Montesquieu

Philosopher

1689-01-18 – 1755-02-10

Montesquieu was a French political philosopher and jurist of the Enlightenment. He is best known for The Spirit of Laws and for his influential articulation of the separation of powers in government.

Quotes by Montesquieu

In vain do we seek tranquility in the desert; temptations are always with us; our passions, represented by the demons, never let us alone: those monsters created by the heart, those illusions produced by the mind, those vain specters that are our errors and our lies always appear before us to seduce us; they attack us even in our fasting or our mortifications, in other words, in our very strength.
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Every man is capable of doing good to another, but to contribute to the happiness of an entire society is to become akin to the gods
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Democratic and aristocratic states are not in their own nature free. Political liberty is to be found only in moderate governments; and even in these it is not always found. It is there only when there is no abuse of power. But constant experience shows us that every man invested with power is apt to abuse it, and to carry his authority as far as it will go.
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I can assure you that no kingdom has ever had as many civil wars as the kingdom of Christ.
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Every man is capable of doing good to another, but to contribute to the happiness of an entire society is to become akin to the gods
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Democratic and aristocratic states are not in their own nature free. Political liberty is to be found only in moderate governments; and even in these it is not always found. It is there only when there is no abuse of power. But constant experience shows us that every man invested with power is apt to abuse it, and to carry his authority as far as it will go.
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In vain do we seek tranquility in the desert; temptations are always with us; our passions, represented by the demons, never let us alone: those monsters created by the heart, those illusions produced by the mind, those vain specters that are our errors and our lies always appear before us to seduce us; they attack us even in our fasting or our mortifications, in other words, in our very strength.
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I can assure you that no kingdom has ever had as many civil wars as the kingdom of Christ.
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In the infancy of societies, the chiefs of state shape its institutions; later the institutions shape the chiefs of state.
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Society is the union of men and not the men themselves.
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The sublimity of administration consists in knowing the proper degree of power that should be exerted on different occasions.
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I have always observed that to succeed in the world one should appear like a fool but be wise.
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Lunch kills half of Paris, supper the other half.
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When the body of the people is possessed of the supreme power, it is called a democracy.
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The less men think, the more they talk.
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If triangles had a god, they would give him three sides.
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Happy the people whose annals are tiresome.
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Peace is a natural effect of trade.
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False happiness renders men stern and proud, and that happiness is never communicated. True happiness renders them kind and sensible, and that happiness is always shared.
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To become truly great, one has to stand with people, not above them.
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