French philosopher (1689–1755)
Charles de Secondat, Baron de Montesquieu (18 January 1689 – 10 February 1755), also known as Charles de Montesquieu, was a French political thinker who lived during the Enlightenment and is famous for his articulation of the theory of separation of powers.
From: Wikiquote (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Alternative Names:
Charles-Louis de Secondat, baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu
•
Charles-Louis de Secondat
•
Baron de Montesquieu
•
Charles Louis de Secondat de Montesquieu
•
De Montesquieu
•
Charles Louis de Montesquieu
From Wikidata (CC0)
"Les hommes extrêmement heureux, et les hommes extrêmement malheureux a , sont également portés à la dureté ; témoin les moines et les conquérants. Il n’y a que la médiocrité et le mé- lange de la bonne et de la mauvaise fortune, qui donnent de la douceur et de la pitié."
The Spirit of the Laws, Bk VI, Ch IX
It is possible that the law, which is clear sighted in one sense, and blind in another,
might, in some cases, be too severe. But as we have already observed, the national judges are no more than the mouth that pronounces the words of the law, mere passive beings, incapable of moderating either its force or rigor. That part, therefore, of the legislative body, which we have just now observed to be a necessary tribunal on another occasion, also is a necessary tribunal in this; it belongs to its supreme authority to moderate the law in favor of the law itself, by mitigating the sentence.
For myself, I would rather not write history than write it for the purpose of following the prejudices and passions of the times.
Here, someone makes the Capetians descend from the Merovingians; there, someone else has it that the name very Christian has always been applied to the {French} princes.
They don't form a system after reading history; they begin with the system and then search for the proofs.
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.