Montesquieu Quotes

On remarque que, dans les pays où l'on met dans les mains paternelles plus de récompenses et de punitions, les familles sont mieux réglées : les pères sont l'image du créateur de l'univers, qui, quoiqu'il puisse conduire les hommes par son amour, ne laisse pas de se les attacher encore par les motifs de l'espérance et de la crainte.

If one only wished to be happy, this could be easily accomplished; but we wish to be happier than other people, and this is always difficult, for we believe others to be happier than they are.

The desire for glory is no different from that instinct for preservation that is common to all creatures. It is as if we enhance our being if we can gain a place in the memory of others; it is a new life that we acquire, which becomes as precious to us as the one we received from Heaven.

Translation: I have always observed that to succeed in the world one should appear like a fool but be wise.

One of them said to me once, “I believe in the immortality of the soul for six months at a time; my opinions depend entirely upon my bodily condition: I am a Spinozist, a Socinian, a Catholic, ungodly or devout, according to the state of my animal spirits, the quality of my digestion, the rarity or heaviness of the air I breathe, the lightness or solidity of the food I eat. When the doctor is at my bedside, the confessor has me at a disadvantage. I know very well how to prevent religion from annoying me when I am in good health; but I allow myself to be consoled by it when I am ill: when I have nothing more to hope for here below, religion offers itself, and gains me by its promises; I am glad to give myself up to it, and to die with hope on my side.

There is only one thing that can form a bond between men, and that is gratitude...we cannot give someone else greater power over us than we have ourselves.

A truly virtuous man would come to the aid of the most distant stranger as quickly as to his own friend.
If men were perfectly virtuous, they wouldn’t have friends.

If a human creature is composed of two beings, and if the acknowledgment of the necessity of preserving their union is the chief mark of submission to the decrees of our Creator, that necessity should be made a religious law; and if the enforced preservation of this union will make men more responsible for their actions, it should be made a civil law.

La liberté est le droit de faire ce que les lois permettent.

Solemnity is the shield of idiots

Aussi puis-je t'assurer qu'il n'y a jamais eu de royaume où il y ait eu tant de guerres civiles que dans celui de Christ.

The laws of Rome had wisely divided public power among a large number of magistracies, which supported, checked and tempered each other. Since they all had only limited power, every citizen was qualified for them, and the people — seeing many persons pass before them one after the other — did not grow accustomed to any in particular. But in these times the system of the republic changed. Through the people the most powerful men gave themselves extraordinary commissions — which destroyed the authority of the people and magistrates, and placed all great matters in the hands of one man, or a few.

The history of commerce is that of the communication of the people.

وما أكثر ما بدأت هذا الكتاب وتركته، وقد تركت للرياح ألف مرة ما كنت أكتب من الأوراق، وكنت أشعر بهبود الأيدي الأبوية في كل يوم، وكنت أسير وراء هدفي من غير وضع مشروع، وكنت لا أعرف القواعد ولا الشواذ، وكنت لا أجد الحقيقة إلا لأفقدها، ولكنني عندما أكتشفت مبادئي أتاني كل ما بحثت عنه، فأبصرت في غضون عشرين عامًا بدء كتابي ونموَّه وتقدمه وتمامه.

Knowledge makes men gentle; reason leads to humanity; but prejudices can only eradicate both these dispositions.