Max Lerner Quotes
We cannot live by power, and a culture that seeks to live by it becomes brutal and sterile. But we can die without it.
Lerner, Max. Actions and Passions: Notes on the Multiple Revolution of Our Time. Simon and Schuster, 1949.
“Factions” was the word for political parties then.
Trajan ande Caligula were each Roman Emperors.
This is a variation of the famous Lord Acton quotation: {292904}.
The human rights abuses in the Belgian Congo were horrible. Natives who refused to work for the low wages were murdered or had their hands chopped off. The indigenous population was markedly reduced. Word of the atrocities started leaking out to Europe. It is not known whether the King really wanted any reform or just sent the instructions to cover himself. The instructions were not followed; the atrocities continued, and Leopold never took any steps to discipline his agents and minions. The Belgian Congo had the worst atrocities in the world until WWII.
Charles I had caused the death of his subjects with impunity and was called to account. However, the English Parliament did not know what specific crime the King had committed. Kings had executed people, guilty of crimes and otherwise, for centuries. For what could a king be accountable. Cooke developed the crime of Tyranny and drew up and presented the indictment for that. The King was found guilty and executed. This was the first time in legal history that a ruler was called to account for crimes committed against his own people. It became the foundation for many trials thereafter including that of Saddam Hussein in 2006.
Max Lerner (1902–1992) was a Russian-born American journalist and educator known for his controversial syndicated column.
