--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Of all conceivable things that which is…" description: "\"“Of all conceivable things that which is most alien to their spirit is to sacrifice any distinct interest or particular right to the requirements of so..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d0e/lord-acton-3040_abstraction_of-all-conceivable-things-that-which-is_2346591.png" --- # Of all conceivable things that which is most alien to… ![“Of all conceivable things that which is most alien to their spirit is to sacrifice any distinct interest or particular right to the requirements of some vague abstraction.” quote by Lord Acton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d0e/lord-acton-3040_abstraction_of-all-conceivable-things-that-which-is_2346591.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d0e/lord-acton-3040_abstraction_of-all-conceivable-things-that-which-is_2346591.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d0e/lord-acton-3040_abstraction_of-all-conceivable-things-that-which-is_2346591.png) > ““Of all conceivable things that which is most alien to their spirit is to sacrifice any distinct interest or particular right to the requirements of some vague abstraction.”” [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. People resist surrendering personal rights to vague, impersonal ideals. **In simple terms:** People dislike giving up rights for abstract ideas. Key Takeaway Guard personal freedoms. Themes freedom individualism politics rights Mood critical thoughtful Type political philosophical When to use this quote - voting - activism - legal reform - workplace policies Key Concepts liberalism political philosophy autonomy Questions to Reflect On - What abstract principle matters most to you? - When should personal rights yield to collective goals? A Different Perspective Abstract ideals can sometimes protect essential rights. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abstraction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstraction/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Sacrifice Distinct](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sacrifice-distinct-5697856/) [Spirit Sacrifice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirit-sacrifice-577008/) [Vague](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vague/) [Vague Abstraction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vague-abstraction-5697855/) ## Related quotes > [Send the harmony of a Great Desire vibrating through every fiber of your being. Pray for a task that will call forth your faith,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-dreier/send-the-harmony-of-a-great-desire-vibrating-through-every-fiber-of/) [Thomas Dreier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-dreier/) > [The thought of the presence of God and the spirit of worship will in all my actions have as their immediate object Jesus, God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-john-xxiii/the-thought-of-the-presence-of-god-and-the-spirit-of-worship-will-in/) [Pope John XXIII](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-john-xxiii/) > [Any person of any philosophic persuasion who sits on a hot stove will verify without any intellectual argument whatsoever that he is in an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/any-person-of-any-philosophic-persuasion-who-sits-on-a-hot-stove-will/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) > [The purpose of abstraction is not to be vague, but to create a new semantic level in which one can be absolutely precise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edsger-dijkstra/the-purpose-of-abstraction-is-not-to-be-vague-but-to-create-a-new/) [Edsger Dijkstra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edsger-dijkstra/) > [Philosophers stretch the meaning of words until they retain scarcely anything of their original sense. They give the name of "God" to some vague…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/philosophers-stretch-the-meaning-of-words-until-they-retain-scarcely/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [In 'Self Comes to Mind' I pay a lot of attention to simple creatures without brains or minds, because those 'cartooned abstractions of who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-damasio/in-self-comes-to-mind-i-pay-a-lot-of-attention-to-simple-creatures/) [Antonio Damasio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-damasio/) > [Computer Science is a science of abstraction -creating the right model for a problem and devising the appropriate mechanizable techniques to solve it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-aho/computer-science-is-a-science-of-abstraction-creating-the-right-model/) [Alfred Aho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-aho/) > [Yes, there was an element of abstraction and unreality in misfortune. But when an abstraction starts to kill you, you have to get to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/yes-there-was-an-element-of-abstraction-and-unreality-in-misfortune/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [Cancer begins and ends with people. In the midst of scientific abstraction, it is sometimes possible to forget this one basic fact. Doctors treat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/june-goodfield/cancer-begins-and-ends-with-people-in-the-midst-of-scientific/) [June Goodfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/june-goodfield/) > [I like residing in abstraction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sufjan-stevens/i-like-residing-in-abstraction/) [Sufjan Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sufjan-stevens/) > [Sometimes I start in a very realistic fashion, and as I go on from one painting to another of the same kind, it becomes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgia-o-keeffe/sometimes-i-start-in-a-very-realistic-fashion-and-as-i-go-on-from-one/) [Georgia O'Keeffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgia-o-keeffe/) > [But we must not underestimate the potency of the mathematical process of abstraction. A surprising variety of things happen to have both magnitude and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/banesh-hoffmann/but-we-must-not-underestimate-the-potency-of-the-mathematical-process/) [Banesh Hoffmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/banesh-hoffmann/) > [Two elements are needed to form a truth - a fact and an abstraction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/remy-de-gourmont/two-elements-are-needed-to-form-a-truth-a-fact-and-an-abstraction/) [Remy de Gourmont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/remy-de-gourmont/) > [The premises from which we begin are not arbitrary ones, not dogmas, but real premises from which abstraction can only be made in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melchor-lim/the-premises-from-which-we-begin-are-not-arbitrary-ones-not-dogmas/) [Melchor Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melchor-lim/) > [Everything in dancing is style, allusion, the essence of many thoughts and feelings. The abstraction of many moments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alvin-ailey/everything-in-dancing-is-style-allusion-the-essence-of-many-thoughts/) [Alvin Ailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alvin-ailey/) ## 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 Abstraction quotes > [Everything in dancing is style, allusion, the essence of many thoughts and feelings. The abstraction of many moments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alvin-ailey/everything-in-dancing-is-style-allusion-the-essence-of-many-thoughts/) [Alvin Ailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alvin-ailey/) > [The premises from which we begin are not arbitrary ones, not dogmas, but real premises from which abstraction can only be made in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melchor-lim/the-premises-from-which-we-begin-are-not-arbitrary-ones-not-dogmas/) [Melchor Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melchor-lim/) > [Two elements are needed to form a truth - a fact and an abstraction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/remy-de-gourmont/two-elements-are-needed-to-form-a-truth-a-fact-and-an-abstraction/) [Remy de Gourmont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/remy-de-gourmont/) > [But we must not underestimate the potency of the mathematical process of abstraction. A surprising variety of things happen to have both magnitude and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/banesh-hoffmann/but-we-must-not-underestimate-the-potency-of-the-mathematical-process/) [Banesh Hoffmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/banesh-hoffmann/) > [Sometimes I start in a very realistic fashion, and as I go on from one painting to another of the same kind, it becomes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgia-o-keeffe/sometimes-i-start-in-a-very-realistic-fashion-and-as-i-go-on-from-one/) [Georgia O'Keeffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgia-o-keeffe/) > [I like residing in abstraction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sufjan-stevens/i-like-residing-in-abstraction/) [Sufjan Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sufjan-stevens/) > [Cancer begins and ends with people. In the midst of scientific abstraction, it is sometimes possible to forget this one basic fact. Doctors treat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/june-goodfield/cancer-begins-and-ends-with-people-in-the-midst-of-scientific/) [June Goodfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/june-goodfield/) > [Yes, there was an element of abstraction and unreality in misfortune. But when an abstraction starts to kill you, you have to get to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/yes-there-was-an-element-of-abstraction-and-unreality-in-misfortune/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [Computer Science is a science of abstraction -creating the right model for a problem and devising the appropriate mechanizable techniques to solve it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-aho/computer-science-is-a-science-of-abstraction-creating-the-right-model/) [Alfred Aho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-aho/) > [In 'Self Comes to Mind' I pay a lot of attention to simple creatures without brains or minds, because those 'cartooned abstractions of who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-damasio/in-self-comes-to-mind-i-pay-a-lot-of-attention-to-simple-creatures/) [Antonio Damasio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-damasio/) > [Don't get stuck on the level of words. A word is no more than a means to an end. It's an abstraction. Not unlike…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/don-t-get-stuck-on-the-level-of-words-a-word-is-no-more-than-a-means/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [Holidays are in no sense an alternative to the congestion and bustle of the cities and work. Quite the contrary. People look to escape…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-baudrillard/holidays-are-in-no-sense-an-alternative-to-the-congestion-and-bustle/) [Jean Baudrillard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-baudrillard/) > [The pragmatist turns away from abstraction and insufficiency, from verbal solutions, from bad a priori reasons, from fixed principles, closed systems, and pretended absolutes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/the-pragmatist-turns-away-from-abstraction-and-insufficiency-from/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [ I'd say that \[Louis\] Brandeis practiced a kind of a "living originalism," to use the title of Jack Balkin's great book. He said you… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-rosen/i-d-say-that-louis-brandeis-practiced-a-kind-of-a-living-originalism/) [Jeffrey Rosen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-rosen/) > [When novels deal in abstractions, they generally go off the rails.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philipp-meyer/when-novels-deal-in-abstractions-they-generally-go-off-the-rails/) [Philipp Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philipp-meyer/) [Browse all 562 Abstraction quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstraction/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Of all conceivable things that which is most alien to their spirit is to sacrifice any distinct interest or particular right to the requirements of some vague abstraction.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lord Acton" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-acton/of-all-conceivable-things-that-which-is-most-alien-to-their-spirit-is/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Abstraction" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-acton/of-all-conceivable-things-that-which-is-most-alien-to-their-spirit-is/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d0e/lord-acton-3040_abstraction_of-all-conceivable-things-that-which-is_2346591.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d0e/lord-acton-3040_abstraction_of-all-conceivable-things-that-which-is_2346591.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d0e/lord-acton-3040_abstraction_of-all-conceivable-things-that-which-is_2346591.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Of all conceivable things that which is most alien to their spirit is to sacrifice any distinct interest or…” — Lord Acton", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Lord Acton", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-acton/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Of all conceivable things that which...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-acton/of-all-conceivable-things-that-which-is-most-alien-to-their-spirit-is/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-acton/of-all-conceivable-things-that-which-is-most-alien-to-their-spirit-is/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```