<s>[INST] Does absolute power corrupt absolutely? [/INST] This is a popular quote written by Lord Acton in a letter to Archbishop Creighton in 1887.  It's often quoted as an axiom of human behavior, and applied as a warning that even otherwise good people, when given great power, will likely become corrupted by using their power inappropriately.  There are numerous examples of people in history using their power in corrupt ways.  To verify this idea one would need to establish the meaning of 'absolute power' in a concrete and measurable way and then determine criteria to determine if a person is corrupted.  An examination of a range human behavior through history would be required to prove this, but the veracity of the proof would be limited by the scope of the examination.  Ultimantly, a single counterexample is all that would be required to disprove it, but it seems likely one could develop a strong correlation between power and corruption.</s>