By David Nyberg
In 1887 Lord Acton wrote a severely critical review of Mandell Creighton’s History of the Papacy during the Reformation and sent a personal letter to the author in which he defended his point that popes and kings ought to be held to account for the criminal acts they authorize. That letter was the context for Acton’s might maxim: “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Although it remains the best-known sentence ever written about power, it is only a partial truth. Read More…