Original artwork, not a still
John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton
Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad man.
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
The passage connects increasing power with increasing corruption, then extends the criticism to people regarded as great. The repeated absolute makes the warning especially forceful. It separates public greatness from moral goodness, presenting the speaker's bleak judgment of their relationship rather than assuming they belong together.
Context reviewed
