Lord Acton Evil Quotations

Property is not the sacred right. When a rich man becomes poor it is a misfortune, it is not a moral evil. When a poor man becomes destitute, it is a moral evil, teeming with consequences and injurious to society and morality.

The one pervading evil of democracy is the tyranny of the party that succeeds, by force or fraud, in carrying elections.

The one pervading evil of democracy is the tyranny of the majority.

Good and evil lie close together. Seek no artistic unity in character.

The State is competent to assign duties and draw the line between good and evil only in its immediate sphere. Beyond the limits of things necessary for its well-being, it can only give indirect help to fight the battle of life by promoting the influences which prevail against temptation--religion, education, and the distribution of wealth.