Despotic power is always accompanied by corruption of morality.

Remember that one touch of ill-nature makes the whole world kin.

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.

Character is tested by true sentiments more than by conduct. A man is seldom better than his word.

A man can be trusted only up to low-water mark.

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.

Guard against the prestige of great names; see that your judgments are your own; and do not shrink from disagreement; no trusting without testing