--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Neither an enlightened philosophy, nor…" description: "\"Neither an enlightened philosophy, nor all the political wisdom of Rome, nor even the faith and virtue of the Christians availed against the incorrigib..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a59/lord-acton-3040_antiquity_neither-an-enlightened-philosophy-nor-al_1786773.png" --- # Neither an enlightened philosophy, nor all the political… ![“Neither an enlightened philosophy, nor all the political wisdom of Rome, nor even the faith and virtue of the Christians availed against the incorrigible tradition of antiquity. Something was wanted, beyond all the gifts of reflection and experience - a faculty of self government and self control…” quote by Lord Acton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a59/lord-acton-3040_antiquity_neither-an-enlightened-philosophy-nor-al_1786773.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a59/lord-acton-3040_antiquity_neither-an-enlightened-philosophy-nor-al_1786773.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a59/lord-acton-3040_antiquity_neither-an-enlightened-philosophy-nor-al_1786773.png) > “Neither an enlightened philosophy, nor all the political wisdom of Rome, nor even the faith and virtue of the Christians availed against the incorrigible tradition of antiquity. Something was wanted, beyond all the gifts of reflection and experience - a faculty of self government and self control, developed like its language in the fibre of a nation, and growing with its growth.” [Lord Acton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-acton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Self‑government and self‑control are essential national virtues that cannot be replaced by philosophy, politics, or religion alone. **In simple terms:** Nations need self‑rule and discipline. Key Takeaway Cultivate civic responsibility and self‑discipline. Themes governance self‑control national identity philosophy politics Mood thoughtful serious Type philosophical historical When to use this quote - education curricula - public policy - community organizing - leadership training Key Concepts civic virtue social contract historical analysis Questions to Reflect On - How can societies foster self‑control? - What role does education play? A Different Perspective Relying solely on moral teachings may not build self‑governance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Antiquity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/antiquity/) [Christian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christian/) [Christianity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christianity/) [Enlightened](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enlightened/) [Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/) [Growth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growth/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Nations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nations/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) [Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political/) [Political wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political-wisdom/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Reflection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reflection/) [Rome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rome/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Self control](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-control/) [Self-government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-government/) [Tradition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tradition/) [Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue/) [Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom/) ## Related quotes > [In America we're seeing the emergence of Donald Trump, who's the anti-establishment candidate, if you will, who's bucking all the conventional political wisdom on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-bernardi/in-america-we-re-seeing-the-emergence-of-donald-trump-who-s-the-anti/) [Cory Bernardi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-bernardi/) > [The study of history is the beginning of political wisdom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-bodin/the-study-of-history-is-the-beginning-of-political-wisdom/) Jean Bodin > [MULTITUDE, n. A crowd; the source of political wisdom and virtue. In a republic, the object of the statesman's adoration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/multitude-n-a-crowd-the-source-of-political-wisdom-and-virtue-in-a/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [The study of History is the beginning of wisdom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-bodin/the-study-of-history-is-the-beginning-of-wisdom/) Jean Bodin > [“By highlighting what she learned from Jimmy on these cross-country trips, Grace was affirming the political wisdom that he derived from his background and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-m-ward/by-highlighting-what-she-learned-from-jimmy-on-these-cross-country/) [Stephen M. Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-m-ward/) > [Will not perhaps the temporal power of Islam return and with it the menace of an armed Mohammedan world, which will shake off the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilaire-belloc/will-not-perhaps-the-temporal-power-of-islam-return-and-with-it-the/) [Hilaire Belloc](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilaire-belloc/) > [“Justice, humanity, or political wisdom, are qualities they are too little acquainted with in themselves, to appreciate them in others. Valor will acquire their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gibbon/justice-humanity-or-political-wisdom-are-qualities-they-are-too/) [Edward Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gibbon/) > [I believe we are going to have to prepare ourselves for the difficult and patient task of outgrowing rigid and intransigent nationalism, and work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/i-believe-we-are-going-to-have-to-prepare-ourselves-for-the-difficult/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [Man, says Protagoras, now has the wisdom necessary for life ... but he does not have political wisdom. At this point, people are living…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-ludwig-landsberg/man-says-protagoras-now-has-the-wisdom-necessary-for-life-but-he-does/) Paul Ludwig Landsberg > [It is my earnest hope that all parties across the political spectrum will bear Hong Kong's long-term interests in mind, apply their political wisdom,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-lam/it-is-my-earnest-hope-that-all-parties-across-the-political-spectrum/) [Carrie Lam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-lam/) > [My heart trembles when I reflect that God is just](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/my-heart-trembles-when-i-reflect-that-god-is-just/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [If the first year of the Trump administration has made anything clear, it's that experience, knowledge, education and political wisdom matter tremendously. Governing is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-chatterton-williams/if-the-first-year-of-the-trump-administration-has-made-anything-clear/) [Thomas Chatterton Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-chatterton-williams/) > [The beginning of political wisdom is the realization that despite everything you’ve always been taught, the government is not really on your side; indeed,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-higgs/the-beginning-of-political-wisdom-is-the-realization-that-despite/) [Robert Higgs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-higgs/) > [It may be assumed as an axiom that Providence has never gifted any political party with all of political wisdom or blinded it with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-george-nicolay/it-may-be-assumed-as-an-axiom-that-providence-has-never-gifted-any/) [John George Nicolay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-george-nicolay/) > [It would seem, then, to be the part of political wisdom to found government on property; and to establish such distribution of property, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-webster/it-would-seem-then-to-be-the-part-of-political-wisdom-to-found/) [Daniel Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-webster/) ## More by Lord Acton > [The history of institutions is often a history of deception and illusions; for their virtue depends on the ideas that produce and on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-acton/the-history-of-institutions-is-often-a-history-of-deception-and/) [Lord Acton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-acton/) > [A liberal is only a bundle of prejudices until he has mastered, has understood, experienced the philosophy of Conservatism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-acton/a-liberal-is-only-a-bundle-of-prejudices-until-he-has-mastered-has/) [Lord Acton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-acton/) > [Every class is unfit to govern.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-acton/every-class-is-unfit-to-govern/) [Lord Acton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-acton/) > [Fanaticism displays itself in the masses; but the masses were rarely fanaticised; and the crimes ascribed to it were commonly due to the calculations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-acton/fanaticism-displays-itself-in-the-masses-but-the-masses-were-rarely/) [Lord Acton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-acton/) > [In England Parliament is above the law. In America the law is above Congress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-acton/in-england-parliament-is-above-the-law-in-america-the-law-is-above/) [Lord Acton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-acton/) > [There is not a more perilous or immoral habit of mind than the sanctifying of success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-acton/there-is-not-a-more-perilous-or-immoral-habit-of-mind-than-the/) [Lord Acton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-acton/) > [Towns were the nursery of freedom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-acton/towns-were-the-nursery-of-freedom/) [Lord Acton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-acton/) > [It was from America that the plain ideas that men ought to mind their business, and that the nation is responsible to Heaven for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-acton/it-was-from-america-that-the-plain-ideas-that-men-ought-to-mind-their/) [Lord Acton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-acton/) > [Character is tested by true sentiments more than by conduct. A man is seldom better than his word.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-acton/character-is-tested-by-true-sentiments-more-than-by-conduct-a-man-is/) [Lord Acton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-acton/) > [Liberty and good government do not exclude each other; and there are excellent reasons why they should go together. Liberty is not a means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-acton/liberty-and-good-government-do-not-exclude-each-other-and-there-are/) [Lord Acton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-acton/) > [The test of liberty is the position and security of minorities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-acton/the-test-of-liberty-is-the-position-and-security-of-minorities/) [Lord Acton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-acton/) > [The common vice of democracy is disregard for morality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-acton/the-common-vice-of-democracy-is-disregard-for-morality/) [Lord Acton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-acton/) > [Feudalism made land the measure and the master of all things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-acton/feudalism-made-land-the-measure-and-the-master-of-all-things/) [Lord Acton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-acton/) > [“power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutley”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-acton/power-corrupts-absolute-power-corrupts-absolutley/) [Lord Acton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-acton/) > [There are many things the government cant do, many good purposes it must renounce. It must leave them to the enterprise of others. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-acton/there-are-many-things-the-government-cant-do-many-good-purposes-it/) [Lord Acton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-acton/) [Explore all 141 Lord Acton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-acton/) ## More Antiquity quotes > [The clatter of a changing world is not pleasant, and those who have enjoyed the comforts and protection of the old order may be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/the-clatter-of-a-changing-world-is-not-pleasant-and-those-who-have/) [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) > [Astrology is knocking at the gates of our universities: A Tübingen professor has switched over to astrology and a course on astrology was given…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/astrology-is-knocking-at-the-gates-of-our-universities-a-t-bingen/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [Everyone who wants to know what will happen ought to examine what has happened: everything in this world in any epoch has their replicas…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niccolo-machiavelli/everyone-who-wants-to-know-what-will-happen-ought-to-examine-what-has/) [Niccolo Machiavelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niccolo-machiavelli/) > [“A very long time ago, some 2.5 million years B.C., the mother of human species as we know it, our ultimate ancestor, appeared in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-f-cantor/a-very-long-time-ago-some-2-5-million-years-b-c-the-mother-of-human/) [Norman F. Cantor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-f-cantor/) > [What subsists to-day by violence continues to-morrow by acquiescence and is perpetuated by tradition; till at last the hoary abuse shakes the gray hairs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-everett/what-subsists-to-day-by-violence-continues-to-morrow-by-acquiescence/) [Edward Everett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-everett/) > [“Since antiquity, men have defined themselves by those who are excluded.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-robinson/since-antiquity-men-have-defined-themselves-by-those-who-are-excluded/) Jim Robinson > [While the business of education in Europe consists in lectures upon the ruins of Palmyra and the antiquities of Herculaneum , or in disputes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-rush/while-the-business-of-education-in-europe-consists-in-lectures-upon/) [Benjamin Rush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-rush/) > [In antiquity there was only silence. In the nineteenth century, with the invention of the machine, Noise was born. Today, Noise triumphs and reigns…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luigi-russolo/in-antiquity-there-was-only-silence-in-the-nineteenth-century-with/) [Luigi Russolo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luigi-russolo/) > [Arles is certainly one of the most interesting towns I have ever seen, whether viewed as a place remarkable for the objects of antiquity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/arles-is-certainly-one-of-the-most-interesting-towns-i-have-ever-seen/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [An established government has an infinite advantage, by that very circumstance of its being established--the bulk of mankind being governed by authority, not reason,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hume/an-established-government-has-an-infinite-advantage-by-that-very/) [David Hume](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hume/) > [In antiquity slaves were, in all honesty called slaves. In the middle ages, they took the name of serfs. Nowadays they are called wage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-bakunin/in-antiquity-slaves-were-in-all-honesty-called-slaves-in-the-middle/) [Mikhail Bakunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-bakunin/) > [I was brought up in Florence, a beautiful medieval town whose rhythm is completely in antiquity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oleg-cassini/i-was-brought-up-in-florence-a-beautiful-medieval-town-whose-rhythm/) [Oleg Cassini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oleg-cassini/) > [Although Damascus is considered the oldest city in the world, the date of its foundation going beyond tradition, there are very few relics of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bayard-taylor/although-damascus-is-considered-the-oldest-city-in-the-world-the-date/) [Bayard Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bayard-taylor/) > [“Educated and ambitious, with their own forthright opinions, the women of the Garvey set did more to determine political direction than many councillors. Their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-h-septimius/educated-and-ambitious-with-their-own-forthright-opinions-the-women/) [A. H. Septimius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-h-septimius/) > [Book burning is a charming old custom, hallowed by antiquity. It has been practiced for centuries by fascists, communists, atheists, school children, rival authors,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-armour/book-burning-is-a-charming-old-custom-hallowed-by-antiquity-it-has/) [Richard Armour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-armour/) [Browse all 244 Antiquity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/antiquity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Neither an enlightened philosophy, nor all the political wisdom of Rome, nor even the faith and virtue of the Christians availed against the incorrigible tradition of antiquity. 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