---
title: "By liberty I mean the assurance that every man shall be protected in … — John Acton Quote #14 | QuotesBy.net"
description: "By liberty I mean the assurance that every man shall be protected in doing what he believes his duty against the influence of authority and majoritie… — a quote by John Acton."
image: "https://quotesby.net/wp-content/themes/quotesby-editorial/assets/og-default.png"
---

> # By liberty I mean the assurance that every man shall be protected in doing what he believes his duty against the influence of authority and majorities, custom and opinion. The State is competent to assign duties and draw the line between good and evil only in its immediate sphere. Beyond the limits of things necessary for its well-being, it can only give indirect help to fight the battle of life by promoting the influences which prevail against temptation, - religion, education, and the distribution of wealth.

[John Acton](https://quotesby.net/John-Acton)\#14[WhatsApp (opens in a new tab)](https://wa.me/?text=%E2%80%9CBy%20liberty%20I%20mean%20the%20assurance%20that%20every%20man%20shall%20be%20protected%20in%20doing%20what%20he%20believes%20his%20duty%20against%20the%20influence%20of%20authority%20and%20majorities%2C%20custom%20and%20opinion.%20The%20State%20is%20competent%20to%20assign%20duties%20and%20draw%20the%20line%20between%20good%20and%20evil%20only%20in%20its%20immediate%20sphere.%20Beyond%20the%20limits%20of%20things%20necessary%20for%20its%20well-being%2C%20it%20can%20only%20give%20indirect%20help%20to%20fight%20the%20battle%20of%20life%20by%20promoting%20the%20influences%20which%20prevail%20against%20temptation%2C%20-%20religion%2C%20education%2C%20and%20the%20distribution%20of%20wealth.%E2%80%9D%20%E2%80%94%20John%20Acton%20https%3A%2F%2Fquotesby.net%2FJohn-Acton%2F14%2F)[X (opens in a new tab)](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=%E2%80%9CBy%20liberty%20I%20mean%20the%20assurance%20that%20every%20man%20shall%20be%20protected%20in%20doing%20what%20he%20believes%20his%20duty%20against%20the%20influence%20of%20authority%20and%20majorities%2C%20custom%20and%20opinion.%20The%20State%20is%20competent%20to%20assign%20duties%20and%20draw%20the%20line%20between%20good%20and%20evil%20only%20in%20its%20immediate%20sphere.%20Beyond%20the%20limits%20of%20things%20necessary%20for%20its%20well-being%2C%20it%20can%20only%20give%20indirect%20help%20to%20fight%20the%20battle%20of%20life%20by%20promoting%20the%20influences%20which%20prevail%20against%20temptation%2C%20-%20religion%2C%20education%2C%20and%20the%20distribution%20of%20wealth.%E2%80%9D%20%E2%80%94%20John%20Acton&url=https%3A%2F%2Fquotesby.net%2FJohn-Acton%2F14%2F)[Facebook (opens in a new tab)](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fquotesby.net%2FJohn-Acton%2F14%2F)

## More from John Acton

1. > At all times sincere friends of freedom have been rare, and its triumphs have been due to minorities, that have prevailed by associating themselves with auxili…

[Permalink to quote \#13](https://quotesby.net/John-Acton/13/ "Permalink to quote 13")
2. > In ancient times the State absorbed authorities not its own, and intruded on the domain of personal freedom. In the Middle Ages it possessed too little authori…

[Permalink to quote \#15](https://quotesby.net/John-Acton/15/ "Permalink to quote 15")
3. > Liberty, next to religion has been the motive of good deeds and the common pretext of crime...

[Permalink to quote \#12](https://quotesby.net/John-Acton/12/ "Permalink to quote 12")

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