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Quote#Freedom

The immediate purpose with which the Italians and Germans effected…

Quote byJohn Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton · 1834–1902

Commonly attributed — not confirmed in an authoritative edition. Cited on Wikiquote to: Introductory note to L. Arthur Burd's Il Principe by Niccolo Machiavelli, p. xxxlv (1891).

English (original)

The immediate purpose with which the Italians and Germans effected the great change in European constitution was unity, not liberty. They constructed, not securities, but forces. Machiavelli's hour had come.

— John Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton

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