a keeper from Lord Acton

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A keeper from Lord Acton (1834-1902):

I cannot accept your canon that we are to judge Pope and King unlike other men with a favourable presumption they can do 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 always bad men, even when they exercise influence and not authority: still more when you superadd the tendency or corruption by full authority. There is no worse heresy than the fact [supposition?] that the office sanctifies the holder of it.

Nor does this apply only to pope and king.
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