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The history of institutions is often a history of deception and…

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

Commonly attributed — not confirmed in an authoritative edition. Cited on Wikiquote to: The History of Freedom in Antiquity (1877).

English (original)

The history of institutions is often a history of deception and illusions; for their virtue depends on the ideas that produce and on the spirit that preserves them, and the form may remain unaltered when the substance has passed away.

— John Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton

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