultramontane pretensions, and his independence of thought and liberalism of view speedily brought him into conflict with the Roman Catholic hierarchy. As early as August 1862, Cardinal Wiseman publicly censured the
Review; and when in 1864, after
DöllingerJohann Joseph Ignaz von Döllinger was a German theologian, Catholic priest and church historian who rejected the dogma of papal infallibility...
's appeal at the Munich Congress for a less hostile attitude towards historical criticism, the pope issued a declaration that the opinions of Catholic writers were subject to the authority of the Roman congregations, Acton felt that there was only one way of reconciling his literary conscience with his ecclesiastical loyalty, and he stopped the publication of his monthly periodical. He continued, however, to contribute articles to the
North British Review, which, previously a Scottish Free Church organ, had been acquired by friends in sympathy with him, and which for some years (until 1872, when it ceased to appear) actively promoted the interests of a high-class Liberalism in both temporal and ecclesiastical matters; he also did a good deal of lecturing on historical subjects.
In the March 1862
Rambler, Acton wrote "The Celts are not among the progressive, initiative races, but among those which supply the materials rather than the impulse of history, and are either stationary or retrogressive. The Persians, the Greeks, the Romans, and the Teutons are the only makers of history, the only authors of advancement. Other races possessing a highly developed language, a speculative religion, enjoying luxury and art, attain to a certain pitch of cultivation which they are unable to either communicate or to increase. They are a negative element in the world." And: "Subjection to a people of a higher capacity for government is of itself no misfortune; and it is to most countries the condition of their political advancement."
In 1870 came the great crisis in
CatholicismCatholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....
over the
First Vatican CouncilThe First Vatican Council was convoked by Pope Pius IX on 29 June 1868, after a period of planning and preparation that began on 6 December 1864. This twentieth ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church, held three centuries after the Council of Trent, opened on 8 December 1869 and adjourned...
's promulgation of the
doctrineDoctrine is a codification of beliefs or a body of teachings or instructions, taught principles or positions, as the body of teachings in a branch of knowledge or belief system...
of
papal infallibilityPapal infallibility is a dogma of the Catholic Church which states that, by action of the Holy Spirit, the Pope is preserved from even the possibility of error when in his official capacity he solemnly declares or promulgates to the universal Church a dogmatic teaching on faith or morals...
. Lord Acton, who was in complete sympathy on this subject with
DöllingerJohann Joseph Ignaz von Döllinger was a German theologian, Catholic priest and church historian who rejected the dogma of papal infallibility...
, went to Rome in order to throw all his influence against it, but the step he so much dreaded was not to be averted. The
Old CatholicThe term Old Catholic Church is commonly used to describe a number of Ultrajectine Christian churches that originated with groups that split from the Roman Catholic Church over certain doctrines, most importantly that of Papal Infallibility...
separation followed, but Acton did not personally join the seceders, and the authorities prudently refrained from forcing the hand of so competent and influential an English layman. It was in this context that, in a letter he wrote to scholar and ecclesiastic
Mandell CreightonMandell Creighton , was a British historian and a bishop of the Church of England. A scholar of the Renaissance papacy, Creighton was the first occupant of the Dixie Chair of Ecclesiastical History at the University of Cambridge, a professorship that was established around the time that the study...
, dated April 1887, Acton made his most famous pronouncement:
But if we might discuss this point until we found that we nearly agreed, and if we do agree thoroughly about the impropriety of Carlylese denunciations and Pharisaism in history, I cannot accept your canon that we are to judge Pope and King unlike other men, with a favourable presumption that they did no wrong. If there is any presumption it is the other way, against the 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. Great men are almost always bad men, even when they exercise influence and not authority, still more when you superadd the tendency or the certainty of corruption by authority. There is no worse heresy than that the office sanctifies the holder of it. That is the point at which the negation of Catholicism and the negation of Liberalism meet and keep high festival, and the end learns to justify the means. You would hang a man of no position like Ravaillac; but if what one hears is true, then Elizabeth asked the gaoler to murder Mary, and William III. ordered his Scots minister to extirpate a clan. Here are the greatest names coupled with the greatest crimes; you would spare those criminals, for some mysterious reason. I would hang them higher than Haman, for reasons of quite obvious justice, still more, still higher for the sake of historical science.
Thenceforth he steered clear of theological polemics. He devoted himself to reading, study and congenial society. With all his capacity for study, he was a man of the world and a man of affairs, not a bookworm. His only notable publications were a masterly essay in the
Quarterly Review of January 1878 on "Democracy in Europe;" two lectures delivered at Bridgnorth in 1877 on "The History of Freedom in Antiquity" and "The History of Freedom in Christianity" — these last the only tangible portions put together by him of his long-projected "History of Liberty;" and an essay on modern German historians in the first number of the
English Historical Review, which he helped to found (1886). After 1879 he divided his time between London,
CannesCannes is one of the best-known cities of the French Riviera, a busy tourist destination and host of the annual Cannes Film Festival. It is a Commune of France in the Alpes-Maritimes department....
, and
TegernseeTegernsee is a town in the Miesbach district of Bavaria, Germany. It is located on the shore of Tegernsee lake, at an elevation of 747 m above sea level....
in
BavariaBavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
, enjoying and reciprocating the society of his friends. In 1872 he had been given the
honorary degreeAn honorary degree or a degree honoris causa is an academic degree for which a university has waived the usual requirements, such as matriculation, residence, study, and the passing of examinations...
of
Doctor of PhilosophyDoctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
by the University of Munich; in 1888 Cambridge gave him the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws, and in 1889 Oxford the
Doctor of Civil LawDoctor of Civil Law is a degree offered by some universities, such as the University of Oxford, instead of the more common Doctor of Laws degrees....
; and in 1890 he was made a fellow of
All Souls College, OxfordThe Warden and the College of the Souls of all Faithful People deceased in the University of Oxford or All Souls College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England....
.
In 1874, when
GladstoneWilliam Ewart Gladstone FRS FSS was a British Liberal statesman. In a career lasting over sixty years, he served as Prime Minister four separate times , more than any other person. Gladstone was also Britain's oldest Prime Minister, 84 years old when he resigned for the last time...
published his pamphlet on
The Vatican Decrees, Lord Acton wrote during November and December a series of remarkable letters to
The Times, illustrating Gladstone's main theme by numerous historical examples of papal inconsistency, in a way which must have been bitter enough to the ultramontane party, but ultimately disagreeing with Gladstone's conclusion and insisting that the Church itself was better than its premises implied. Acton's letters led to another storm in the English Roman Catholic world, but once more it was considered prudent by the
Holy SeeThe Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
to leave him alone. In spite of his reservations, he regarded "communion with Rome as dearer than life".
Personal life
In 1865 Acton married Countess Marie Anna Ludomilla Euphrosina von Arco auf Valley, daughter of the Bavarian Count Maximilian von Arco auf Valley, by whom he had six children:
- Hon. Mary Elizabeth Anne Dalberg-Acton (1866–1951), married Lt-Col. Edward Bleiddian Herbert and had issue.
- Hon. Annie Mary Catherine Dalberg-Acton (1868–1917)
- Richard Lyon-Dalberg-Acton
Richard Maximilian Lyon-Dalberg-Acton, 2nd Baron Acton, KCVO, JP, DL was a British Peer and diplomat. Despite his British roots and long service, having been born abroad, he was not formally a British subject, until he was naturalised by Act of Parliament in 1911...
(1870–1924)
- Hon. John Dalberg Dalberg-Acton (1872–1873)
- Hon. Elizabeth Mary Dalberg-Acton (1874–1881)
- Hon. Jeanne Marie Dalberg-Acton (1876–1919)
His
nephewNephew is a son of one's sibling or sibling-in-law, and niece is a daughter of one's sibling or a sibling-in-law. Sons and daughters of siblings-in-law are also informally referred to as nephews and nieces respectively, even though there is no blood relation...
was
Anton Graf von Arco auf ValleyAnton von Padua Alfred Emil Hubert Georg Graf von Arco auf Valley , commonly known as Anton Arco-Valley, German political activist, is best remembered as the assassin of Kurt Eisner, the first republican premier of Bavaria, in February 1919.Arco-Valley was born in Sankt Martin im Innkreis in Upper...
(1897 - 1945), a German count and political activist, and assassin of socialist Bavarian president
Kurt EisnerKurt Eisner was a Bavarian politician and journalist. As a German socialist journalist and statesman, he organized the Socialist Revolution that overthrew the Wittelsbach monarchy in Bavaria in November 1918....
(† 1919).
Death and legacy
Acton's reputation for learning gradually spread abroad, largely through Gladstone's influence. Gladstone found him a valuable political adviser, and in 1892, when the Liberal government came in, Lord Acton was made a lord-in-waiting. Finally, in 1895, on the death of Sir
John SeeleySir John Robert Seeley, KCMG was an English essayist and historian.-Life:He was born in London, the son of R.B. Seeley, a publisher. Seeley developed a taste for religious and historical subjects...
, Lord Rosebery appointed him to the
Regius Professorship of Modern HistoryRegius Professor of Modern History is one of the senior professorships in history at Cambridge University. It was founded in 1724 by George I. The appointment is by Royal Warrant on the recommendation of the Prime Minister of the day...
at
CambridgeThe University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
. His inaugural lecture on
The Study of History, afterwards published with notes displaying a vast erudition, made a great impression in the university, and the new professor's influence on historical study was felt in many important directions. He delivered two valuable courses of lectures on the
French RevolutionThe French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
and on Modern History, but it was in private that the effects of his teaching were felt most. The
Cambridge Modern History, though he did not live to see it, was planned under his editorship.
Lord Acton became ill in 1901 and died on 19 June 1902 in
TegernseeTegernsee is a town in the Miesbach district of Bavaria, Germany. It is located on the shore of Tegernsee lake, at an elevation of 747 m above sea level....
. He was succeeded in the title by his son,
Richard Lyon-Dalberg-Acton, 2nd Baron ActonRichard Maximilian Lyon-Dalberg-Acton, 2nd Baron Acton, KCVO, JP, DL was a British Peer and diplomat. Despite his British roots and long service, having been born abroad, he was not formally a British subject, until he was naturalised by Act of Parliament in 1911...
. His 60,000 volume library, formed for use and not for display and composed largely of books full of his own annotations, was bought immediately after his death by
Andrew CarnegieAndrew Carnegie was a Scottish-American industrialist, businessman, and entrepreneur who led the enormous expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century...
and presented to John Morley, who forthwith gave it to the
University of CambridgeThe University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
.
According to
Hugh ChisholmHugh Chisholm was a British journalist, and editor of the 11th and 12th editions of the Encyclopædia Britannica....
, editor of the 1911
Encyclopaedia Britannica:
"Lord Acton has left too little completed original work to rank among the great historians; his very learning seems to have stood in his way; he knew too much and his literary conscience was too acute for him to write easily, and his copiousness of information overloads his literary style. But he was one of the most deeply learned men of his time, and he will certainly be remembered for his influence on others."
Notable quotes by Lord Acton
- “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
- "Great men are almost always bad men."
- “There is no worse heresy than that the office sanctifies the holder of it.”
- “The one pervading evil of democracy is the tyranny of the majority
The phrase "tyranny of the majority" , used in discussing systems of democracy and majority rule, is a criticism of the scenario in which decisions made by a majority under that system would place that majority's interests so far above a dissenting individual's interest that the individual would be...
, or rather of that party, not always the majority, that succeeds, by force or fraud, in carrying elections.”
- “Be not content with the best book; seek sidelights from the others; have no favourites.”
- "The issue which has swept down the centuries and which will have to be fought sooner or later is the people versus the banks."
- "Every thing secret degenerates, even the administration of justice; nothing is safe that does not show how it can bear discussion and publicity."
- "The danger is not that a particular class is unfit to govern. Every class is unfit to govern."
- "There is no error so monstrous that it fails to find defenders among the ablest men."
- "At all times sincere friends of freedom have been rare, and its triumphs have been due to minorities, that have prevailed by associating themselves with auxiliaries whose objects differed from their own; and this association, which is always dangerous, has been sometimes disastrous, by giving to opponents just grounds of opposition."
- “Universal History is . . . not a burden on the memory but an illumination of the soul.”
- "There is not a more perilous or immoral habit of mind than the sanctifying of success." (said of Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
)
- “The strong man with the dagger is followed by the weak man with the sponge.”
- "The science of politics is the one science that is deposited by the streams of history, like the grains of gold in the sand of a river; and the knowledge of the past, the record of truths revealed by experience, is eminently practical, as an instrument of action and a power that goes to making the future."
- "Save for the wild force of Nature, nothing moves in this world that is not Greek in its origin."
- "Liberty is not the power of doing what we like, but the right of being able to do what we ought."
Writings, lectures and speeches
- The History of Freedom and Other Essays. in The Online Library of Liberty.
- Historical Essays and Studies, edited by J. N. Figgis and R. V. Laurence (London: Macmillan, 1907). in The Online Library of Liberty.
- Lectures on Modern History, eds. J. N. Figgis and R. V. Laurence (London: Macmillan, 1906). in The Online Library of Liberty.
- Letters of Lord Acton to Mary, Daughter of the Right Hon. W.E. Gladstone, Second edition (London: Macmillan, 1913). in The Online Library of Liberty.
- Lectures on the French Revolution. in the Online Library of Liberty: Liberty Fund edition or Macmillan, 1910 edition.
- Introduction to Machiavelli's Il Principe. in the Online Library of Liberty
- Acton-Creighton Correspondence in the Online Library of Liberty
- Lord Acton's speech, The History of Freedom in Antiquity at mondopolitico.com
- Lord Acton's speech, The History of Freedom in Christianity at mondopolitico.com
See also
- Acton Institute for the Study of Religion & Liberty
- William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone FRS FSS was a British Liberal statesman. In a career lasting over sixty years, he served as Prime Minister four separate times , more than any other person. Gladstone was also Britain's oldest Prime Minister, 84 years old when he resigned for the last time...
External links