By a series of violent shocks, the nations in succession have struggled to shake off the Past, to reverse the action of Time and the verdict of success, and to rescue the world from the reign of the dead.

John Acton is the name of:
John Acton (MP) for Droitwich (UK Parliament constituency) in 1597
Sir John Acton 6th Baronet (1736–1811) prime minister of Naples
John Dalberg-Acton 1st Baron Acton (1834–1902) English historian
John Lyon-Dalberg-Acton 3rd Baron Acton (1907–1989) British peer
John Lyon-Dalberg-Acton 5th Baron Acton (born 1966) English writer and farmer
John Acton (canon lawyer) (died 1350) English canon lawyer known for his commentary on the writer on the ecclesiastical Constitutions of two papal legates of the thirteenth century
John C.